I really enjoyed reading about who everyone enjoys following in the Twitter world. It seemed that we all have a tendency to succumb to following the large news outlets, sports teams and a few celebrities every now and then. I was very intrigued by Sofia's blog post about sacrificing in the scheme of following people. I agree that there may never be a happy medium between following people you actually interact with and being one of a billion followers on a popular feed. But the exciting aspect about Twitter and a lot of other social media platforms is the possibility for change. It is a constant conversation and unlike real human beings, if you decide to unfollow someone, you can just delete them with the click of a button. I think that finding who you want to follow is a process and I think the way Sofia is approaching it is right on target!

To follow or not to follow

Twitter is very dependent on your followers and as much as I enjoy tweeting about my late night snacking and my pleasure reading, I really look to Twitter as a source for entertainment, news and a couple of good laughs every now and then.

Twitter at times can seem like a lot of work. You are constantly having to update your tweets, scroll through your hundreds (or less :-/) of followers and pinpoint exactly which tweets you want to pore over. Not everyone would call making the choice of who to follow or un-follow a game plan but when I click that blue and white button I made the conscious choice to absorb the particular content that they present. 

When I created my new account, I, more so than my cardinal account, deliberately chose feeds I would find effective for this class. I did not want to overcrowd my feed with nonsensical stories from my friends or pictures from last night's party. I decided instead to follow various types of Lehigh accounts, news sources both local and national, a few Bethlehem organizations, and lastly a couple of entertainers including celebrities just to have a few light hearted tweets thrown into the mixture. 

My favorites to follow are Huffington Post, Obama 2012 and Stumble Upon. My favorite aspect about HuffPost's twitter feed is their stupendous source of news. They tweet about absolutely everything from campaign stories to Lindsay Lohan's most recent hit and run. It gives a broad range of news and it links to the actual article. They are very proficient at grabbing the eye of their consumer with their quick-witted penmanship. Their tweets create an ethical buzz within the twitter sphere. 

I follow Obama 2012 because as a first-time voter I want to stay informed about the campaign that I am choosing to support. As a full-time student, I do not always have to time to sit and watch a full hour of a news report and through his live tweeting, I can read quotes, stay updated on the President's whereabouts, etc. Lastly Stumble Upon because it helps you discover the best parts of the web, without actually having to search for it. You will quickly realize you are not wasting your time, although it certainly feels that way.

Reactions to Twitter/Facebook

I cannot say I was shocked by most of the response from my fellow students. We almost all use Twitter and Facebook in very similar ways. Facebook is the more obvious choice due to its longer existence. It is an accepted means of communication. It is a never ending social gathering in a virtual world! My fellow bloggers seem to use Facebook for many of the same reasons: staying in contact with friends, sharing pictures or using it to find support for an issue or cause. Facebook is an alternative form of entertainment that continuously is changing, for the good and the bad. Jovan mentioned in his blog how he felt the alterations were changing Facebook for the worse. The complexities that have been added make it difficult to operate and he would rather something more usable.  There are still many reasons why people use Facebook and my classmates targeted some of the main points.

Twitter for most of the bloggers felt it to be a more open and public form of communication. It was either a discussion forum or a source for news and articles. Amalia mentioned that her primary reason for using Twitter was for "finding articles, links, pictures, websites..." It seemed that everyone was a pretty active member of both social media outlets, using them daily. I am intrigued to see how this class will infuse the minds of myself and my classmates!

Facebook v. Twitter

            Twitter and Facebook are simply communication tools. They both have evolved and morphed and will continue to do so as the social media field progresses and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Twitter and Facebook are both platforms that play a large day-to-day functionality in my life. To me they both offer very different value, both good and bad. I liken Facebook to a reunion of sorts where as Twitter is more of a open forum discussion. Like a reunion, Facebook is great for connecting with old friends or potentially finding new friends, sharing your favorite things, and representing who you are though photos, status updates, etc. Twitter is a mixture of experts (news sources, politicians, etc) and commoners (me). People are able to speak for a few moments then it is up to someone around them to respond. For me, Facebook is better for connecting, reconnecting and rekindling relationships whether it be with friends or in the case of a brand or a business, their target audiences. Be that as it may, Twitter is better for sharing and gaining information, resources, and knowledge. They are two very different applications, thrown into the same category, “social networking device.” As a result, it can be a struggle to determine the differences between the two and which can be more beneficial in the respective situation. Facebook for avid users is a messaging system, a place to upload and share photos, way to share videos and music and so much more. Therefore, Facebook is a single alternative to all of the various social portals that have been created over the past decade such as Flickr, Myspace or AIM. The difference with Twitter lovers, although the usefulness may not be as readily obvious, is that Twitter encourages constant linking to anywhere and anyone. You are able to ask a question or make a statement and get an instantaneous response.

I doubt I could choose one over the other forever because they both are very valuable in distinctive ways. However, I decided to delve into the reasons as to why I personally like Twitter more than Facebook. With all of its new software and constant updates, Facebook is only getting more and more difficult to navigate and modernize. I have ultimately resorted solely to using it as a picture forum. I share my photos with friends and family and in return receive comments and likes. Facebook requires a severe investment of time before eventually realizing the sustained benefits. I do not have the time nor do I want to use my time in doing so. In addition, all this information sharing has brought the privacy issue to the foreground. In many ways it can be a gross violation of individuals privacy. I understand that by uploading it on to Facebook, it is now in the public domain. However, as seen in the article “Are your Facebook updates humiliating you?” ‘frictionless sharing’ is a perfect example of Facebook’s invasion of privacy. Major social readers are sharing your online activity without your knowledge. I acknowledge that there are ways to move around this type of sharing but it is just an example of another hardship of how Facebook manipulates its users.  

Twitter is more information based and educative. It brings news from all over the world to one single platform and allows access to anyone who seeks it. It user platform is much simpler to use and extremely easy with mobile apps, making it more flexible for users to log into Twitter anywhere at anytime. Lastly, the anonymity of it allows for a type of open communication that cannot necessarily be seen through Facebook’s platform. All solid reasons as to why I love Twitter.

To end my blog post, whether you choose Facebook, Twitter or both, the fact that YOU the user can make the decision is what really makes all the difference.