Twitter Adds to Social Networking Craze

By: Nicole Baillargeon
Posted In: News

What is Twitter you ask? It is the latest free social networking craze that has hit the web. If you have the urge to let your friends and strangers know what you are doing every minute of the hour, then Twitter is for you.

You are allowed to update or “Tweet” as much as you like from you computer. Not near a computer and you just need to let someone know that you are brushing your teeth? Send it from a text on your phone. The only catch is that you are only allowed to write 140 characters per Tweet. So brush up on your internet acronyms before signing up.

Be warned though, it is extremely addicting. Sure it’s a little stalker-ish, but soon you’ll needto see what all of your friends are doing or saying. Many celebrities and bands have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon, which allows them to stay in close contact with their fans.

Jimmy Fallon is always asking for suggestions for his upcoming talk shows and the band We the Kings has been offering secret names for fans to go to the box office and get a free ticket for whichever show they are playing that night. According to Time magazine, the most popular Twitter celebrity is British comedian Stephen Fry with 420,654 followers and counting.

Celebrities not your cup of tea? Well, many national news organizations are beginning to use Twitter as a new way to deliver what is going on in the world. Since the news is constantly changing, Twitter provides a quick way of getting a snippet of a story out there before anyone else. The New York Times and MSNBC are just two of the many that are seeing the advantages of using Twitter.

According to the Twitter site, this network began in 2006 as a side project and was thought of by Jack Dorsey. It quickly grew popular and by 2007 Twitter Incorporated was founded. The philosophy is just to keep things simple.

The site itself is extremely easy to manage and update, with the occasional “Fail Whale” popping up because too many people are “Tweeting” at the same time. So the question remains, what are you doing?