Personally I don’t care for twitter, and before this class I had no idea why people take part in this communication evolution. I honestly don’t have enough time to update my Facebook account let alone an hourly account on Twitter. Now I understand why people love Twitter just as much as Facebook. It is another communication device to keep people connected to one another when we honestly don’t have the time to do so. Yet here we are in this world where politicians are utilizing this very same communication tool. In an article from the New York Times Twitter, as a Helpmate, Goes to Capitol Hill by Ashley Parker states that Adam Sharp who was recently hired by Twitter to basically help politicians troubleshoot and better acquaint themselves with using Twitter. At first I thought “how can the government benefit from using twitter?” Apparently officials believe that twitter can help in future natural disasters by sending out mass messages which might spread a lot quicker than a local news channel. Well that is something I can applaud-good job Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/politics/30twitter.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=twitter&st=cse
I'm glad to know that so many organizations, especially political parties, are utilizing New Media to communicate with people. The perfect example of this was Obama's presidential campaign, which heavily incorporated internet communication in order to appeal to younger voters (college students in particular). The use of Twitter to relay emergency information is indeed something that should be applauded.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, some people and organizations refuse to use computer-mediated communication technologies. It is quite frustrating, for example, to have to go digging for an organization's phone number in a phone book or search for a professor's office in a directory because they refuse to create a webpage. I understand that whenever a new communication medium is developed, there is a period of time when many people are anxious and reluctant to use it. This is especially true for older individuals who are less willing to adapt to using computer technologies.
It is likely, however, that our children will make fun of us when we can't understand the new technology of their generation.
Twitter, like so many technologies, is merely a tool. It is neither good nor bad in and of itself, it’s value exists entirely in how it its applied. It can be an excellent way for government agencies to get important information, such as info about natural disasters or other emergencies, or even just to spread awareness of particular issues. It can also be a tool to allow elected representatives to communicate more directly with their constituents, unmediated by the formats of television commercials or broadcast news. While many people don’t have the time to attend their Congressperson or Senator’s town hall meetings, they can much more easily follow legislators on Twitter. This is not to say that people shouldn’t still view such messages with a certain degree of skepticism. Politicians are still, after all, politicians.
ReplyDeleteHey Jay, as I was reading your post and read your question of having to imagine a world without instant communication, I laughed out loud and thought to myself, I definitely could NOT. I get so frustrated when people don’t answer my phone calls right away, or take longer than 10-15 mins to reply to a text message. When I read the chapter as it covered each point in history where improvements were made, I kept trying to imagine myself in that time having to use that technology and found it very difficult. I actually thought of the saying, “once you go black, you never go back,” (since my alias is SimplyBlack) and thought I guess the same can be said about technology, once you have experienced the next best innovation, it is hard to ever imagine having to use old forms of technology. But at the same time it is important to learn about those forms of communication, just in case.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on government and twitter. I personally latched right on to twitter when I first encountered it. Facebook, however, took time to grow on me. I was an avid myspace user when I first encountered Facebook, and had trouble seeing why Facebook warranted me diverting attention away from Myspace. A few months down the line I realized Facebook really fostered the concept of simply "who you are", rather than being a self-promotional tool, much like Myspace is. Anyways, government officials seeking transparency could certainly utilize a method a la Twitter to facilitate that, and I don't blame them at all for connecting - AMB
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