Twitter, Blogger, or Facebook?

Which social media site should I use today? When I look across my bookmark bar, I see a row of links that I could easily use to put thoughts onto the Internet. From left to right, I have Twitter, Blogger, then Facebook. I frequent all three of these sites, yet I contribute to them in much different ways. Now - after using all three as mediums of communication - where will I go to write what I want to say?

When I was a freshman in high school, I remember hearing my 18-year-old brother talk about a “face book” he used at his college. I took the meaning literally and thought of a book of faces or pictures. As my friends started to create profiles, I stayed out of the loop. I didn’t need a Facebook. Reluctantly, after my junior year of high school, I joined the site and have used it ever since. Today, I use Facebook to network and stay connected with friends. I see myself as more of a consumer of information than a contributor, so I seldom post on Facebook and keep my information relatively private.

Near the end of high school, my brother introduced me to the world of Twitter. He and his friends had started using the site extensively, and I decided to create an account. In the past two years, I have only written 37 tweets. Most of these are written when I am in a new and exciting place or when I have something random to say - so random that I don’t want to associate it with my name on Facebook. I have 19 followers, and I would guess that only about eight or ten of them actually ever read any of my tweets.

And last but not least, I made a Blogger account earlier this year. So far, I have only written four blog posts - all for the same class. To me, writing on my blog offers me much more freedom than what I post on Facebook or Twitter. I have been writing posts about class topics, but I can see myself using Blogger as a place to write for the sake of writing. I do not feel comfortable posting something lengthy and personal onto Facebook, and Twitter is limited to 140 characters (how much depth can you get with that?). Blogger gives me more room to explore my writing.

When it comes down to it, which site I choose depends on my purpose for writing. If I want to throw out a short, random thought, I will head to Twitter and compose a tweet. If I have something interesting or important to say to a friend of a group of friends, I will jump onto Facebook and write a status or wall post. But, if I actually want to write something longer or say something meaningful and personal, I will use Blogger. I kind of like the fact that soon, my blog will receive very few visits. I’ll be able to write for myself. And although anyone can easily go onto my blog and read my posts, it will be a rare occurrence. I’ll be happy to have a completely public place for my writing - but one that remains relatively private. My views of social networking have changed through the past month. How will you use social media after experimenting with so many different forms?

iGaming

iPhone gaming (let’s call it iGaming) is not your typical gaming. When I talk about iGaming, I mean the new age of video games. These are the ones that are on your iPod, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, or other mobile device. For traditional video games, you need an entertainment center with a television, speakers, gaming console, controllers, cables, and a couch. There is a big capital investment with an Xbox or a Playstation - I can admit that I spent over $1000 on a video game system when I was younger. For iGaming, all you need is what’s already in your pocket.

Accessibility differentiates iGames with more traditional video games. There are two levels of accessibility that I am referring to here. First, accessing the required hardware to play iGames is much easier than playing on a console or computer. Everyone and their mother has an iPod or a smartphone. Once you have one, all you need to do to play a game is open the App Store and hit download. Many of the games are free, and the other ones usually cost 99 cents.

Why do I game? It’s in my pocket! When I have nothing to do, I instinctively reach for my iPhone. I’ll check my email, messages, and Facebook, but flicking through my home screens, I come to my gaming page. This page contains nothing but games. I need folders to fit all of them on one page. Looking at the bottom, I even have two different versions of Angry Birds. (I promise I am not an addict). It’s so easy play a few levels of Angry Birds while sitting on a bus. Or, when I’m bored in lecture, I can whip out my iPhone and choose from almost twenty games to play instantly. Also important, I can play games whether I have two hours or two minutes. Most iGames are not as involved as traditional video games, and you can quickly put them down then pick them back up again whenever you need.

Modern gaming takes advantage of social networking to draw players in. One feature that Apple implemented on its iDevices is Game Center, which tracks your progress in games and compares it to that of your friends and the public. Adding a social aspect to iGaming, the ability to connect with your friends and compete works well. During winter break, my friend and I competed for the top score in Angry Birds. It was rewarding to check my iPhone and see that I edged out my friend’s score - at least for the time being. (He has passed me since then). What I don't understand - how does someone have 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 points?

iGaming has a different purpose from “addicting” games like WoW or Starcraft. I am not the type of person who plays on my iPhone all the time. Many apps go untouched for multiple weeks. I iGame because it is a way of passing time. Sure, I like sitting around and enjoying nature. But when it comes down to it, if I have a few minutes to spare, I’ll fling some birds at fat green pigs. Why do you game?

Why do we tweet?

Why do we use Twitter? We send out 140 character messages for the world to read - they’re even shorter than SMS messages that we use on cellphones. Yet unlike Facebook, Twitter lacks so many features. People compare Twitter’s functionality to that of status updates on Facebook. And Facebook is built upon so many more features (profiles, walls, photos, chat, etc.). So why in the world do we tweet? #whydowetweet

Twitter is based on short spurts of words sent out by individuals to the general public. By default, every tweet shows up on the Twitter public timeline for anyone with Internet access to see. This approach to privacy sits in contrast to that of Facebook. Privacy is an opt-out option that you have to change in the settings if you want to control who sees your tweets. Even with such settings, Twitter has amassed over 190 million registered users who compose over 65 million tweets a day. #somanytweets 

So what is it about the idea of telling the world what you’re up to in 140 characters that attracts so much popularity? Personally, I have never been an avid Twitter user. In over two years with a Twitter account, I have only written a measly 55 tweets. Most of them are from traveling to new locations and going to concerts. I am not the type of person who puts every thought that pops into my head directly onto Twitter - but those people do exist. There are users who write whatever it is that they’re doing or thinking. Some people must feel the urge to alert the world to their every action or idea. But does anyone actually care about this superfluous data streaming across the Internet? #whocares

With my minimal amount of tweeting, I don’t frequent the Twitter website. When I’m bored, I instinctively go to Facebook. Only when I’m really bored and want to procrastinate do I go onto Twitter and consumer information. I don’t view Twitter as a source for relevant information. Do people spend their time reading through tweets? The trending topics feature of the website seems like a good idea to me - but who wants to read through the tweets of millions of Twitter users, many of which have nothing meaningful to say? I’d much rather go onto a reputable news site and read something that I can trust. #canwetrusttwitter

As Malcolm Gladwell discusses in his article in The New Yorker, Twitter builds a network of weak ties. Relationships in real life are based upon strong, personal connections, but social media allows for people to create a broad network of weaker, impersonal ties. Herein lies the strength of Twitter. You can follow people that you would never talk to you nor even know in the real world. From these connections, information can flow that wouldn’t in a world without Twitter. Without access to Twitter, I would never  know what Rainn Wilson was thinking. With Facebook, Rainn would have to accept my friend request for me to see his information, but Twitter’s one-way following lets people hear what others have to say without the need for a formal relationship. #stalkingallowed

I doubt that I will ever change my ways drastically and tweet more often. As Twitter grows as a service and as a company, it will have to adapt its ways. Google and Facebook continually update their sites and improve their services, and Twitter will undoubtedly have to do this, or perish. The question is: how will Twitter change to better suit its users? #onlytimewilltell