twitter

Question 1

why is twitter successful?

Answer 1

there’s a need for instantaneous communication and brevity in today’s world —> it’s a way to gain direct access to the thoughts + opinions of those that matter to us e.g popstar or politician

Question 2

what is a key affordance of twitter?

Answer 2

280 character limit - changed from 140 in 2017 —> users forced to adapt way they use language on site

Question 3

what did twitter popularise?

Answer 3

hashtags —> any topic/word/phrase preceded by # symbol is used as a way to categorise messages; seen as ironic slang term that’s used to add humour to everyday conversations

Question 4

what is the effect of character limit on users language?

Answer 4

acronyms of words such as “thank you” and vowel deletion of words like “please” have decreased since character count change, standard spelling increasing by 55% and 22% respectively —> there’s more room for nuance rather than forceful communication so directness that was once seen as rude now allows users to appear more polite and articulate