Communicating a wikiHow

    The Twitter Experience         

         Objectively speaking, Twitter is much more than just a social media platform. Not only can one keep in touch with relatives, but also share ideas, market products, even have a revolution. The inherent nature of micro-blogging is designed to focus on relevant information, the limited capacity of words that are allowed not only forces the user to really think about what is being said, but the delivery as well. Twitter can also be seen as an alert system, as seen when citizens of Houston Texas were tweeting for aid during flooding due to the fact that 911 was gridlocked and unreachable. During the Egyptian revolution, social media provided non traditional ways for the people to organize. Giving them the ability to rise up in ways that were previously unattainable, considering the fact that over 60 percent of the population was under the age of 30, it's no surprise that social media had such a large part to play in the Egyptian revolution.

       From a marketing standpoint, knowing how to use twitter is instrumental in today's day and age. Not only because it is free, but also due to the millions of people who are on twitter on a daily basis advertising on twitter is much more cost effective than advertising on television. Marketing on twitter is also much less intrusive, considering the fact people have the ability to just close the app as apposed to needing to watch the advertisement in real time waiting for the program that was being watched to resume. Instead the user has the ability to simply unfollow things that are irrelevant to his or her life, fostering a truly positive experience geared around the likes and dislikes of the user.

       Twitter has also given the average person the ability to be an amateur journalist, giving anyone the ability to report news in real time, forever changing the landscape of news. The public acted with a universal accord no longer relying on newsroom anchors or reporters to deliver a story, instead micro blogging the day to day occurrences and critiques taking place in the world. However , this also raises questions concerning the validity of the information being tweeted. For example, after the explosions during the Boston bombing, just as much disinformation appeared on twitter as valid information, creating what Mr. Roller refers to as the “funnel of news.”Meaning that in times of crisis, or large scale events, there is so much information being spread around both factual and non factual that it is sometimes difficult to ascertain the truth from the lies.

      Politically however, Twitter can be be an asset as well. As shown after the terrorist attack in Paris, the entire world has the ability to rally and show support in adverse situations, everyone from Justin Beiber, to the leader of Saudi Arabia King Salman. Tweeting that “the heinous attack in Paris was not sanctioned by country or religion” and #prayforparis in an attempt to show that the rest of the world stood behind the mourning country rocked by these attacks and that terrorism had no place in this world.

      Other countries followed suit, tweets showing support for Paris spanned six continents, all rising up in unique ways to show that under the right circumstances, social media had the potential to politically motivate the entire world. Twitter also has the potential to be used as an organizational tool, in 2011, Twitter was paramount in the success of unseating incumbent president Mubarak in the Egyptian revolution. This also has been known as the Twitter uprising, or the Arab spring. Which lead to a mass protest is Tharir square, in which the end result was the ousting of a dictator. While twitter was only one of the many vehicles used in the organizational process of these political activists, having the ability to share information hundreds of miles with the push of a button was paramount in their success in toppling Mubarak.

       Furthermore, over the last year there has been situations where twitter was instrumental in the communication of these events. One such event was the #MeToo movement, a hashtag that swiftly became synonymous with women talking about being sexually harassed and or assaulted. Twitter played a big part in this movement becoming as large and as successful as it did. Because for the first time, women had the ability to speak out on a mass scale about the sexual assault they had faced, allowing others to know that they're not alone and have someone to stand with. #MeToo has been used in over 19 million tweets in the last year, creating a truly global movement to raise awareness about sexual assault. 

         Another situation where twitter has played a large part in the communication of an event is the American flag protest in the NFL. After San Francisco quarterback Colin Kapernick started kneeling during the national anthem in professional football games in order to protest racial inequalities in America, with opposing sides being drawn quite rapidly. Twitter exploded in discussion,on one side, how dare he kneel for the anthem, it's completely and totally disrespecting the troops! While the other side is saying, the troops fought for the right to protest and it's in the constitution! Hashtags such as #VeteransforKapernick and simply #Kapernick are still trending now. Shedding light on the subject of racial inequality just as Colin Kapernick Intended.

     Lastly, leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, an influx of political rhetoric was apparent. Congressmen, Senators, Governors, even the president were all trying to get their last minute points across, trying to invoke a surge of voters to one of the two represented parties. However in many cases, especially as far as the President is concerned, were using disinformation, xenophobia and blatant lies in order to potentially sway voters to the republican side. However with the ability to fact check these claims, the population instead voted blue, flipping the house of representatives, while restoring the system of checks and balances as well, proving one instance were Twitter worked against the president's motives.

    The first organization that was followed for the twitter project was Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe was a sound choice for multiple reasons. The first being that as a video editor who uses Adobe on a regular basis. The second being that it would be beneficial to see the tips and techniques that were offered on Twitter. 

    The second organization that was followed for the Twitter project was the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City. As an art lover discovering inside information and special events that were marketed using twitter, including special facts about the museum its self and items held within its walls was a driving factor in this decision.

     Lastly, Donald Trump was chosen because he represents the anti thesis to progressive culture. Operating from a structural functionalist perspective Donald trump manages to alienate everyone that is not a white christian male, even alienating some of them in certain instances if his wrath is incurred. Understanding how the opposition functions and knowing what not to do are paramount parts of any success in achieving objectivity.

While blogging is used to convey a topic in as many words as are needed, using a micro-blogging platform such as twitter is much different. The difference lies in the fact that you only have 280 characters to coherently convey a topic and catch someones attention. This really forces the user to focus on the objectivity of the topic, as well as word usage. This is just not the case with other forms of social media, platforms such as Instagram and Facebook allow the production of essays. This does not allow for people to clearly focus on the message, making it longer and more drawn out. With Twitter conveying the message is all in getting right to the point, focusing on the abrupt delivery of relevant information. As twitter continues to change the landscape of the news and entertainment, it will only become a more effective tool that can be used to convey ideas, market products, or even change the world.