Up until recently, I have been openly judgmental towards Twitter and secretly a bit intimidated. Judgmental because of all the articles that I have read about how it was a forum for narcissism and self promotion. Intimidated because I didn't really feel like I had anything worthwhile to say (and fearing that I would be silently judged as narcissistic and self-promoting).
But because my research and a genuine curiosity of how the "Twitter-sphere" worked, I decided to actually login into my account that I had opened years ago (I believe I only signed up to get some sort of free gift card from Amazon.com).
It has been nothing short of a revelation! It is pretty awesome. The main reason is because it has been a great source for news information.
The way that we consume news is totally different in our connected age. As my previous post mentioned, more and more people are turning to their social media networks for their news. Back on July 1, 2013, Google decided to shut down Google Reader. This really caught me off guard and I was actually pretty upset. I had signed up for a number of RSS feeds and I liked my "recipe" of news, shopping bargains, spiritual discussions, and sporting updates and was really disappointed that this was now going to change.
I remember reading the following quote a number of months ago that explained the reasoning behind the Google Reader shut down. I didn't fully understand its meaning at the time but I am slowly beginning to see some of these changes even in my own life. Richard Gringras (a Senior Director of News & Social Products at Google) told Wired Magazine back in June 2013:
"As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process. Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day - replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day."
My use of Twitter fits in line with what Gringras was talking about. In the same way that Facebook became an interesting source of news for me, Twitter took this to a whole new level. I didn't have to scroll down my Facebook News Feed and skip cute baby pictures, food pictures, and random personal updates in order to find interesting articles that people posted. Now, all these news article were right there for me to read.
My first step into the Twitter-sphere was to focus on news sources. Rather than following people, I decided to simply follow a few interesting new sources. I started with some of the major Christian Publications and slowly began to add and delete sources that I found interesting. My 1st few weeks on Twitter simply comprised of getting a steady dose of news articles from Christian news sources. I purposely tried to get a wide variety of theological perspectives as well. It was a great way to think about things that I wouldn't normally think about. It was also helpful to get a worldview perspective that was obviously congruent with my own faith and practice.
I've slowly been adding other types of news sources. I began to add some interesting technology and culture based sources and I am slowly adding in my sports and bargain shopping feeds as well. There are a number of individuals who I am also tracking. Their hashtag names pop up quite a bit and I may slowly add specific individuals who seem to be reading the same things that I am reading. My old Google Reader "recipe" may be gone but the Twitter one is as good and definitely getting better.
The funny thing is that I haven't tweeted a single thing yet. I still don't think I have anything original or helpful to say yet. At the least, I am going to start "re-tweeting" articles that I find helpful and interesting that don't make it on this blog. Without sounding too narcissistic and self-promoting, you can follow me at @youwan if you are interested. :)
I have a different feeling about Twitter, perhaps because I'm old and cranky and was once a newspaper journalist. In my view, what counts as news on Twitter is nothing more than a constant flow of brief phrases -- headlines really -- mostly presented without verification and without sources that can be used to verify them. Because of that, accuracy often takes a back seat to the viewpoint being communicated. Also, someone skilled in the use of social media can easily start rumors and tailor “facts” to suit a social or political end. Once such a rumor takes hold, trying to correct it is like gathering feathers in a hurricane. Call me Old School, but I want to know the story behind the headline, and the sources for that story. Only then can I hope to make sense of what is being said or what is happening.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on what you use it for -- obviously, super sensitive material (the stuff of journalists) is a bit suspect, but in terms of how this may be applied to church/ministry, I think it could be a lot more useful in terms of keeping congregations updated, making some quick connections, etc. etc. (I wouldn't livetweet the elder/deacon meeting, however...).
ReplyDeleteI'm just now crossing over into actually tweeting myself this semester, for TA purposes -- I'll see how it works in terms of the classroom.
Like any aspect of culture, I think we need to exercise discernment. The exercise that I am suggesting above is to curate a news stream that can serves as a source of helpful information. Many of the large Christian news sources (The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, etc.) have a steady stream of tweets that are basically the headlines from their home page. It is interesting to see all of these headlines in one place. Just looking at two different articles from two different sources can be a source of tremendous theological reflection.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way as @CarltonHS in that I am still very suspicious about "news" that breaks on social media. Too easy to create rumors. That is why I am just starting with major sources of news and slowly branching out. Maybe I should have titled my entry, "Tip Toeing in Twitter."