NGU Skyliner

Kaelyn Pfenning
Copy Editor

Twitter, a social network to post one’s status, continues to impact more and more people with its simple set-up.

According to readwriteweb.com, “Last night, Nielsen Online reported that Twitter has now surpassed Facebook and others to become the fastest-growing site in the ‘Member Communities’ category for the month of February.”

“The ease of use is great. I love the instant connection with friends,” James Eaton, sophomore media ministry, said. “It has changed the way I communicate with friends, family and others.”

North Greenville University students use Twitter in varying degrees and for differing reasons.

“I use twitter many times a day, just whenever I think about it or have something to say that doesn’t quite justify a blog post,” Alex Reynolds, junior media ministry, said.

Some students connect Twitter to update their statuses on multiple social networks, such as Facebook.

“It is different than any other type of site. It is very versatile. My Twitter updates are sent to my facebook, blog and tumbler,” Eaton said.

Twitter began about three years ago and became public in the fall of 2006.

According to twitter.com, “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

“It really is a great tool,” Eaton said. “Any time I ask a question, I get a number of responses in an hour. I have been able to connect and dialogue with church leaders around the country that never would have happened without Twitter.”

While Obvious supported Twitter originally, the site’s popularity produced Twitter Incorporated in May 2007.

“I think (and the research shows) that Twitter has been growing exponentially over the past few months and its growth rate continues to increase,” Reynolds said.

One appeal related to Twitter remains its simplicity in a complex computer age.

“Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter’s success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple,” twitter.com says.

Along with its simplicity, Twitter focuses on one question, “What are you doing?”

“It creates an online culture [of] pure information without the distractions of secondary and tertiary things that could distract,” Reynolds said.

Twitter possesses the capability to communicate quickly and concisely thoughts, circumstances or news.

“I use Twitter for many things, from sharing what I’m up to at the moment of the “tweet” to sharing some sort of piece of information that I have come across that I think I should pass along,” Reynolds said. “It’s also good for just the general funny happenings in life. I like Twitter because I can share small bits of information… micro-blogging.”

Some people differ about the usefulness of Twitter with some apathetic and others passionate.

“I don’t use it, and I’m not that interested to look up how to or why I should,” Meg Kiel, senior interdisciplinary, said.

“It is addictive,” Eaton said, “I have actually given up Twitter for lent. I had really become obsessed with my online persona and building my status. I think Twitter is great, you just have to manage your time.”

Tags: Spring 2009, Vol. 108 Spring - Issue 6

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.