Chirp Chirp, Tweet Tweet.

I did the unthinkable, something I promised myself I'd never do. Something so disappointing to myself, something so treacherous that it's causing me to lose sleep. So disappointing, that my even my cat is upset with me. I joined Twitter.

For so long I promised myself that Myspace and Facebook were enough for me in terms of social networking sites. After all, Myspace grew old, and Facebook, well, let's just say it's my number one excuse for not getting work done. That and playing with my overly energetic kitten.

I always felt that the concept of twitter was just, pointless. 140 characters to get my point across to the "twitter-verse", well, that's the same as updating my Facebook status. So, why did I need to then go and join this sight as well? Because, I'll do anything for a good grade, and joining this social networking site, that has to many clever phrases from it's name, was a homework assignment.

Once I got past the initial shock of actually having a Twitter account, I realized that I have no idea how to actually use the thing. My roommate and I sat for an hour just trying to figure the thing out! We ended up calling one of my friends, who had recently decided to put his beak away and stop twittering, to come and show us the ropes. After he showed us the basics, he then sent me a tweet saying I had "awoken the twittering beast" and got him back into the bad habit. I also found this helpful video to just lay it out for me.





They make it so simple, allowing you to update your tweets right from your phone. Even myself, who has had no experience with this program, have added Twitter as a new contact in my smart phone. I'm embarrassed to have admitted this, it's worse then admitting a new crush in middle school. okay, maybe not to that extent, but it's up there for sure.

Being a member of Twitter has an impact that uses all of our tool sets. To start with the brain, my Reptilian brain is engaged for me personally, because I want to flight, but I fight to stay. My Limbic brain feels the emotions of not only me being on Twitter, but in reading all of the posts that I'm able to see using Tweet Deck. I will praise Twitter in that I find it interesting that I don't need to be someones "friend" in order to see what they are tweeting. I just need to look up the network and I can see all of it's members. It's like a marketing professionals dream! My Neocortex gets to read and process all that is coming at me, and all that I'm submerging myself into.

In terms of the shifts, it's a perfect example of the Technological Shift, because not only is Twitter a perfect example of the web taking over, but even marketing professionals use it for advertising. You reaching a large audience. Which transitions perfectly into the Personal Shift. Also, it's an example of Cultural Shift because while we feel things like Facebook pages and Twitter home pages are ours, they are accessible to anyone and everyone who knows our names.

Moving nicely into the basic principles, it fits into the standards of Production Techniques, because it's with these techniques that twitter considers itself to be unique and original. Giving you only 140 characters to get your message across, there is nothing else like that. It raises the questions of Ownership, thinking about who owns this source of medium. We think we do, but really someone is making bank off us tweeting things to each other. Not to mention all the companies that make accounts on these pages to gain awareness and look to enhance their company names through word of mouth.

Twitter can use as many persuasive techniques as the day is long, because it depends on the people who use Twitter, which we know includes people of all ages, as well as companies trying to gain recognition, even people that are hosting local events will make a Twitter page, and then delete it once the event has passed.

Everyone has a twitter, everyone wants to take in the benefits that come along with typing 140 characters to everyone saying what's on your mind and what your doing. What is it with today's society that wants everyone to know their every action? Does privacy not exist anymore? I understand that as a youth in today's society who does have social networking pages I'm including myself in this category, but that doesn't make it any less true.


Once this class is over, and my grade is done, I'm going to delete my Twitter, and take a breath of fresh air knowing that I can go back to just go back to updating my Facebook status without having to log into a whole other network that makes no sense to me.

Oh Twitter, keep on tweeting.