Spring Break
Facebook, Twitter change social life
Roberto Salome
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Ed-Op
Within the past few months, social networking site Facebook has experienced a huge surge in its growth, and within the past few weeks, micro-blogging site Twitter has seen an even larger one.
The popularity of these sites comes from the fact that they both facilitate communication. While some argue that it is a degraded form of communication, there is no denying that Facebook and Twitter can be great tools with a purpose.
Facebook was created with the intention of allowing people from all over the world to connect and become more open. It combines features such as private messages, picture sharing and chatting. The site has recently passed 200 million active users; this number is comparable to the fifth-largest country in the world based on population. Some argue that the informality of the site leads to incomplete communication, and that future generations will not be able to communicate properly in the working world. Unfortunately, these people do not realize that the communication taking place will be between people who have also grown up with Facebook. Informal speech may become acceptable. In the same way that the word "adieu" has been generally replaced with "goodbye," "goodbye" may one day be exchanged with "kthxbi." However, this is hypothetical and hopefully will never be true.
Twitter, on the other hand, is trying to fill a niche market. Its purpose is to allow members to inform other users what they are doing at any moment. It has experienced enormous growth recently due to Ashton Kutcher and CNN. About two weeks ago, Kutcher challenged CNN to see who could amass one million followers first. In a tight race, Kutcher was victorious. This victory led to many appearances on television talk shows, the most notable one being "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Estimates on the amount of users registering, due to an appearance on her show, range from 700,000 to 1.2 million new users. The popularity comes from the ease in which one can reach out to a large amount of people. Kutcher was able to garner the masses; others took note and now want to join.
The popularity of these sites comes from the fact that they both facilitate communication. While some argue that it is a degraded form of communication, there is no denying that Facebook and Twitter can be great tools with a purpose.
Facebook was created with the intention of allowing people from all over the world to connect and become more open. It combines features such as private messages, picture sharing and chatting. The site has recently passed 200 million active users; this number is comparable to the fifth-largest country in the world based on population. Some argue that the informality of the site leads to incomplete communication, and that future generations will not be able to communicate properly in the working world. Unfortunately, these people do not realize that the communication taking place will be between people who have also grown up with Facebook. Informal speech may become acceptable. In the same way that the word "adieu" has been generally replaced with "goodbye," "goodbye" may one day be exchanged with "kthxbi." However, this is hypothetical and hopefully will never be true.
Twitter, on the other hand, is trying to fill a niche market. Its purpose is to allow members to inform other users what they are doing at any moment. It has experienced enormous growth recently due to Ashton Kutcher and CNN. About two weeks ago, Kutcher challenged CNN to see who could amass one million followers first. In a tight race, Kutcher was victorious. This victory led to many appearances on television talk shows, the most notable one being "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Estimates on the amount of users registering, due to an appearance on her show, range from 700,000 to 1.2 million new users. The popularity comes from the ease in which one can reach out to a large amount of people. Kutcher was able to garner the masses; others took note and now want to join.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Kevin
posted 5/01/09 @ 10:06 AM EST
This is a great article! It was link through Twitter...haha
Fred
posted 5/02/09 @ 1:49 PM EST
1. Have you any sources to back up your many unattributed "facts"?
2. Have you said anything meaningful here that couldn't be condensed into one paragraph?
3. (Continued…)
LQuinn
posted 5/04/09 @ 4:33 PM EST
Yes, I do agree with this article, in the sense that our internet user behavior has evolved rapidly within the past five years. The need for a fast, convenient, social experience is what most social networkers are looking for. (Continued…)
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