Hashtags, @replies and the ever-famous fail whale. The jargon can be confusing, but as more University of Cincinnati students join the world of Twitter, these words are becoming the norm.
“I like to think of Twitter as a giant chat room in which the whole Internet participates,” said Ketan Raturi, an exploratory graduate student.
Twitter was created in 2006 and is now one of the most popular social-networking Web sites. From Ashton Kutcher racing CNN to the 1 million followers mark to President Barack Obama using the site during his 2008 campaign, Twitter is the darling of the media world.
In April, Twitter tweaked its Web site to include trending topics, or the top-10 phrases or words people tweet about. The topics are sometimes accompanied by hashtags, or phrases prefixed by a “#” symbol.
Since the inclusion of trending topics, Twitter has been noticed as a fast-paced way to get information on current events.
“It gives me the news I want to read,” said Nick Moscato, a third-year marketing student.
University Tweets
Now, UC is starting to show up on Twitter in more ways than one. Students and faculty are tweeting (the term used each time a user posts one of the 140-character updates) and the university is taking note.
The Colleges of Business and Arts and Sciences and the College-Conservatory of Music each have Twitter accounts: @UCCob, @UC_ArtSci and @UC_CCM, respectively. Both the independent student newspaper, The News Record, and the student internet radio, Bearcast, have Twitter accounts that are updated regularly, as does UC Magazine.
On Sept. 20, at the new student convocation, audience members were encouraged to tweet during the program.
“[What does] ‘convocation’ even mean?” said Christopher Glover, a first-year CCM student, from his Twitter account, @ChristophGlover.
Twitterific rewards
Perhaps one of the greatest things about Twitter is that it can be whatever users want it to be, said Paul Morrison, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student.
“Personally, it has become a major source of news and world information,” Morrison said, whose Twitter account is @pauljmorrison. “The speed at which news spreads is like wildfire.”
The Web site is used by companies as a promotion tool, or to advertise contests and giveaways.
“I’ve gotten passes to advance screenings of movies,” Nick Moscato said, whose Twitter account is @nickmoscato. “I also won tickets to the Stone Temple Pilots concert.”
In May, Kentucky Fried Chicken had a promotion for its new grilled chicken that offered a free meal. The company first advertised the deal on the Oprah Winfrey show.The giveaway quickly became a trending topic as people alerted their followers and shared the link.
On the day of the giveaway, the chain experienced long lines and a shortage of grilled chicken.
“My roommate and I heard about the free chicken on Twitter,” said Anna Bergman, a second-year health promotion and education student. “The line was huge and they actually ran out of chicken.”
Joins race with other media
Students also find pop-culture events are announced on Twitter, sometimes before television or radio.
“I found out about Michael Jackson on Twitter,” Morrison said of the pop star’s death on June 25.
Twitter is slowly becoming a way for students to connect, both with friends and with people they meet directly through the site.
“I’ve met several friends through Twitter in the Cincinnati area already,” Raturi said. “I’ve networked with other atheists and allowed my ex-girlfriend to stalk me —worthwhile endeavors.”
A Twitter Flip
Other students find Twitter excessive and unnecessary.
“I don’t use it and I don’t like it,” said Katie Borgia, a fifth-year fashion product and development student. “It breaks down the barrier of interpersonal communication.”
So what do UC students tweet about?
Sometimes it’s nothing more than a witty thought or passing whim, Moscato said. “Nothing too important. I write about movies I’ve seen or new music I think people should listen to.”
“I’m a big fan of dark, hilarious tweets,” Raturi said. “Vulgarity is … an added bonus.”
Raturi also uses his Twitter account, @invisible_h, to spark creativity and as a way to store reminders.
Worthy Tweets
In an August study, Pear Analytics separated 2,000 tweets into six categories: news, spam, self-promotion, pointless babble, conversational and pass-along value.
The purpose was to see what people really tweeted about, in light of Twitter’s push to be seen as a source for information and news.
The results were not as expected, according to Pear Analytics. More than 40 percent of the tweets were categorized as pointless babble, which are tweets like, “I am eating a sandwich now.”
Conversational tweets took up 37 percent, while news-related tweets were a mere 3.6 percent.
Approximately 9 percent of the tweets were considered of pass-along value and included “re-tweets.” When a user quotes another’s tweet, they often use the “re-tweet” format in order to provide credibility.
“A lot of people don’t really realize what a great communication tool it is,” Morrison said.
Even professors are starting to use the social networking site. Elissa Sonnenberg, assistant director of journalism, uses her Twitter account, @esonnenberg, to discuss everything from healthy eating tips to her thoughts on Project Runway.
Facebook vs. Twitter
One issue Twitter has had to deal with is the comparison with Facebook. Facebook was created in 2004 and became available to non-students in Sept. 2006. The Web site has more features that Twitter and is used more often to connect with close friends, Moscato said.
“I follow a few friends that go to UC, but rarely use it to connect with them,” Moscato said. “Facebook doesn’t have that pesky 140-character limit.”
Since Twitter’s influx in popularity, Facebook has made some changes in an effort to keep up with the micro-blogging site. The changes include converting news updates to
real-time and releasing a simplified version called “Facebook Lite.”
“I really hate the changes Facebook keeps making,” Bergman said. “Why can’t they just be happy with what they’ve got?”
In light of Twitter’s exploding popularity and Facebook’s antsy reaction, it’s clear that Twitter’s got something going for it. Perhaps it’s the simple layout. Perhaps it’s the content.
“It gives voices to people who you might never otherwise have heard,” Raturi said.
Or perhaps it’s because tweeting is simple, brief and free of stress. After all, as Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Want to share your Twitter account with The News Record and its readers? Leave a link to your profile in a comment.
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