[While Twitter sits within the Social Media realm, its relevancy to current media life warrants a closer look at this phenomenon of its own accord.]

News Headlines are no longer strictly confined to paper.
140-charactered Tweets are put out daily by millions.

This is an example of a Twitter Feed. >>>
When someone updates their Twitter, a "Feed" allows it to be updated in other locations, given that the Feed code is embedded in that website, as it is in this site.

In a Nutshell: Twitter is a microblogging site, which means people can publish their activities in 140 characters, which is a sentence or two.

In kicking off Twitter’s Chirp developer conference on April 14, 2010, the company finally revealed its long mysterious registered user number... 105 million, or to be exact, 105,779,710. The growth’s not over either — Twitter says they’re still adding 300,000 users per day. (Mashable)
Definition of Twitter

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Source

To avoid the need for splitting text messages into multiple parts, the creators of Twitter capped the length of a tweet at 140 characters. Source

 
History of Twitter
Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide. The use of Twitter's application programming interface for sending and receiving text messages by other applications often eclipses direct use of Twitter.

What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.
—Evan Williams Source

 
Examples of Twitter (or rather, Tweets)
 
The Personal Benefits of Twitter
  • Allows one to read news headlines and updates as they break - as people Tweet them.
  • Allows the user to feel part of an online community through participation with people from all over the world.
  • Drive traffic to your blog, business website or offline business.
  • You can use Twitter to survey your target audience; or even to get answers to specific questions.
  • Twitter is a great networking platform. See who is following your followers. Search for those who have the same interest as you by keywords.
  • Twitter is free.
  • Update your friends and family on your activities.
  • View the activity through Tweets of your friends and families.
  • Tweets post instantly. No waiting.
  • One can include links, hashtags for keyword searches and users can re-Tweet and Tweet at another user.
  • As a user, if you react by responding to a question in real-time this can add greatly to your reputation for being responsive business-wise.
  • If a user has a mobile device and is in trouble while commuting, they can Tweet their issue. Situations like this have happened, affecting news and policy.
  • Amber alerts and emergency information (such as in the case of a catastrophes - earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) can be posted immediately to alert authorities and family members of the users present location.

 

 
The Basics of Getting Set Up With Twitter The Negatives
  • One is restricted to only 140 characters, which can be challenging if one has much to say.
  • Depending on the amount of "followers" one's tweets can come quickly and be a little overwhelming as they stack up on one's page.
  • Once in awhile if Twitter's server is at capacity with users, the "Fail Whale" will appear with a message that Twitter is currently unavailable.
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Sarah McNabb - CMNS 545: Communication & Technology - 2010