Everyone should be on Twitter. Now.
For the uninitiated, Twitter functions like a glorified middle school away message that has hooked up with a Facebook status. Each update — “Tweet” — consists of 140 characters; each update can be replied to in others’ updates; links can be thrown in updates — Twitter shortens links more than 30 characters to TinyURLs. Each user has an individual page (like http://twitter.com/katherinemiller), which can be made private. Each user can follow others and be followed. If you have an iPhone or a Blackberry, Twitter can be used.
But, all that seems a little redundant — like Facebook on steroids. Around 25 million people are currently on the network (20 million more than a year ago), though, so something must be going right. So, here are four reasons why you should be on Twitter:
1. Shaq is on Twitter.
As the New York Times reported last week, Shaquille O’Neal twitters, like, non-stop. It’s like a gift you always wanted but never knew you wanted. Filled with awesome, on Sunday, he announced, “Just saw punisher, great bloody movie, aggggggh, dats what i, nevamind lol, aggggggh (growl) (snarl) spit.” He marked his arrival in Dallas with: “The stars at nite r big n bright clap clap clap clap deep n da heart of texas, im n dallas.” Don’t you want that in your life?
2. Barack Obama is on Twitter.
While his involvement on the site may taper off, the campaign used Twitter as a major campaign tool to organize events for supporters. He has 144,108 followers on Twitter. In a belated attempt to catch up, over the past few weeks, Top Conservatives on Twitter has exploded, which has made Twitter a sweet competitive sport of popularity among friends. Politico reporters, Chris Cillizza (The Fix) and all crazy political bloggers are on Twitter, tossing out instant news for crack-addict like political junkies. If you are political, you need to be on Twitter.
3. Twitter’s there in case of disaster.
The Los Angeles Fire Department used Twitter this fall for updates about the wild fires; eyewitnesses and officials used Twitter during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai to disseminate up-to-date information; prayer chains form routinely for a variety of causes. At its heart, like most social media, this is a tool designed to connect people.
4. “We are all Gossip Girl.”
Well, not really. New York Magazine’s Jessica Pressler and Chris Rovzar declared “We are all Gossip Girl,” in reference to the show’s success formed and perpetuated into ubiquity by gossip and pop culture bloggers. Gossip Girl itself concerns surveillance culture and the way an individual’s propaganda becomes their identity. Between the omnipresent, viral “Dark Knight” marketing campaign, Facebook and Kanye West’s public display of emotional tumoil transformed into music, we live in a digitally-enhanced exhibitionist age generated by user content. Our generation lives a dual existence: who we are and who we can create ourselves to be. Twitter can function like a public version of a GChat conversation, or a medium for disseminating news and links. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are all Gossip Girl. And that's awesome.
Essentially, aggggggh (growl) (snarl) spit. Twitter’s awesome, and all of Vandy should be on it. Merry Christmas.
Katherine Miller is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at katherine.m.miller@vanderbilt.edu. She blogs at Right-Wing Vitriol.
