Twitter has been something that I have refused to be involved with for the past year until about this summer, when I became a member. I always felt like a second social networking tool (aside from facebook) is something that I just didn’t need to take up more pointless time in my life, when I could be doing things much more productive. Although, when I joined twitter, I realized that it was much more than social networking. It’s something that has evolved within our culture and a phenomenon that has swept the world and given us a new appreciation for technology.
After reading Orenstein’s article, “I Tweet Therefore I Am,” I found that I am not the only one that twitter has influenced so greatly. When she described herself sitting with her daughter in the lawn listening to E.B. White, she couldn’t help but think of what she was going to tweet next. This happens to me more often than I would like it to, but at the same time, the perspective on our self-consciousness is changed greatly, into something new that we have never experienced. I find it particularly interesting and am fascinated by this.
Also, Orenstein mentions how easily it is to get “hooked” to twitter. I, myself am not one to become addicted to things, but twitter is definitely an exception. The wide range of users throughout the world, and the connection between everyone is as simple as 140 characteristics. We are able to find out what Lady GaGa is eating for breakfast in a simple down scroll of our timeline! It’s outrageous the capability of what twitter has in store for us, and also what we have in store for twitter. Johnson made a good point in his article how, as much as twitter is changing our lives, we are changing twitter just as rapidly as well. Even the creators of twitter couldn’t have imagined the ideas we have come up with!
I am extremely interested in following up with these articles and discussing these ideas within our class. I love incorporating ideas into the classroom that actually influence my daily life, because I feel like I have stronger opinions toward these topics and will be able to actively participate in class conversation. I’m excited to hear/see what everyone else thought about these articles!