Twitter

One result of taking the MILI class for me is that I have become more tune to the various technology tools -- or should I say Web 2.0 tools -- that are available today. Just this week I read an article in Time magazine about the social networking site Twitter, and then yesterday in the Star Tribune there was another article discussing it. I find that I pay more attention to these articles as a result of this class. I can also better understand how it works and how they interact with other web 2.0 tools. According to the Star Tribune article, this online service was created in 2006, and it is already the 3rd most popular social networking site behind My Space and Facebook. Time magazine said that Twitter grew by 900% last year. The Dali Lama twitters, as does Barak Obama, and apparently dozens of members of Congress (Time Magazine.) The service is free through the twitter website, and you can write messages that are 140 characters long. It's like a mini blog that can be accessed through your ipod (and I am sure a number of other methods.) According to a comment someone put on the Star Tribune website regarding the article, when you "tweet" this also automatically updates your Facebook page as well. Amazing.

As popular as it is, I do wonder whether or not it is contributing to a better society. In the Star Tribune article one twitter user said "It means you can follow or be somewhat intimate with people without needing to directly engage them." I find this aspect of Twitter and other social networking tools worrisome. It seems very voyeuristic. Does this replace personal contact and engagement with other people?

I would not call this an AHA moment, but I do feel much better informed and in touch with the lingo and logistics of these web 2.0 tools, and the more I read and listen to others the more I realize how widespread their use is.