What Is Twitter
So, what is twitter and why are so many people talking about it? Well, the answer is amazingly simple. In a world of complex technological advances where cell phones not only make phone calls, but also take pictures and play music, where families have multiple remotes to operate the multimedia equipment housed in the entertainment unit, and where even a car can have its own phone number, twitter asks its users to answer the friendly question: "What are you doing?" And members of this networking community answer the question in mini-posts known in the twittering vernacular as tweets. The system limits the answering mini-post to only 140 characters. Write more than that and the message will be truncated (a fancy way of saying that not all of it will appear on the screen). This limitation is part of the appeal, however, and has led to a new internet term microblogging. The number of internet blogs seems to grow almost exponentially as more people create their own personal websites either for personal or professional reasons. Microblogging isn't going to take the place of the longer, more indepth posts found on blogs. But the appeal of microblogging has people asking, what is twitter, and signing up as a user.
Becoming a member of the twittering community is an easy process. It's free to join in on the fun. Similar to joining other networking communities, the website asks potential members to create a user name and password. Members also provide an email address so that they can receive notifications about other members who are now following them and of direct messages sent only to them by other members. The member also creates a profile that tells a little bit about interests, hobbies, occupation, or whatever else the individual wishes to divulge. A photo can also be uploaded and added to the profile. Answering the question, what is twitter, requires an explanation of the "follow" model. Once a person has set up a twitter account, she can use the search feature to look for family members, friends, and colleagues who are also part of the community. Once she finds these people, the new member can choose to follow them. This means that the new member will receive the tweets posted by those in her circle. Other members will choose to follow her tweets. In this way, overlapping circles are created. Friendships can be formed by heeding this advice from King Solomon: "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).
One way of explaining "what is twitter" to nonusers may be to give an example of how the circles work. Let's say a stay-at-home mom named Beth creates a profile. Beth knows her sister Jill has an account, so she conducts a search and then clicks on Jill's "follow" button. Now Beth will receive every tweet that Jill posts. Jill returns the favor by following Beth and now receives all of Beth's tweets. As a newbie, Beth wants to enlarge her circle beyond one person. So she looks at Jill's followers and reads their profiles. Beth chooses certain people to follow who have similar interests. Though Beth and Jill do not have identical circles, the sisters now have people that they both follow. Additionally, the two sisters will be followed by others; perhaps some users will follow both women, but not everyone will do so. When others ask Beth, "what is twitter," the young mom replies that it's a quick and easy way to communicate with other young moms without taking much time from tending the babies and the home.
Professionals are also finding the benefits of joining this microblog community. Through 140-character tweets, professionals are able to promote company websites, entrepreneurial blogs, and important events. Important executives, even publishing company CEOs, have joined the twitter network. How exciting is it for an aspiring novelist to follow and/or be followed by such an important individual in the publishing industry? When professionals are asked, what is twitter, many will answer that it's a marketing tool that increases a company's exposure. And another exciting aspect is that it's not just the important executives who can benefit from the marketing power of the network, but so can the sole proprietor. Perhaps the aspiring novelist is also a web designer. His blog contains articles on this topic in addition to a menu of the services he provides to other small businesses. Through this microblog network, the web designer can connect to potential customers as effectively as the CEO of the world's largest conglomerate.
Asking twittering friends and colleagues, what is twitter, and wondering why all the buzz about it, isn't unusual for those who haven't given the microblog network a try. But those who have become members enjoy the simplicity of keeping friends updated with a few short sentences. They've found the network to be a great place to meet new people, to follow trends, and to promote themselves in an unobtrusive way. Additionally, third party applications have been created that connect this microblog network to one of the more popular social networking sites. Individuals who are connected to both websites can send a tweet and have the same message appear on the other site, too. Desktop client applications help users monitor and update their circles. So, just what is twitter? It's a fun and easy way to connect and keep up with family members, friends, and colleagues.
Becoming a member of the twittering community is an easy process. It's free to join in on the fun. Similar to joining other networking communities, the website asks potential members to create a user name and password. Members also provide an email address so that they can receive notifications about other members who are now following them and of direct messages sent only to them by other members. The member also creates a profile that tells a little bit about interests, hobbies, occupation, or whatever else the individual wishes to divulge. A photo can also be uploaded and added to the profile. Answering the question, what is twitter, requires an explanation of the "follow" model. Once a person has set up a twitter account, she can use the search feature to look for family members, friends, and colleagues who are also part of the community. Once she finds these people, the new member can choose to follow them. This means that the new member will receive the tweets posted by those in her circle. Other members will choose to follow her tweets. In this way, overlapping circles are created. Friendships can be formed by heeding this advice from King Solomon: "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).
One way of explaining "what is twitter" to nonusers may be to give an example of how the circles work. Let's say a stay-at-home mom named Beth creates a profile. Beth knows her sister Jill has an account, so she conducts a search and then clicks on Jill's "follow" button. Now Beth will receive every tweet that Jill posts. Jill returns the favor by following Beth and now receives all of Beth's tweets. As a newbie, Beth wants to enlarge her circle beyond one person. So she looks at Jill's followers and reads their profiles. Beth chooses certain people to follow who have similar interests. Though Beth and Jill do not have identical circles, the sisters now have people that they both follow. Additionally, the two sisters will be followed by others; perhaps some users will follow both women, but not everyone will do so. When others ask Beth, "what is twitter," the young mom replies that it's a quick and easy way to communicate with other young moms without taking much time from tending the babies and the home.
Professionals are also finding the benefits of joining this microblog community. Through 140-character tweets, professionals are able to promote company websites, entrepreneurial blogs, and important events. Important executives, even publishing company CEOs, have joined the twitter network. How exciting is it for an aspiring novelist to follow and/or be followed by such an important individual in the publishing industry? When professionals are asked, what is twitter, many will answer that it's a marketing tool that increases a company's exposure. And another exciting aspect is that it's not just the important executives who can benefit from the marketing power of the network, but so can the sole proprietor. Perhaps the aspiring novelist is also a web designer. His blog contains articles on this topic in addition to a menu of the services he provides to other small businesses. Through this microblog network, the web designer can connect to potential customers as effectively as the CEO of the world's largest conglomerate.
Asking twittering friends and colleagues, what is twitter, and wondering why all the buzz about it, isn't unusual for those who haven't given the microblog network a try. But those who have become members enjoy the simplicity of keeping friends updated with a few short sentences. They've found the network to be a great place to meet new people, to follow trends, and to promote themselves in an unobtrusive way. Additionally, third party applications have been created that connect this microblog network to one of the more popular social networking sites. Individuals who are connected to both websites can send a tweet and have the same message appear on the other site, too. Desktop client applications help users monitor and update their circles. So, just what is twitter? It's a fun and easy way to connect and keep up with family members, friends, and colleagues.
What Is Twitter
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