Twitter

I believe that a blackboard/blog conversation has a lot more depth and can be much more engaging than a Twitter conversation. The fact that you only have 140 characters to work with can be extremely limiting when it comes to getting all your points across. I personally prefer a blackboard/blog conversation because they give you the freedom to say as much as you want to say.

On twitter I followed Gamestop for a business and Gov. Pat Quinn for a politician. Their respective posts could obviously not be more different. The Governors posts are obviously all political and revolve around a new budget proposal. Gamestop however, lets me know what sweet game deals are going on right now. Save 20$ on NBA2K13? sure..thanks Gamestop

Social Media

When thinking of social media I immediately think "Facebook". However, I know that social media at its most basic is just a tool that allows us to virtually communicate and interact through some type of network (the internet). Web based applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Secondlife, and possibly even Myspace (even though I think MySpace is mostly music sharing now) all allow us to utilize the internet to communicate with each other. To share ideas, videos, and maintain some friendships that would most likely no longer exist. I believe it is one of the internets biggest contributions to modern day society. People even utilize sites like "Monster.com" to find employment and possibly secure a better future for themselves and their family. For as much as I support social media I still think it is very important that we continue to utilize traditional means of communication (talking on the phone, meeting up with a friend). If a person were to only communicate via social media to everyone that enriches their life, then that would most likely be a very lonely person.
Until very recently (like last monday recently) I only really utilized facebook for social media interaction. Of course Youtube has been a staple in my life since its early days, but I only watch the videos (ive never uploaded). Currently I am on Facebook, Twitter, and Secondlife. If I had to pick one that I could not do without it would be Facebook. I made a lot of friends while I was in the Marines and many of those friends are still active. Without facebook I would most likely lose touch with a lot great people who have made a large impact on my life. Thats not to say that I couldn't use twitter for the same purpose. The article that talked about the professor using it for class communication and input really puts into perspective just how many different ways we can use these type of social media sites. Ideas like that can really liven up a classroom and keep a students attention. Although if afforded that opportunity I could not guarantee I wouldn't sneak in at least one message to a friend during class.