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By Dr.
Philip Baczewski, Director of Academic Computing and User Services
It seems that the latest
unavoidable Internet service is Twitter.
Everyone wants you to follow their Twitter post, from friends, to
celebrities, and even news organizations. It seems that no tweet should
go unnoticed.
But, let's pause a bit to explain what we are discussing here. Twitter
is an Internet service started in 2006 that can be described as a
micro-blogging site. By now, we all know that a blog (short for web
log), is an Internet site where those with nothing to say can do so in
hundreds or thousands of words. Or, if you are less cynical, you could
define blogs as the ultimate democratization of observation and
expression on line. Twitter distills that concept down to posts of a
maximum of 140 characters at a time, called "tweets", so that it's
possible to report significant information like what you had for
breakfast or what the weather is to an audience who obviously can't get
more than enough information about the goings on in your life.
To me, Twitter seems like the Internet equivalent of passing notes in
class, which may explain its appeal to the younger segment of the
population. But, the Twitter bug has apparently hit world wide and spans
all segments of society.* When you sign up for the Twitter service, you
are invited to follow the tweets of sports celebrities, musicians, and
others of the celebrity class. You can also follow news organizations
that might be national or
local in order to keep up
with important breaking stories, like the reported appearance of the
Virgin Mary on a pancake. But that's not all. You can
read a
novel 140 characters at a time, or even possibly pursue your
college degree.
Can you stand the heat if your tweet mistreats?
But Twitter may not be without its hazards or
complications. Beware of what you tweet, or you, like
Courtney Love, could be subject to a libel suit if your tweet
mistreats. Likewise, if you repeat a tweet, you might get some heat,
because a tweet, like a blog, may be subject to copyright. That topic
was broached by Dallas's own NBA owner, dot-com billionaire, and
cartoon
star Mark Cuban. He
poses the question as to whether a tweet is private communication
amongst a limited circle, or a publication subject to copyright. Of
course, this is complicated by Cuban's celebrity status, and the
question as to whether his tweet is a comment between "friends" or a
statement in a public forum.
So the next time someone offers you a tweet, you'll know that that is
not a misspoken offer of dessert. It is an entree to a new level of
understanding among people. For example, what can lend more authenticity
to celebrity tweets, than the fact that they may be
virtually penned by ghost writers? But, wait a second -- isn't
Twitter like the teacher intercepting your note and reading it aloud to
the entire class? It's obvious that this whole Twitter phenomenon needs
much more philosophical consideration as long as its done if 140
characters or less. Oh, and if you're wondering, cereal and it looks
like the rain has stopped for a while.
* Follow UNT on Twitter at
http://Twitter.com/UNTnews
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