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Assignment #2
Essay
Title:
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Name: Kylie O’Connor
Student Number: 15236900
Unit Name: WEB101 – Web Communications
Email Address: [email protected]
Date Submitted: 2/8/13
Word Count: 1488
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Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
Assignment 2: WEB101
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Essay Question: Choose one Web 2.0 platform discussed during module two and
analyse the extent to which this platform has changed the way people
communicate and collaborate.
There are a number of Web 2.0 platforms that allow people to communicate and
collaborate to differing degrees, one such platform is social networking in the form of
Twitter. Originally the purpose of Twitter was to allow the user to answer the question
“What are you doing?” (Honeycutt & Herring, 2009), however this essay will explore the
evolution of Twitter to allow users to “connect to the things and people they care about”.
(Barnes-Hoyt, 2013) The essay will also explore the extent of change to how people
communicate and collaborate, as well as Twitter’s interaction with other Web 2.0
technologies.
Since Jack Dorsey posted the first tweet “just setting up my twttr” (Dorsey, 2006) on
March 21st 2006, Twitter has become very well known as a popular social networking
tool. For that first “tweet” there were approximately 50 users of Twitter (Sagola, 2009),
seven years later there are “over 200 million active users creating over 400 million
Tweets each day.” (Wickre, 2013) Tweets are simply user messages which contain up to
140 characters displayed on the profile page of the user. Tweets may be sent and
received in a number of ways; using the Twitter web-based Social Networking Site
(SNS), using Short Message Services (SMS) or through external applications.
In order to understand how Social Network Sites such as Twitter have changed how
people communicate and collaborate, it is essential to understand exactly what they are.
According to boyd and Ellison (2007) social network sites are “web-based services that
allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system”;
build a network of connections with other users; as well as view and navigate their way
around their own connections and the connections of others within the system. Similar to
other social network sites, Twitter is a form of blogging, however due to the 140
character limit it is referred to as microblogging; defined by Java, Finin, Song and Tseng
(2007) as “brief text updates” sent to “friends and interested observers via text
messaging, instant messaging(IM), email or the web.” These tweets may be received
through a number of ways such as “Twitter.com, traditional email accounts, smart
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
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phones, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and Facebook”, making Twitter a multiplatform
means of communication. (Williams, 2009)
Social media has become more about the individual, an extension of themselves, as
opposed to separate. The technology of the social network site is irrelevant, as it is
merely a platform for building and projecting an image of self into cyberspace. People in
the 21st century are time-poor, with erratic schedules; causing them to search for faster,
easier ways to find information and communicate. Twitter fills this need by allowing the
user to view what they want, when they want on a gigantic scale. The reduced size of
posts minimizes the time it takes the user to get their message out, which distinguishes
microblogging sites such as Twitter from blogging. (Java, Finin, Song, and Tseng, 2007)
While most bloggers generally update their blog every few days or less; microblogging
may be done as often as the user wishes, several times a day sometimes, making
Twitter a quick and easy way to get the message across.
Many social network sites including Twitter, allow for translation between languages
breaking down barriers and granting users further opportunities for communication and
collaboration. Changing technologies from the static pages that were a feature of Web
1.0, to the richer user experience available with Web 2.0 allow for greater user
participation. This increased social interaction using social network sites such as Twitter,
allows for collaboration due to the ability for immediate responses between users to
enquiries and needs. (Kim, Kwok-Bun, Hall & Gates, 2009) While Web 2.0 platforms
such as Twitter have interactive functions, it is still the user who has control over the
content and persona they create in cyberspace.
While the original use of Twitter was to tell followers “what are you doing?” it has
become so much more than that in today’s society. Twitter in its current form is a means
of communication and conversation between users. The use of hashtags (#s) allows the
user to follow conversations on a specific topic as this symbol marks tweets by topic.
The use of hashtags was originally created by users of Twitter and “have become a way
to participate in global conversations.” (Twitter Media, 2013) According to Twitter Media
(2013) “conversations collect around hashtags” and to join these conversations the user
simply uses the hashtag in a message, conveniently reaching not just the user’s own
followers “but everyone tuned into that conversation.” Hashtags may be seen on
television programs and on signage as a way of directing people to join the
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
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conversations happening on Twitter and the hashtag has become a powerful marketing
tool. (Twitter Media, 2013)
Conversation is a major part of any collaboration, and the use of Twitter as an informal
place for interaction with others for collaborative purposes. (Honeycutt and Herring,
2009) This is done by the Twitter user utilizing the “@” to address a tweet to a specific
user. In this manner Web 2.0 technology allows user participation, with Twitter being a
dynamic method of instant messaging. Twitter users are able to synchronise activities
and share ideas in a public forum, utilising the web and Twitter as a space for public
communication and collaboration. To this end, it is noted that “collaboration and
community are important characteristics of Web 2.0 development” as well as being “key
features of social communication services.” (Jansen, Zhang, Sobel and Chowdury,
2009)
Like many social media sites Twitter is useful as a medium for communication of news
updates. A number of media services such as radio, television and newspaper services
around the world utilise Twitter for posting traffic, news and program updates. The
government has also taken to Twitter as a means of protecting “public safety and
emergency notifications.” (Williams, 2009) An example of this on an international level
was the derailment of a commuter train September 12, 2008 in Chatsworth California.
Following the death of dozens and hundreds of injuries, the Los Angeles Fire
Department (LAFD) updated the public via Twitter about rescue operations. (Williams,
2009) In 2007 citizens near a Griffith Park wildfire sent their own tweets to the LAFD,
assisting firefighters controlling the 800 acre blaze with updates on wind direction and
smoldering hot spots. (Williams, 2009) In this manner Twitter is used as a two way
communication system, allowing information to be up to date and faster response of
emergency services.
On a national scale, Twitter was used effectively during the Queensland floods, allowing
for the appropriate engagement between emergency organisations and general public,
enabling response to public needs and enquiries. (Bruns, Burgess, Crawford, & Shaw,
2012) The use of the hashtag #qldfloods on Twitter was quickly accepted as a “primary
source of information by public, police and emergency services”, delivering timely advice
and reassurances to those isolated by the rising flood waters. (Queensland University of
Technology (QUT), 2011) When phone and power lines were down during the floods,
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
Assignment 2: WEB101
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people were still able to use their smartphones as a tool for checking social media and
staying in touch. When the Queensland Moggill community was isolated by floodwaters
they sent out calls for support via Twitter, and the Premier was quick to respond and
reassure the community that helicopters were on the way with necessary supplies.
(QUT, 2011) Twitter was a way of broadcasting information widely and rapidly, however
for detailed information Facebook was a superior option.
It is important to note that while effective in communicating during emergency situations,
Twitter and social media is not a replacement for emergency communication systems.
Twitter certainly provides the opportunity for victims to share up to date information as
events unfold, while general media reports may be hours old with the information
broadcast. With every positive the use of Twitter provides in emergency situations there
is also a negative aspect to this as a form of communication. An example of this could
be misinformation being broadcast. There is also the problem that not everyone is able
to access Twitter and social media and this could include the elderly, multicultural and
low socioeconomic groups.
Through the use of social media sites people are able to keep in touch and up to date
with global events and news as well as what is happening around the corner. People are
able to collaborate in ways they never imagined twenty years ago with a broad range of
people they would not have had access to before, using the ever-changing and everimproving technologies of the 21st century. Whether Twitter is seen by the user as
positive, negative or of no interest, it is important to remember that not everything read
on Twitter is true. Whatever the future brings with the popularity and use of Twitter; in
the words of co-creator Jack Dorsey (2007); “one could change the world with one
hundred and forty characters.”
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
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References
(2007). Social Networking in Plain English. Retrieved June 4th, 2009,
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7gWEgHeXcA
Barnes-Hoyt, J. (2013, 8 July) Direct message sync, mobile search improvements and
more [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://blog.twitter.com/2013/directmessage-sync-mobile-search-improvements-and-more
boyd, d. m., & Ellison N. B., (2007) Social Networking Sites: Definition, History and
Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Comminutcation. 13(1). Retrieved
from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x/full
Bruns, A., Burgess, J., Crawford, K., & Shaw, F. (2012). #qldfloods and @QPSMedia:
Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland
Floods (Media Ecologies Project) Queensland: ARC Centre of Excellence for
Creative Industries & Innovation (CCI). Retrieved
from http://www.mappingonlinepublics.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/[email protected]
Dorsey, J. (2006, 21 March). Twitter post. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/jack/status/20
Dorsey, J. (2007, 7 February) Twitter post. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/jack/statuses/5383980
Honeycutt, C., & Herring S. C. (2009) Beyond Microblogging: Conversation
and Collaboration via Twitter. 42nd Hawaii International Conference on
System Sciences, 2009, Waikoloa, Big Island, Hawaii, USA, January 5- 8, 2009
(pp.1-10). Retrieved from
http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi?doc=doi/10.1109/HICSS.2009.602
Jansen, B. J., Zhang, M., Sobel, K. and Chowdury, A. (2009), Twitter power: Tweets
as electronic word of mouth. Journal of the American Society for Information
Science and Technology, 60: 2169–2188. doi: 10.1002/asi.21149
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
Assignment 2: WEB101
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Java, A., Finin, T., Song, X., & Tseng, B. (2007). Why We Twitter:
Understanding Microblogging Usage and Communities. Proceedings of the 9th
WebKDD and 1st SNA-KDD 2007, San Jose, California, USA, August 12 – 12,
2007 (pp56-65). New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery.
Retrieved from
http://workshops.socialnetworkanalysis.info/websnakdd2007/papers/submission_
21.pdf
Kim, D., Kwok-Bun. Y., Hall, S., Gates, T. (2009). Global Diffusion of the Internet XV:
Web 2.0 Technologies, Principles, and Applications, A Conceptual Framework
from Technology Push and Demand Pull Perspective, 2009(25), 657-672,
Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/
Queensland University of Technology. (2011, 19 January). Social media vital to modern
emergency response. Retrieved from http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgibin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=34597
Sagolla, D. (2009, 30 January), How Twitter was born [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/
Twitter Media (2013) Best Practice for Hashtags. [Web log post] Retrieved from
https://dev.twitter.com/media/hashtags
Twitter, Inc (2013). Twitter Help Center | Twitter 101: Getting started with Twitter.[Web
log post] Retrieved from https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitterbasics/topics/104-welcome-to-twitter-support/articles/215585-twitter-101-howshould-i-get-started-using-twitter
Wickre, K. (2013, 21 March) Celebrating #Twitter7 [Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://blog.twitter.com/2013/celebrating-twitter7
Williams, M. (2009, 7 January) Agencies help move free microblogging service beyond
social media novelty [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Governments-use-Twitter-for-EmergencyAlerts.html
Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
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Kylie O’Connor [Student No. 15236900]
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