How I Used Twitter in 2009

31. December 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Just Zack, Social Media, Uncategorized

I encountered the question “what is Twitter” once again this weekend. After explaining my new social media addiction to a family friend, I asked myself one question: how did I use Twitter in 2009?

From a few simple tweets about sitting in class to communicating with my friends that live across the country, my Twittering (ok, is that even an appropriate Gerund ?) has evolved with time.Also, the individuals I follow have changed over the past few months. First, it was friends. Then, professors and some co-workers. Before I knew it, I followed news organizations, celebrities, university officials, bloggers, sports teams, athletes and even MY OWN MOTHER.

To ring in the new year, I decided that I would list the top five ways that I have found value in twitter (not ranked in any specific order).

  1. TwitPic updates while sitting at an important event. When I was shooting video footage of Michael Pollan’s speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took a quick picture and sent it to twitter. A few people replied saying that they saw me on the floor of the Kohl’s Center.
  2. Staying on top of university news. UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin and academic deans like Lori Berquam update constantly update their Twitter feeds throughout the day. Their comments give a face and voice to the university’s administration. The New York Times even wrote an article about the connection Martin had with UW-Madison students via Twitter when the university was shut down due to severe weather. 
  3. Learning about notable events in my friends’ lives. After a few months, most of my good friends from home use Twitter. When I couldn’t pick up the phone during a class, I read a tweet from one of my best friends explaining that she was selected for an important political internship.
  4. Connecting with teachers outside of the classroom. Yes, teachers actually have lives outside of school and do not sleep under their desks. I frequently sent tweets towards one professor about academic and non-academic messages. Although we didn’t get along in terms of football teams (she’s a Packer fan and I am from Minnesota- you do the math), I felt that Twitter helped me to strengthen relationships with my professors.
  5. Integrating my Twitter updates on other Web sites. Sites like Brazen Careerist allowed me to amplify my voice to different social circles. With a few hashtags here and there, I directed my messages to different outlets. For example, professional focused tweets used the #brazen function for Brazen Careerist while the #fb hashtag updated my Facebook status.

2010 will be an interesting year for social media and the Internet. With evolving dialogues and uses for different networks, I am excited to see what the new year will bring.

Now, I have one question for you: How did you use Twitter in 2009?

Early Morning Thoughts

28. December 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Just Zack

It’s 3:30 a.m. and I have to get up in 3 hours for a family ski trip. Considering the fact that I still cannot fall asleep after laying in bed for the past few hours, I thought I would share some of my current thoughts.

For some strange reason, I find myself being a tad bit pessimistic about social media’s impact around the world. As I read more and more blogs, I see that the line between opinion and pure factual information tends to be blurred.

Now, I am not saying that blogging is bad. Instead, I just want to bring up a simple question: what information can you trust from blogs and social media?

Mashable posted an article a few hours ago stating that over 15,000 people on Twitter label themselves as “social media experts.” When I read this, I guess I was not shocked in any way.

I could refer to myself as a “social media expert.” My online repertoire includes a Facebook, 2 Twitter accounts, a LinkedIn, a Brazen Careerist profile, two different blogs and multiple subscriptions to different blogfeeds/news updates. Still, I don’t think this label would be appropriate.

I don’t have a clear understanding of the long-term repercussions (both positive and negative) of using social media. I have not conducted any scientific research about Facebook or Twitter. So, I won’t call myself a “social media expert” – maybe “social media addict” or “king of procrastinating through social media” would suit me.

When I attempted to look up articles dealing with blogs and credibility, the majority of articles I found were from blogs themselves. This made my head spin round and round. How can I trust information from a blog or Twitter when I may not know who wrote constructed the information on a blog, status update, tweet. etc.

Still, blogging has power and fills a journalistic void as newsrooms find themselves with reduced budgets. The New York Times just posted an article about bloggers sitting front row at fashion show.

I don’t know what I think anymore. I need to go back to bed.

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To read the Mashable article about “social media experts”, click here

To read the NYT article about bloggers invading fashion shows, click here

Facebook Post = Ban from Campus

16. December 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Journalism, Social Media

My dad forwarded me a news article about Amanda Tatro, a University of Minnesota who recently was recently banned from the UMN campus because of her Facebook posts. The Star Tribune reported that Tatro, a mortuary science student, posted messages that others found disturbing and threatening. Specifically, she talked about using a trocar (sharp object used in the mortuary field) to take out her aggression in class.

Although I found the story disturbing, I started to ponder a few questions that I did not (still don’t, by the way) have the answers to.

  • When can police and the law use material from social media outlets as evidence/reasoning for cases in the offline world?
  • Is there a governing body that has created a standard of ethics for the law, stating when it is and is not appropriate to use online-based content for offline purposes?

Earlier this semester, a friend told me about a case in La Crosse, Wis. where police created a fake Facebook account and friended students at a local university to track their drinking habits. Some of the friended students were called into the police station and handed underage drinking citations.

I don’t believe that the police found the evidence of underage drinking in an ethical fashion. Making a false account on Facebook, in my opinion, is wrong and should not stem from the government. Don’t get me wrong when I say that making a fake account is wrong- I follow a few different TV characters on Twitter who don’t actually exist. It’s wrong, however, when the average person cannot distinguish the falsity of an identity online (Mashable posted an article on fake Facebook profiles).

As social media continues to grow and evolve, I feel that large changes in law and ethics will follow.

I might think twice the next time that I post my grumbles about schoolwork the next time that I log onto Facebook. Then again, I would probably talk about throwing my computer out a window instead of using sharp objects.

Read the Minneapolis Star Tribune article mentioned above by clicking here.

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