Fans taking it too far on Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Blake, went from hero to goat in a five day span. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers win a close seven game series against the Denver Nuggets, in the first round playoff series. In game seven of the best of seven game series, Steve Blake had a sensational game. He scored nineteen needed points for the desperate Los Angeles Lakers. That game made Steve Blake become the talk of the town. He was celebrated in Los Angeles for his big performance in game seven.

Oh, how quickly do we forget. The Los Angeles Lakers moved into the second round to take on Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder. In game one the Lakers were blown out. But, the Los Angeles Lakers played an impressive game, and lost by two points only. They lost with Steve Blake missing an uncontested three point shot. It was controversial, since the Lakers best player Kobe Bryant did not take the last shot. Following the game Steve Blake, and his wife were harassed over twitter. Yes, twitter. The oh so friendly giant media outlet twitter that helps peoples promote businesses, have celebrities interact with their fans, and just to have interactions among friends. 

One tweet directed to Steve Blake, and his wife Kristen Blake, "I hope your family gets murdered." From this tweet Kristen Blake responded with one word, "Wow." Kristen Blake would later block a few hundred people from her twitter account. She would later tweet, "Pray for those who abuse you." She reference this tweet from a passage from the Bible. Steve Blake responded to the media after practice with the Los Angeles Lakers, "It's pretty disappointing that there are a lot of hateful people out there, but you move on. I just don't appreciate it when it's toward my family. You can come at me all you want but when you say things about my wife and kids, that makes me upset." Click here to read more of Steve Blake's comments.So this question needs to be posed. Should twitter be monitored? 

Journalists and 24 Hour News Cycle

When I first connected my Twitter account to my phone, I was amazed at the barrage of news I was receiving.  Then I was getting news from Chile at midnight, China at 2a.m., Libya at 4a.m. and it didn't stop.  Needless to stay, I changed the settings to create a set time in which to receive tweets, yet every morning I would wake to anywhere between 20 to 40 new tweets, sometimes even more, and these tweets were stored from the night before to greet me every morning on the happenings of last night.  Journalists now have to compete with a 24 hour news cycle, and for  Joe Weisenthal, he is a shining example of the man versus the 24 hour news cycle.  Weisenthal, along with many other journalists, now have Twitter accounts and the rate at which they release  tweets are astounding.  

Journalists are not just required to report, they blog, they tweet, they vlog.  This also does not include the research and information that they sift through a on a daily basis needed to articulate much of the content that they produce today.  In short, once a story hits the internet, it's already old.  For the average reader today, who consumes data and information at higher rates then our predecessors, the news can't come faster.  In one infograph, it shows how consumers are now getting their news, and the trend is showing a rise in the importance of social media as a means of keeping up to date with the world.  (Click to enlarge the image below.)

However, if one was to look at the bottom of this infograph, it still shows that this data has been compiled from various articles from various sources.  So what consumers are trying to find a better way to aggregate their news into comprehensible trends and data, much like Weistenthal does.  Information and data are at the touch of almost any tech savvy person's hand, but the next big trend is not just social media, but ways to aggregate the news and data, much like through phone apps such as Pulse or infographs such as the one above. 

Twitter causing problems between NFL players

Osi Umenyiora star defensive player for the super bowl champion New York Giants. He has a long history of problems with Philadelphia Eagles star running back LeSean McCoy. After all, both respective teams they play for are division rivals. Osi Umenyiora main problem was with LeSean McCoy on the football field. But, last year LeSean McCoy famously tweeted on twitter about Osi Umenyiora, "Overrated," and he also said Umenyiora was "soft." Osi Umenyiora lashed out to the media regarding LeSean McCoy. He called McCoy, "Lady Gaga," and a "girl." Now Osi Umenyiora recently created a twitter account, and he tweeted about LeSean McCoy, "Happy Mothers Day LeSean McCoy! Enjoy your special day!!" Clearly, LeSean McCoy is not a woman. But, certainly this rivalry is starting to really heat up. Thank you twitter. Check the article out at ESPN.

Nonprofits harnessing Facebook and Twitter

The article Have You Friended Your Favorite Cause? written by Alan Greenblatt discusses the relationship of social media networks and nonprofit organizations. Donate Life America has teamed up with Facebook in registering organ donors. NTEN, Common Knowledge & Blackbaud conducted a survey that found  "the average nonprofit's fan or follower base grew by 30 percent on Facebook and 81 percent on Twitter 2011."

Nonprofit organizations can use social media platforms to help bring their cause to the minds of millions. They must however have a way of reaching them. Just because an organization has a Twitter or a Facebook doesn't mean they will automatically gain followers. People follow other groups for a reason, these groups must offer something of interest to their audience, which brings me to my first point, that these groups have an audience that they must cater to. An audience in the social media sphere has an attention span that is very short and seems to be getting shorter as the days go by. Organizations must take into account that people are busy and don't really have time to read a four page article filled with things they just don't have the patience to read through anymore. They are instead turning to the 140 character limits of twitter to tell their story. This can present as many opportunities as there are challenges.

These stories give people a reason to follow their organizations. They must intrigue the reader and get them attached to the organizations so the organizations can get the information out to their followers. One way that they can do this is by offering their audience a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the corridors of their cause.  Sometimes these big and famous nonprofits can become dehumanized and it is a refreshing experience to be able to interact with those who are working on things that their followers truly care about. These social networks allow their followers to interact with these big nonprofits. It gives a reader the ability to be noticed and interact with people they usually just read about or see in photos.

Facebook and Twitter are still ever evolving platforms in which we all have to adapt to. These companies are still working out how to harness the power of this media to its advantage. They see the opportunities and challenges and obviously with the success of the Red Cross who raised $33 million dollars in aid by using twitter and Donate Life America's organ donation registry teaming up with Facebook it is a worthy place for nonprofits to look into.

Twitter in the 2012 Presidential Election

In a recent Huffington Post article, “Twitter Plays Outsize Role in 2012 Campaign,” author Beth Fouhy discusses the effects of Twitter on the presidency election.  A Pew Research Study has determined that only thirteen percent of registered American voters have a twitter account, however the scope of voters that twitter reaches is much larger.  When a presidential candidate tweets, their followers, as well as the media, pays close attention. News anchors are continuously repeating candidates tweets on national television programs. This is a dramatic change from how voters used to receive a contender’s opinion on a topic. Before, citizens obtained information about presidential candidates through a mediate form, such as a news anchor, newspaper or magazine summing up a candidate’s opinion. Now, the public is able to get facts straight from the source.

In four years, Twitter has transformed the presidential race and the way in which Americans receive information. With the adoption of Twitter by political candidates, as well as the news media, it is vital that Americans begin viewing Twitter as more than just a fad.  Fouhy concludes that Twitter doesn’t have the power to make or break a person with regards to the 2012 election, and I agree with her. Just because a candidate utilizes Twitter doesn’t mean that they will win the election; yet, employing this new form of social networking can’t hurt a contestant.  The more exposure a candidate has, the better. Therefore, utilizing all possible forms of media is imperative for a presidential hopeful to remain in the limelight. As of right now, it is hard to determine the exact effects of Twitter on the 2012 presidential election; but in years to come, we will undoubtedly refer to this election as the Twitter race and marking a new way of campaigning. 

Occupy coverage from Twitter

Twitter can be considered a lame social media. My mom thinks Twitter is for Twits but Twitter can be used as a powerful tool for citizen journalism. Right now Occupy strikes are being broadcasted around the world, mostly from Twitter. I have been following Occupy Oakland on Twitter and feel a sense of urgency to to be part of the movement. Although the only thing I can do to spread the word is to connect the links on my FB and blog about it in class, my re-tweeting will hopefully inform people who are unaware of what is going on. The media will only share the filtered version during a brief segment on prime time TV but reading the tweet updates every minute really gives readers a connection to the event taking place. Strike footage can be followed at the Bay Area May Day site. This example will hopefully show how Twitter can be used as a journalistic tool.

A Question from Twitter

"Parks and Recreation" is a mockumentary series highlighting the idiosyncrasies of the government and bureaucracies alike. This past week's episode continued to follow character Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) in her campaign for city council. It featured the debate between her and her opponent, Bobby Newport (played by Paul Rudd). During the debate, the question panel was played by the journalist characters from the show, who had been notoriously exploitative and ego-centric. They decided to take a question for the candidates from Twitter, sarcastically explaining that, "apparently, that is something we do now." To play up the irony of Twitter users being held to the same accord as the journalists, the Tweet was self-indulgent and rife with short-hand text jargon such as using "2" in place of the word "to," that the questioner struggled through reading.

Silly as it may seem, the show points to a very real phenomenon that is happening amongst the news and politics today. The opinions of the "average citizen" is now being gauged through social media platforms, and users are being encouraged to use their power through these sites to get involved in the media feedback cycle. All shows and businesses are now promoting the use of Twitter as a way of the audience "getting involved" in the entertainment they are consuming. Politicians and news anchors are constantly asking people to Tweet questions and reactions to their guests on the show.    But how much power are we really willing to acquit to the general public? Sure, it is great increase accessibility and to receive publicity on the internet, but in this episode of "Parks and Recreation," we can see how opening the power that was once reserved for professional journalists has the potential of reducing serious journalism to a mere mockery.

The Fate of Newspapers

The debate between digital journalism and traditional journalism continues to heat up. Everyone in the journalism world has been talking about the future of newspapers and traditional journalism. It seems to most people that new technology, especially with rise of digital journalism and social media, the newspaper is on its way to "extinction." Is this even a possibility?

Journalist ABDUL RAHMAN AL-RASHID from arabnews.com offers his opinion on the future of newspapers. In his article named Twitter will not kill Journalism, he argues that this kind of "apprehension" for the fate of newspaper is not reasonable. He points out that newspapers have existed since the 17th century and have yet to cease through some important technological evolutions. However, he does recognize the fact that newspaper may not remain in printed version forever. Looking at the bright side, we may end up having the kind of newspaper with live images like those appear in Harry Potter.

The author also comments on the impact social media have on journalism. He assures others that Twitter will not kill newspapers but instead become a helpful addition to newspapers. As he mentions in the article, "it [Twitter] has enabled interaction with the readers which is impossible in the print media". Twitter can be a platform for disseminating information faster. However, people are still going to refer to newspaper if they are desperate for more details. Because let's be real, how much can you really get out of a 140 letters tweet.

Like the article said, Twitter and digital journalism are not killing newspapers. Newspapers will always exist one way or another. So no fear to all journalists and potential journalists! 




An entry by Ashley Huang

Impulse Tweets

It turns out that Twitter can be a blessing and a curse. Many appreciate the ability to share their thoughts and views instantly but maybe not all thoughts and views should be shared instantly. There have been a handful of cases in Twitters history where people have tweeted something they later regret and are unable to omit.

 "Lessons From A Twitter Train Wreck" writes about the recent impulse tweets that have caused havoc. Joe Cowley, a columnist from the Chicago Sun -Times sexist airplane tweets about ugly flight attendants and his concerns about having a "chick" pilot is one example they brought up. Maybe somebody had too many cocktails waiting for their flight? As if his tweets were not problematic enough, instead of apologizing and trying to redeem himself he deleted his entire twitter account in hopes to erase his tweet bender. Cowley is not alone in his hopeful deletions; Mitt Romney's spokesperson Richard Grenell tried to make his tweets about Rachel Maddow resembling Justin Beiber disappear; but that was just one of the many 800 tweets he's produced, regret and removed. Kanye West is another guilty tweeter, sending out explicit tweets to his "haters" them quickly deleting them.

These outlandish impulse tweets through online interactions are quite entertaining but equally disappointing. The fact that they are coming from not only people but so called "professional" people is frightening but what is even more disturbing is the way in which they handle (or don't) their tweet purges. Even once it is deleted it has been made public and will not simply go away, we all make mistakes but at some point it is time to take responsibility and think before you tweet.

Twitters effect on sports

Twitter has changed the world of sports media. Athletes from major sports are twitting. Yes, high paid athletes are tweeting, and sharing their thoughts to the media world. The scary part of professional/collegiate athletes twitting, no supervision. All franchises in sports have a PR department. The PR department helps keep a positive image of players from their respective team. But, with twitter athletes are able to convey their thoughts to the public. They are able to address their political views, contract disputes, and whatever they feel like. Twitting may cause professional athletes to receive heavy backlash for comments they make. However, twitter does allow professional athletes to communicate with fans, and help economically as well. This article that I  came across is quite interesting. It discusses the negatives of twitter, and gives examples of incidents where it cause harm to their sports. One example the articles mentions that NBA owner Mark Cuban criticizing the officials during a basketball game. So the question is asked, should twitter be regulated, and should professional athletes be banned from using it? Check the article out.
 
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/199735-the-twitter-effect-on-sports

-mansoor paghmani

Here is an interesting article from Poynter which asks the question: Is Twitter ruining Journalism or is Journalism ruining Twitter.  

“We saw a seemingly endless number of journalists spend the very early hours frantically live-tweeting every possibly interesting bit (and plenty not) of Rupert Murdoch’s testimony… It certainly wasn’t helping them get their news articles published in a more timely fashion! And it not only didn’t result in any revenue for their news organization, it didn’t even result in any revenue for the writer in the course of his job duties.”

LA Riots Revisited

Today marks the 20 year anniversary of the Los Angeles civil unrest that occurred because of the Rodney King verdict. As mentioned by professor Losh in class, the Rodney King beating was one of the first events in which citizens recorded and widely spread the incident, giving the situation a different perspective.

Image provided by Colorlines

Now it is not so uncommon for citizens to document and spread crucial information through social networks such as facebook or twitter. In remembrance of the famous incident, @RealTimeLARiots is retweeting the information gathered during the series of events that led up to the riots as they would have occurred at their exact moment. The last tweet will be the verdict on April 29 at around 3pm.

I find this form of archiving very interesting as it displays not only the power of new media, but the influence it has on our present culture. Revisiting these series of events also allows me to place into context how similar incidents are still occurring today. Projects like these may be able to hold our society accountable or at least be a reminder that we continue to struggle for social and racial equality.


More information can be found on the following link.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/04/livetweeting_the_los_angeles_riots_as_they_happened_20_years_later.html

Corgi Wars and Influential Tweets

When Jen Doll from the Atlantic Wire wrote "Seriously, What's so Great about Corgis?", she didn't realize that it would inflame a small riot on the Twittersphere. The hashtag followed as such; #CorgiWars. When I received a tweet from David Carr, a respected New York Times journalist, I was intrigued to say the least.

There were a series of tweets and people came out to declare their stance on Corgis. Needless to say, Doll wrote in response to the comments, refusing to recant.

As absurd as the situation above sounds, it still points to the fact that tweets, such as the one above, are influential and the sudden rise to defend a breed of dog is another small example of this. Yet despite this, the web that consists of Tweets and Twitter feeds are not created through connecting users, but is fueled by the make-up of the tweet. According to Jared Keller of the Atlantic Wire, it is the phrasing of a tweet that draws users in. It is not the sheer number of followers that an individual has, but the right wording and use of hashtags that influence fellow users. However, the number of Ashton Kutchers followers would beg to differ. To quote Keller, "Could Mr. Kutcher's messages about Nikon's new camera overwhelm hundreds of tweets about Trayvon Martin from hundreds of smaller, less-connected individuals?"

Influence in the Twittersphere is not made up of celebrities, but of trending topics. These topics vary from the mundane (i.e. #CorgiWars) to the more relevant (i.e. #Syria, #GOP)and despite this, it shows that Twitter is a space in which a person can have the same amount of influence as a celebrity may. They may not necessarily have the same followers, but it shows that a well written Tweet with the right hashtags can be used as an influential tool. The above image, provided by Indiana University, shows trending topics and the spread of a tweet with "Nodes represent[ing] Twitter users, and directed edges represent retweeted posts that carry the meme. The brightness of a node indicates the activity (number of retweets) of a user, and the weight of an edge reflects the number of retweets between two users." In essence, tweets are put to the test and if it relevant enough it will be passed on. Many organizations have utilized Twitter to provide news and information, including members of the press. If news organizations can utilize twitter better with the right words, than readers can be drawn in. It is up to them to make use of the 140 character limit. Corgi or no corgi.