In an era where information spreads quickly among individuals, many people keep themselves updated with latest news, gossips, rumors as well as trends. How do people manage to do that? The answer is simple, Twitter.
We all know that this particular microblogging phenomenon has increased rapidly during these past few years. Fleet (2009) states that corporations seem to be much more willing to sign up for Twitter than they are to set up blogs. Many major corporations in the world have signed up for Twitter, such as Ford, General Motors, Dell as well as small companies like Natura Mattresses.
In Malaysia itself, Twitter has become the media for the citizens to update themselves with recent political issues. For example, during the trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, it is stated that Twitter provides "live" updates of the trial (The Malaysian Insider, 2010).
So what is it that makes people are so into Twitter rather than blogs? There are several factors that I would like to highlight. First, mobility and speed. We can access Twitter anywhere and anytime we wanted. Today, telecommunication technology has allowed people to access internet via their mobile phones. Twitter, which is designed specifically for mobile phone users, allows its users to access it almost anytime they wanted and anywhere they are. There are many types of Twitter application that we can download and install in our mobile phones. For example, there is UberTwitter for Blackberry users, Twitterific for iPhone users, and many more such as Mobile Tweete, Digsby, Seesmic, and Snaptu. These applications allow Twitter users to update and send tweets via their mobile phones.
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| UberTwitter for Blackberry. Image source : http://blackberry-soft.com/2010/07/23/ubertwitter-beta-8-now-available-for-download/ |
The second factor is that Twitter requires less commitment than blogs. Fleet (2009) said that writing a blog post requires 20 minutes to a couple of hours, depending on its content. However, Twitter takes just a little of our time. This shows that Twitter's appearance require much less of a commitment than writing a “traditional” blog. Usually people update their blog once in awhile or routine, depends on the popularity or the importance of the posts. Twitter, is constantly updated. Each day, there would be multiple posts, and sometimes it might reach over a hundred post.
The third factor is information content. Blog gives an in-depth detail regarding an issue, while Twitter just provides the "headlines" or "big-picture" of an issue. However, many people use Twitter to promote their blogs or websites. Also, it is said that Twitter users can get updates on what they think or feel about particular issue and it is inclusive. This is something that newspaper or televisions can't do (The Malaysian Insider, 2010).
So, these are my thoughts on why Twitter is more chosen these days as a media of information rather than blog. I personally think that blog itself is a good example of media since it provides in-depth information on issues. However, Twitter for me is a way to gain quick information when I'm not in front of my computer, or not reading a newspaper because I can access Twitter from my mobile phone.
References:
- Fleet, Dave 2009 'Blogging Vs. Twitter: A Different Kind of Commitment' viewed 12 November 2010, <http://davefleet.com/2009/02/blogs-vs-twitter-different-commitment/>
- Zahiid, Syed Jaymal 2010 'Blogging is so yesterday, politicians turn to Twitter' The Malaysian Insider 11 February 2010.
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