Tagged: social media

What do college students think about Twitter?

Recently, I asked a couple of college friends to share their thoughts about the micro-blogging platform Twitter. They are in their early 20s, come from different ethnic backgrounds and pursue different academic careers. Based on my observations, they adequately represent the common college student opinion about the platform.

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What are the facts?

  • All knew about Twitter.
  • Most were confused about the way it works.

Why don’t they use it?

  • They think it is celebrity-oriented.
  • They see it as an intrusion to their personal spaces.

What could change?

  • Smart phones
    When smart phones become ubiquitous to the extent that college students can afford them, the use of Twitter might expand in these communities.
  • Friend influence
    Twitter will become more popular if college students who are early adopters exercise influence on their friends. One is more willing to join a space that serves familiar faces.

The Medium Is The Message: Social Media Against Kanye

2945559128_53078d246bReading about the recent scandal with Kanye West, I can’t help but think of Marshall McLuhan’s famous quote, “The medium is the message.” And today’s message is clear: multimedia and social networking platforms condemned West’s disrespectful attitude at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The rapper grabbed the mic from country singer Taylor Swift while she was accepting her Best Female Video award. He then said that Beyonce’s video was one of the greatest videos ever created, implying that Beyonce, not Swift, was the one who deserved the award. As a result, Swift stood on stage confused and unable to thank her fans.

Within seconds of this incident, however, the community reacted. Users uploaded YouTube videos of themselves voicing their anger from West’s inappropriate behavior. They posted updates on their Facebook pages and tweeted about it. They even created polls to measure people’s condemning or supportive views. The social response was tremendous and immediate.

Photo credit: Matt Hamm

Next Reading: Losing the News

Losing the News, a new book by  Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Alex Jones, quickly became the number one priority on my reading list. “Alex’s thesis,” writes Diane Francis, “is simply that the implosion of the business model for traditional print and broadcast media is creating a vaculosingthenewsum in the type of news gathering, analysis or revelatory investigation which is in the public interest.”

We are certainly losing the news in its previous form. Now, the ability to click away changes the reader’s behavior. A blogger’s specific geography and experience challenge an increasing number of newspaper articles. Not to mention the difference between the advertising models of print and online media.

Alex also distinguishes bloggers from journalists by several abilities among which “bearing witness” to an event and “following up.” With this one I will have to disagree. Blogging and social media are all about bearing witness to events that others haven’t seen or cannot see, whether the story takes place in a northeastern Bulgarian village or on Park Street, New York.

Bloggers also have the potential to craft follow-up stories. Many writers in the blogosphere are passionate about the issues they cover and have concentrated on specific fields like healthcare, politics and entertainment.  Willingly selecting what to write about, they show passion and seek answers. This usually means they will want to follow up.

Yet the concern such thoughts raise in my mind have to do with the source’s objectivity. There is a lot more space for skewed opinions and biased blog articles. There is a lot more space for moderation of comments. There is a less developed (or more likely nonexistent) ethics system in the blogosphere.

In the midst of a series of ethical concerns that need to be addressed soon, one question stands out as most urgent: copyright issues. As Alex writes, “ The free riders are using content that they don’t create to build juggernauts of Web advertising power while the originators of the content are struggling.”

Photo Credit: The National Post

Why Concerts Remind Me of Social Media

concertThree hours ago I was clapping my hands and cheering loudly to the song Goodbye by the Bulgarian rock band Signal. I became a part of something huge–a rising wave of voices and music. In the midst of my euphoria, I thought about how much this culture reminded me of social media.

It is funny how at concerts I consider my voice vital. Without me, I think, the public won’t be loud enough. So, I let my voice slice the air and I clap as hard as I can. But when I take a break to have some beer, I get a reality check: I hear the crowd cheering pretty loud without my help.

Similarly, many users of social media consider their voices vital. Without your interesting interactions, comments and photos, you may think, social networks won’t be half as fun. Well, have some beer because it is time to get another reality check: the online community will be doing as well without you.

Both concerts and social media are not about you in the singular. They are about the entire music-loving audience or the entire networking population. The goal of both activities is to unite a community with similar interests and make it stronger and more fun as a whole.

At concerts, there is this brief but nonetheless palpable moment when you become one with the culture around you. And you can express it by shaking your head to the beat of the music or holding the hand of the person swaying next to you. Either way, you are achieving the ultimate goal of concert-attending—connecting with people. Isn’t it the same with social networking?

Capital Setting the Pace for Bulgaria’s Press

Skimming through the headlines at a newsstand in Varna, I felt disillusioned. They were all dedicated to a Big Brother contestant and the former Prime Minister’s sexual orientation.newspaper

The magazines, spread out haphazardly among the yellow tabloids, dealt with beauty tips and love advice. As I was losing all hope for a good read, I saw a thick, nylon-wrapped newspaper peeking at me with its catchy political front page.

Капитал (Capital) saved me from drowning in complete disillusionment with the Bulgarian press.

Launched in 1993, the weekly newspaper offers well-written articles on the country’s politics and economy. Some lead stories demonstrate good narrative journalism. The content of the articles overflows with interesting comparisons that better inform the reader. For instance, based on several Capital articles, I was able to carry out a very fulfilling political conversation recently.

The newspaper’s lay-out complements the content quality. Capital’s pages contain a healthy mixture of charts, photos and images that facilitate the reading process. Well-balanced are the produced images (like the one of a waving skeleton) and the real photos (like the one of the Belene nuclear power station). Featured are also political caricatures.

What impressed me the most, however, was Capital’s use of social media. The newspaper is active on both Twitter (with nearly 300 followers) and Facebook (with over 2 370 fans).

Capital definitely uses Twitter more efficiently than the biggest media channel in Bulgaria bTV. Unlike bTV’s long yet incomplete tweets always ending in dots, Capital writes well thought-out updates. It interacts with followers and responds to mentions in a timely fashion. In addition, Capital features Tweet of the week in its print edition. How cool is that?

Photo Credit: onlinewoman

** Correction: bTV doesn’t have a Twitter account. The one I mention above is created by a person not affiliated with the televizion.

Social Media Changes the Game of Silencing People

What’s the best way to silence one? Silence all, teaches yesterday’s Denial of Service attacks against the largest social media sites.
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Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal and other social networking and blogging sites were attacked in attempt to silence a blogger in the Republic of Georgia known as Cyxymu. Cyxymu was supposedly using his blog to criticise Russia for last year’s military conflict with Georgia. This news prompted me to reconsider the ways in which Web 2.0 and new media technologies bring real change to a given sociopolitical reality.

Protests in Iran

The first big social media outcry came with the injustice carried out in the Iranian elections. Not only did the people of Iran protest against Ahmadinejad’s election, but they also blogged and tweeted about it. They uploaded YouTube videos of the protests and wanted their voice heard. According to BBC “Germany, France, Britain and the US all said they would not be sending letters of congratulation to Mr Ahmadinejad.”

Voting in Bulgaria

What influenced my voting decision in the Bulgarian parliamentary elections was a friend’s blog post. As someone who currently lives in Bulgaria and is politically active, she has a better grasp of the situation than I do. She got me curious about Bulgaria’s top political parties and I went out of my way to find further information online in support of (or against) her judgment.

Military Conflict in Georgia

Today presented a third, very strong example of the real change that social media and blogs bring to the world’s sociopolitical landscape. My jaw literally dropped as I read that “Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, YouTube, Google Sites and Google’s Blogger all get attacked yesterday to silence one man.” Good job, Cyxymu!

Photo Credit: Ciudadano Poeta