5.24: Tweet

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Tweets might be the teeniest, tinest genre of all.\(^{144}\) So, maybe this chapter should be teeny, tiny, too?

Microblogs = Tweets\(^{145}\)

Microblogs are a relatively new phenomenon and are a special form of blogging. The most famous microblog is Twitter, but also alternatives like Tumblr or Google Buzz exist. The main idea behind a microblog is to restrict the size of a message to 140\(^{146}\) characters. This comes from its original connection to texting (SMS). In today’s society with its general tendency toward information overflow this is a welcome trend. This is also why it is very popular with mobile devices.

Microblogging is essentially a broadcast medium, meaning you write a message, which then will be broadcast to all your followers. It is not unusual that you also follow your followers. It can not only be used to exchange textual messages, but also links, images, and videos.

The Goal of a Tweet:

The goal is brevity with hefty content. How can you say what you want to say in the smallest space possible? And\(^{147}\), in order to find other thoughts like yours, use a hashtag.

Want An Example?

Tweet by @JPBGerald on November 13, 2021 says: Lessons on academic writing should really be about helping to cultivate the voice that is waiting to emerge, not forcing people to adopt a non-style

\(^{144}\)Okay, text messages give tweets a run for their money.

\(^{145}\)"Social Web/Blogs." Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. 17 Dec 2014, 14:26 UTC. 8 May 2019, 19:17 <https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=2748518>. Licensed CC-BY-SA.

\(^{146}\)Since this nugget was written, Twitter has doubled the character count to 280.

\(^{147}\)A lot of rules fly right out the window with tweets due to the space allowed.