This past week I've been experiencing the power of Twitter through completely new eyes. For about year now I've had a personal Twitter but I approached it completely different than I have the one I created for UST111, also known as #ust111. Up until this assignment, I used Twitter as most people use Facebook, communication with close friends. As far as my high school goes, everyone has Facebook and people add friends indiscriminately. Only my close friends have Twitter and follow one another and I liked it that way. This made Twitter my way of keeping in touch and Facebook as my way of meeting people better, mostly through Facebook creeping.
This is completely opposite than we discussed in class. I understand how Twitter is used to get to know people because in most cases you don't have to approve the follow as you do in Facebook. This both amuses me and scares me completely. With the use of Four Square that my friends use, I'm constantly worried. Anyone can follow you, see your Four Square location and stalk you. The danger of Twitter seems more alarming to me than harmless Facebook creeping. Granted you can post Four Square to Facebook but so far my experience with it is that people keep it contained to Twitter.
As for the numerous people who said "I'll never touch Twitter after this assignment." I hope you don't abandon it. I haven't seen it at ISU yet but I know on many campuses, Twitter is a HUGE tool in keeping in touch with people. Who's free to hang out, who needs help with the class you took last semester or who knows the best place to get a cheap but completely heavenly sandwich. The whole reason I joined Twitter is to keep up with my friends already in college. I was timid about using it but now I use it all the time. For this assignment alone, I kept up tweeting on both accounts,(Personal: @Megmeg11892 and Hixson: @Mgoneil), plus Facebook. Granted, my personal account was mostly for random inside jokes or complete nonsense that the audience for the Hixson one wouldn't quite care or want to know about.
The assignment was hard, I'd have to agree. It's hard to be completely conscious of people who are grading your tweets, in a way, when you are wanting to share about your life. Just keep in mind that your Facebook is, or will be, under the same watchful eye of future employers so don't take your frustration out on Twitter.
I don't like having something being a representation of me that isn't completely honest of who I am. I'm young, I have a few years until I will be getting a serious job but I understand somethings that I do on social networks will have to come to a stop soon but my philosophy is be honest who I am. If I wouldn't say it to someone in real life, I don't post it on the internet, yet I would say a lot more than some people would want to hear. That's why I didn't turn in my already established Twitter for this assignment.
I guess the summary of this post is: Know your audience. This is the electronic book of your life, what are you willing to share for the world to read?
