Practicum Post 2 - Jana

While Twitter is a social media site in which people can post thoughts and comments for others to read, it can also be used as a cyber-environment in which people can interact. The concept of using the "@" signed followed by a username allows users to mention people in a post, send messages, or reply to others. It creates a direct link between two or more users and is capable of acting like a more delayed form instant message or a way in which individuals can comment on other people's posts similar to blogging.

When I first received Twitter as my practicum assignment topic, I thought that it would only be appropriate to immediately tweet about it. Melissa Miller, seeing my tweet, decided to respond and our conversation went like this:

janabelle25: Just was assigned to do a project on Twitter for my Internet class #lifeisgood

melbmil: You're sooo cool, Jana RT @janabelle25 Just was assigned to do a project on Twitter for my Internet class #lifeisgood

janabelle25: @melbmil you know you're jealous. Good luck with the minority groups!

Because these posts were displayed publicly, other individuals who follow both me and Melissa were able to read this interaction. One of our friends witnessed the exchange between us and responded to both of us:

heyguysitroz: @janabelle25 @melbmil minority groups? myspace.

In this example, a direct conversation between Melissa and I was able to be expanded to include another user by the simple use of the "@" sign. The beauty of Twitter is that the environment doesn't confine users to a one-on-one conversations style of interacting. As many users as desired can be included in comments that can fit within the 140 character limit of posts, which enables a wide array of opportunities to socialize with others.

The only factor that may limit interactions with users is the fact that there is an option to make profiles locked. Users with have locked profiles disable individuals from seeing what they post unless they first make a request to follow them. For example, our friend "heyguysitsroz" has a locked profile, so her comment in response to me and Melissa will not be able to be seen by people that do not follow her.