Twitter Fan From Way Back

 This week, Vanessa posted in the official EME6414 Blog about comment responses from people regarding twitter. Incidentally, while I don't use it as often as I used to, I am a fan of this particular platform. 

I first created my twitter account in 2009 as part of a campaign tool for FSU's student government election season. The organization I was associated with decided that we should use twitter to reach out to the student body to ensure our candidates were elected into office. I did what I was told and created the account, but after we won the elections I had a difficult time determining how this form of media fit into my life. 

I was still very active on Facebook, and that platform had only just expanded membership to anyone, as opposed to only students with a valid .edu e-mail address like when I joined in 2006. While I was not a huge fan of the increased users, I did like the enhanced usage of status updates, and the incorporation of "likes." As a student leader, I was constantly updating my Facebook status, alerting friends, residents, and other peers of events going on around campus. As a way of interacting with others, I would like other peoples' posts as a show of support -- I was even given a superlative at an end-of-year banquet awarding me "Most Likely to Like Your Facebook Status," which I accepted as a high honor!

As I completed my degree and went on to join the workforce, I found that I had fewer status updates to contribute to Facebook -- after all, I was no longer part of campus life. However, the spirit of the status update, or the stream-of-consciousness flow of thoughts and ideas captured in small posts, found new meaning on twitter. There, I was able to post what wanted and ineract with people outside of my immediate community. I mostly followed friends from college, but I found that I could also follow humor accounts, authors, or even shows I enjoyed. I learned about "hashtags," and how incorporating one into a post made it viewable outside of my circle. I became obsessed with live-tweeting, or keeping a running commentary of awards shows, sporting events, or live specials. My interactions also awarded me free perks, such as a gift box of branded items from hostel finding travel site hostelworld.com after I used them for a trip and tweeted about my experience, or vouchers for free pierogies after the company Mrs. T's used my tweet during a special broadcast.

Today, I use twitter less than I used to -- I don't have cable, so I don't live-tweet, and I prefer to interact with my peers on Instagram. However, I recently returned to it to use it as a resource. There are podcasts I started listening to at the beginning of the year who focus on special issues, and I have used twitter as a jumping-off point to learn more about the particular issues, follow guests who have been interviewed, and educate myself. I appreciate that all of these resources are in one place, and easily accessible on social media; however, I can also keep them separate from my other social media accounts.