Jerry-Jordan Kane
Mrs. Crain
English 101
10 February 2015
Tweet! Tweet!
Social networks have been taking over the internet for over a decade now. Myspace initiated the trend in 2003. Facebook was the next big site created in 2004, but was not really relevant at first. Eventually, around 2006, Facebook took off. Now, Facebook is slowing fading, and a new social network site has come about. Twitter was created in 2006 but did not become popular until 2010. Twitter has blown up rapidly. For example, as seen in Twitter: It's worth how much?!, “...the microblogging site, priced at $26 per share, is officially worth more than $18 billion.” However, Twitter is evolving into our lives, and it is only right if you know how to properly use it.
First things first, you will need a cell phone, tablet, iPod, or any other mobile device on which you are capable of downloading the Twitter app. When it comes down to creating a Twitter account, you will be asked to provide a verified email and a password. Make sure that your password is not something simple and only you know. It is dangerous if you do not because people love to hack into others’ personal lives on social networks. If you create a Twitter without a verified email then your use on the app will be limited – just like on any other social network. Once you go through that stage, you will need to create a “@name”. Your @name is your personal name that people can use to search you or even tag you into a status. Everyone on Twitter will have one, and more than likely, this is how everyone will know you.
Social networks are not hard to use or learn to use. However, Twitter is not really a social network. As Will Oremus stated, “It is better described as a social media platform which connect publishers with their public. Twitter’s chief function is to help people keep up with what’s going on in the world. In that regard, it’s closer to a news service than a social network.” In my opinion, Twitter is real easy to use because you do not have to do much. You are given a profile to create and edit whenever you please. First, you will need to provide a profile picture. Most of the time people use a selfie of themselves or a picture recently posted on Instagram. You have the option to add a header which is basically a background picture for your profile. Twitter gives you the option to provide your location. Mainly you put your city or even state. This does NOT mean to put your address. Also, you can provide a bio about yourself, up to 160 characters. If you are using Twitter for business reasons, then you can add an URL. They provide a space for you to post your website. Finally, you are ready to use Twitter. Tweeting-posting/uploading a new status-is the most known thing from Twitter. You are allowed to post up to 140 characters per tweet. Be careful what you tweet because jobs, colleges, and even teachers are watching you whether you know it or not. Many athletes have lost their $140,000 scholarship for 140 characters because they tweeted unnecessary stuff. When you tweet, you