TWITTER: What You Didn't Think You Needed To Know

Presented in Technology Seminar Section Two

Creation of Twitter

}  Created in 2006 by Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey

}  Often described as a cross between blogging and instant messaging

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” - Twitter

Current Twitter Usage

}  More than 7 million (as of February 2009)

}  Experienced one-year growth of 1382% (nearly 500,000 February 2008 to nearly 7 million February 2009)

}  Top Tweeters:

◦      Ashton Kutcher with 2.1 million followers

◦      Ellen Degeneres with 1.8 million followers

◦      CNN with 1.7 million followers

◦      Oprah with 1.3 million followers

◦      President Barack Obama with 1.3 million followers

◦      Fastest growing site (Nielsen.com) blocked by China recently

Purpose of Twitter

}  Social Networking Tool

}  Micro-blogging

}  Social Messaging

“Twitter has become a new instrument for expressing myself and accessing cultural trends, opinions and information. Twitter is my front door to the Internet and my medium for sharing the content I create while advocating for the causes close to my heart and investing in the connections I want to have with people from all walks of life.” – Ashton Kutcher, #1 Tweeter

Elements of Twitter

}  Text limited to 140-character entries called “tweets”

}  Tweets are:

◦      Posted on Twitter

◦      Automatically delivered to “followers”

–  Followers are Twitter users who have interest in tracking the entries of other Twitter users

Best Use in Pedagogy

}  Journaling exercise

◦      Small reflection about the class each day

}  Invention strategy

◦      Generate ideas about topics and share ideas with peers

}  Assignment distribution

◦      Reminders, Due Dates, Amendments, Etc.

Benefits to Pedagogy

}  Uninhibited exchange of ideas

}  Concise, instantaneous feedback

}  Utilizing cell phone as a learning tool

}  Active Engagement

Twitter: Limitations, Challenges and Risks

}  Requires access to Internet

}  140-character limit to ALL entries

}  Frequent need to use www.tinyurl.com

}  Potential for mass distribution of viruses

}  Tweets can become excessive

}  Dumbing-down of “the art of conversation”

}  Encourages dismantling of proper grammar

}  Inability to view ALL posts per user

}  Inability to post pictures (like Facebook & MySpace)

}  Does not allow for follower segmentation & grouping

}  Does not allow for tracking of threads/conversations

What's Next for Twitter?

}  Increasing data-management usage

}  Increasing use beyond social networking – businesses, schools and researchers

}  Incorporation into Blackboard’s course management system

}  More third-party applications

Perceptions for the Field ...

}  Uncertainty about the medium

◦      63% of survey respondents would NOT be comfortable explaining Twitter to someone else

}  Moderate uncertainty about the method

◦      37% of survey respondents do NOT believe they can communicate effectively in 140 characters

}  Uncertainty about usage and relevance

◦      50% of survey respondents do NOT believe Twitter has pedagogical value

◦      There is not consensus among the survey respondents regarding BEST uses for Twitter

}  Hopeful

◦      Despite the obvious uncertainty, 80% of survey respondents want to know more about Twitter AND nearly 50% of survey respondents have Twitter accounts

* Survey data is based on 20 participants in 2009 FRN New Technologies Summer Seminar Section Two