At first I had been hesitant to admit to having one. A friend told me I would like it if I just try it.
When I gave in, she set everything up for me. I didn’t do it very often at first, but as time passed, I found myself doing it more and more.
In the beginning, I followed people, not like a stalker, only to see how others played the game. I liked to see what other people had to say before I opened my mouth, to add a thought or comment, one that would be limited to 140 characters in a tweet.
Originally, I thought Twitter would turn out to be a failed social network. I probably had my Twitter account set-up for a good six months before I reached my tenth tweet. My friend set up my Twitter to my cell phone, making for a convenient way to communicate. Without a smart phone and internet, I can’t update my Facebook. I’m not complaining though, I see others being addicted to social network sources.
Having access to an online social network on your cell phone is far too convenient. Far too easy. I enjoy tweeting about various topics, at my finger tips.
However, I don’t enjoy conversing with someone as their fingers are busily pressing buttons, focusing on an incoming message. Our generation could have more common courtesy than that.
I’ll admit, my favorite part about Twitter is using #hashtags for trendy topics. I don’t go online to read many of the hashtags, though it’s a convenient way to check hot topics and see what others are saying. I personally like to use hashtags like #captions.
#Hashtags are as creative as the person developing the caption for the brief statement they are sharing on the internet with the world. In my creative writing class, my professor asked students to write down a list of writing they are exposed to. This included writing classes, writing stories or poetry and Twitter. I do #alltheabove and it occurred to me how, as a writer, I can keep using Twitter as a creative outlet and not just a social network.
I don’t use my Twitter in a way that I’d be afraid of a future employer reading over my tweets. I use it in a way to demonstrate my sense of humor, as #corny as it can be. I get my sense of humor from my dad, the jokes are known as #dadjokes. I tweet about activities I’m attending or working on. Common trends for a #studentjournalist will include #writingarticles. Other common trends as a #collegestudent will involve how much #ILoveCollege. There’s so much to talk about in the #Dub-C, there’s so much happening #canwetalkaboutit?
While attending campus sporting events, I’ll be tweeting about why other colleges will #FearTheRam. Students will be cheering on the Rams and favorite athletes. #ComeAtMeBro. Don’t forget about #homecoming. Hopefully the attendance at #football games will be as high as it is during #homecoming. I have plans to stick around for #halftime to watch the performance of the #Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band.
There’s so much to look forward to in #life and during your #collegecareer. So much that the #lasttimeIchecked, you might not be able to do everything. #Planaccording for this year and your future years at #WCU. When reaching #graduationday, the #nextyear, those students will now be alumni with a #dipolma. Hopefully you’ll be #alumni with a #job. I have faith in graduating #GoldenRams to #succeed.
College students, and recent graduates, seem to be more commonly using Twitter. This #socialnetwork can lead to #real-life interactions and gatherings. I’m not talking about #longhashtags. If you follow #trendingtopics you could easily #findplans even if you didn’t directly get a text or a phone call to join on plans.
#Socialnetworking can actually turn into a #socialinteraction when a tweet can find you able to attend plans, no matter how #lastminute it seems. I have read pointless tweets about what foods friends are #craving. Other nights I’ve read #simpletweets that ended up #makingmynight as I then #spentthenight with #friends.
I’ve heard
people say they go on Facebook on a Friday night and read friends’ statuses to find plans for the night. I have the convenience of getting messages on my cell phone so I don’t need to find the internet and act like a #stalker to find plans.
Facebook and Twitter alike could broadcast plans for the night which helps friends get a hold of one another. Instead of doing this, the best option would be to send a mass text message to friends.
I’m accustomed to using Twitter to the point that I forgot it originated with celebrities. Myspace let bands broadcast their original music. Facebook let celebrities and infamous people spread the word about themselves or a promotion. Twitter can do the same by reaching out, in a different form, from friends to friends.
Recently the News Editor, Angela Thomas, and I, have sent out tweets from The Quad account to update our readers. Follow us, @TheQuadWCU, on Twitter for more updates about topics in our newspaper and events on campus.
Ginger Rae Dunbar is a fifth year student, majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at RD655287@wcupa.edu.