Are you a Twitter, Tweeter?

Are you a twitter user? Social media has exploded in these last few years, and in the midst of the facebook, linked in, you tube, etc digital media experience twitter has come to join the pack, yet it stands alone for a few reasons.

• The maximum size of a tweet is 140 characters

It seems absolutely difficult to boil down ideas, concepts, thoughts to that small, yet as a reader of tweets it is a delight to have short bursts of thoughts, rather than reading paragraphs or larger…

We have seen twitter go into motion around the world to immediately report events… the Islamic Spring and  The Boston Marathon Bombings are a few of the ways twitter was front and center, with users documenting the breaking news faster than the news media could get there.

But I have a few questions :

1. Are we being overrun with digital media? – with a potential reporter in each person carrying a smart phone?  How much information can we digest, and what will be the long term impact of this invasion of news, information and social media in our lives.
2. Is electronic communications taking over our lives? I am asking myself how much time i am spending looking at and engaging with such.  The balance should be that more time is spent with face to face communication, and the tasks of life, seperate from the electronic chain on our mind.
3. How is social media changing us as a society, and a world?  I realize we live in a time when events are instantly reported, and the world is wired for immediate gratification.  When i think back to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the news took weeks to flow back to those at home with the full impact of the attack.  Photos, and news articles were slow to come to print, and news of the dead was slowly given to those who lost loved ones.  Weeks.  Now, 73 years later we know within an hour exactly what happened, and can see it instantly replayed for the world to view, we know every detail of the incident, including names, background, and the media even adds a slant or perspective on the situation.
4. And How are we forever being rewired?  Not being cute here in saying rewired, but in what ways have electronic media, including smart phones and social media changed how we spend our days?  How many of us have seen a couple sitting at a table of a restaurant, each on their phone, not talking to each other, but absorbed in what is on their tiny screens..  a breakdown of personal communication.

I actually just listened to something on the radio that was speaking of the long term neurological changes these electronic intrusions have brought to people.  According to neuroscience specialists there is a breakdown of our brain and what is known as “neuroplasticity” or the ability to have an agile thinking brain when kids are exposed long term to video games, and social media.

Another rather interesting, yet sad, side effect of our advancing communicative technology is a breakdown of the personal communications in the family.  We have learned to “tweet” rather than explain.  Our communications are growing more limited, short, concise, and little by little the fine art of conversation is unraveling.

That might be my opinion, but how do you use twitter?  Would you be willing to give feedback?  Take my poll:

If you wish to follow me on twitter, i am “Images In Bloom” on twitter too!

Why follow me on twitter?  You will get the latest news of our business, our products, and our events.  It all points back to this blog, so you can always just visit me here for the information too.  But in case you like twitter… there it is!