Are You on Twitter Yet?
Your Introduction to Tweets and the Twitterverse
Adam Prewett (HBS '08) & Sunil Nagaraj (OA), Contributing Writers
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: News
"I have found it to serve so many functions at once: a way to get news, connect with friends, meet new people, and learn, all while fitting snugly into the Blackberry Bold attached to my hip," says David Levine (OJ).
The service gained notoriety for breaking news of the Mumbai attacks last November and the fateful US Airways crash last month.
By now most of you have heard of Twitter. The Internet's most recent child star is the talk of the town thanks to its meteoric growth, ability to break news before traditional media, and adoption by high profile types like our newly-elected President Obama. Despite its growing popularly, Twitter remains mostly misunderstood by the masses. This article aims, in less time than it will take you to finish your shrimp tempura roll, to fix that problem.
At its core, Twitter is a platform for exchanging short messages - 140 characters to be exact. The limit was imposed to match the length of a cellphone text message and led to Twitter becoming synonymous with the term "microblogging". Once signed up, you can send "tweets" and decide to follow others' tweets. By following someone you will receive all of their updates they post to the platform. The "follower" relationship is one way and the person you follow does not have to follow you. The Twitterverse is a flat society -- it is just as easy to follow a Congressman as it is to follow your childhood friend.
So what does one tweet, you say? Well it can be many things. Tweets range from Facebook status-like updates ("heading back to the Bay Area") to interesting news items ("check out Sandeep's new album - www.tinyurl.com/FromTheOutside") to reflections on the day ("I think my learning team is disintegrating - oh well"). Eventually, you engage your community more deeply and Twitter becomes more like instant messaging, just not instant. By using the @ handle you can send a public reply to someone and start a conversation. Just last week, a debate ensued between members of the RC, EC, Class of 2008 and an HBS professor about whether R&R, the case used on day one of TEM, was a typical example of entrepreneurship (the names have been omitted to protect the social status of those involved). It's a unique experience to "listen in" on a conversation, provided you're following both users, and the ethos of Twitter is one that encourages jumping into the discussion.
The service gained notoriety for breaking news of the Mumbai attacks last November and the fateful US Airways crash last month.
By now most of you have heard of Twitter. The Internet's most recent child star is the talk of the town thanks to its meteoric growth, ability to break news before traditional media, and adoption by high profile types like our newly-elected President Obama. Despite its growing popularly, Twitter remains mostly misunderstood by the masses. This article aims, in less time than it will take you to finish your shrimp tempura roll, to fix that problem.
At its core, Twitter is a platform for exchanging short messages - 140 characters to be exact. The limit was imposed to match the length of a cellphone text message and led to Twitter becoming synonymous with the term "microblogging". Once signed up, you can send "tweets" and decide to follow others' tweets. By following someone you will receive all of their updates they post to the platform. The "follower" relationship is one way and the person you follow does not have to follow you. The Twitterverse is a flat society -- it is just as easy to follow a Congressman as it is to follow your childhood friend.
So what does one tweet, you say? Well it can be many things. Tweets range from Facebook status-like updates ("heading back to the Bay Area") to interesting news items ("check out Sandeep's new album - www.tinyurl.com/FromTheOutside") to reflections on the day ("I think my learning team is disintegrating - oh well"). Eventually, you engage your community more deeply and Twitter becomes more like instant messaging, just not instant. By using the @ handle you can send a public reply to someone and start a conversation. Just last week, a debate ensued between members of the RC, EC, Class of 2008 and an HBS professor about whether R&R, the case used on day one of TEM, was a typical example of entrepreneurship (the names have been omitted to protect the social status of those involved). It's a unique experience to "listen in" on a conversation, provided you're following both users, and the ethos of Twitter is one that encourages jumping into the discussion.
Be the first to comment on this story