Wong Kwan Ting
Introduction
Recent years, microblogging is very popular all over the world. Microblogging is a type of blogging, but it has a small scale than blogging. In a microblog, users are only allowed to post small content within 140 words or a photo only. Nowadays, it is more and more convenient to surf the Internet everywhere. People are able to connect to the Internet by their smart phones and they can update their microblogs no matter where they are. The most famous companies which provide microblogging services include Twitter, Weibo and Plurk.
History of Microblogging
The history of microblogs starts from 2005 and it was called tumblelogs at that time. It was a simpler type of blog which was a quick and good platform to publish people’s work on the Internet. After one year, the term “microblogs” was used by Twitter instead of “tumblelogs”. Then, more and more companies start to provide microblogging services and each of the providers has its own characteristics. For instance, Plurk has a timeline view which shows the statuses, photos and videos of the user in a form of timeline. This helps people share information and news more quickly and efficiently. Due to the fast development of the sharing platforms on the Internet, the Internet has become a place where breaking news and new ideas come out. The news and ideas can usually spread all over the world after a short period of time.
Benefits of Microblogging to the Business
The main characteristic of microblogging is the function “follow”. The microblog users are able to follow other users so that the most updated statuses or photos are pushed to the followers’ news feeds. The followers are able to choose what updates they want to get. Moreover, as microblogs are mainly public to all people, microblogging is a very good platform to promote business. Because of the popularity of microblogging, a lot of corporations, such as Dell, Apple and Microsoft, have microblogs on Twitter or other microblogging service providers to deliver their exclusive news or most updated products and services to the public. For instance, Microsoft posted a video of the new Xbox Live Experience on their Twitter recently. The video is just like an advertisement or a TV commercial on the Internet but it is totally free of charge. The companies do not need to pay a cent to publicize their products and services on the microblogs. The microblogs are also good places for marketing and public relations. The Sysomos study reveals that the group of marketers is more active than general users on Twitter. 15% of the marketers follow more than 2000 people but only 0.29% of the general users follow more than 2000 people. [1] Apart from companies, the film stars and singers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland China are very common to use Weibo to share their daily life to their fans. Through microblogs, the stars are able to promote their recent work. Furthermore, they can build up a good image to their fans and the public. This could help them attract more opportunities on working. Hence, microblogging is also a great and convenient promotion platform to the public figures.
Privacy and Security on Microblogging
Apart from the benefits that microblogging brings, there are some issues which we need to aware. For instance, privacy is a main concern on microblogging. The users of microblogs may post some personal information such as telephone numbers or addresses on their microblogs. As their microblogs may be seen by the public, the personal information may spread at a very fast rate. Moreover, it is not secure even if the users set up privacy on their microblogs. For instance, Google’s Buzz platform automatically publicizing their users’ email contacts as followers in 2010. [2] This aroused a controversy to the users and Google later edited the settings. Besides, hackers may have access to the server of the microblogging service providers and steal the users’ information. As a result, the users of microblogs should not rely on the providers very much and they should be careful before posting their personal information on their microblogs.
Freedom of Speech on Microblogging
The freedom of speech on the microblogs is also a concern on society. This issue mainly affects the users of microblogs in the mainland China, especially the users of Weibo. For instance, Weibo would filter the posts or photos which are related to the June Fourth Incident or sensitive information considering the Chinese government. The Internet should be a platform which allows every one expressing their opinions and ideas freely. The action of deleting statuses is very annoying to the users since they are not allowed to express what they are thinking. This matter leads to a controversy to the microblog users and the microblogging service providers. It is also a new social issue to society in Hong Kong and the mainland China.
Conclusion
In conclusion, microblogging help us spread our ideas and the news to the world more quickly. More and more people are able to exchange their information via microblogs. Nonetheless, the convenience may lead to some side-effects. The privacy and security of microblogs are still doubtful to the users. Furthermore, freedom of speech on microblogs also leads to a controversy on society in recent years. We should identity the benefits and demerits of microblogging and think twice on how we use microblogs.
References
Introduction
Recent years, microblogging is very popular all over the world. Microblogging is a type of blogging, but it has a small scale than blogging. In a microblog, users are only allowed to post small content within 140 words or a photo only. Nowadays, it is more and more convenient to surf the Internet everywhere. People are able to connect to the Internet by their smart phones and they can update their microblogs no matter where they are. The most famous companies which provide microblogging services include Twitter, Weibo and Plurk.
History of Microblogging
The history of microblogs starts from 2005 and it was called tumblelogs at that time. It was a simpler type of blog which was a quick and good platform to publish people’s work on the Internet. After one year, the term “microblogs” was used by Twitter instead of “tumblelogs”. Then, more and more companies start to provide microblogging services and each of the providers has its own characteristics. For instance, Plurk has a timeline view which shows the statuses, photos and videos of the user in a form of timeline. This helps people share information and news more quickly and efficiently. Due to the fast development of the sharing platforms on the Internet, the Internet has become a place where breaking news and new ideas come out. The news and ideas can usually spread all over the world after a short period of time.
Benefits of Microblogging to the Business
The main characteristic of microblogging is the function “follow”. The microblog users are able to follow other users so that the most updated statuses or photos are pushed to the followers’ news feeds. The followers are able to choose what updates they want to get. Moreover, as microblogs are mainly public to all people, microblogging is a very good platform to promote business. Because of the popularity of microblogging, a lot of corporations, such as Dell, Apple and Microsoft, have microblogs on Twitter or other microblogging service providers to deliver their exclusive news or most updated products and services to the public. For instance, Microsoft posted a video of the new Xbox Live Experience on their Twitter recently. The video is just like an advertisement or a TV commercial on the Internet but it is totally free of charge. The companies do not need to pay a cent to publicize their products and services on the microblogs. The microblogs are also good places for marketing and public relations. The Sysomos study reveals that the group of marketers is more active than general users on Twitter. 15% of the marketers follow more than 2000 people but only 0.29% of the general users follow more than 2000 people. [1] Apart from companies, the film stars and singers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland China are very common to use Weibo to share their daily life to their fans. Through microblogs, the stars are able to promote their recent work. Furthermore, they can build up a good image to their fans and the public. This could help them attract more opportunities on working. Hence, microblogging is also a great and convenient promotion platform to the public figures.
Privacy and Security on Microblogging
Apart from the benefits that microblogging brings, there are some issues which we need to aware. For instance, privacy is a main concern on microblogging. The users of microblogs may post some personal information such as telephone numbers or addresses on their microblogs. As their microblogs may be seen by the public, the personal information may spread at a very fast rate. Moreover, it is not secure even if the users set up privacy on their microblogs. For instance, Google’s Buzz platform automatically publicizing their users’ email contacts as followers in 2010. [2] This aroused a controversy to the users and Google later edited the settings. Besides, hackers may have access to the server of the microblogging service providers and steal the users’ information. As a result, the users of microblogs should not rely on the providers very much and they should be careful before posting their personal information on their microblogs.
Freedom of Speech on Microblogging
The freedom of speech on the microblogs is also a concern on society. This issue mainly affects the users of microblogs in the mainland China, especially the users of Weibo. For instance, Weibo would filter the posts or photos which are related to the June Fourth Incident or sensitive information considering the Chinese government. The Internet should be a platform which allows every one expressing their opinions and ideas freely. The action of deleting statuses is very annoying to the users since they are not allowed to express what they are thinking. This matter leads to a controversy to the microblog users and the microblogging service providers. It is also a new social issue to society in Hong Kong and the mainland China.
Conclusion
In conclusion, microblogging help us spread our ideas and the news to the world more quickly. More and more people are able to exchange their information via microblogs. Nonetheless, the convenience may lead to some side-effects. The privacy and security of microblogs are still doubtful to the users. Furthermore, freedom of speech on microblogs also leads to a controversy on society in recent years. We should identity the benefits and demerits of microblogging and think twice on how we use microblogs.
References
- Inside Twitter: An In-depth Look Inside the Twitter World. Sysomos; 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- Google Buzz redesigned after privacy complaints. The Telegraph (London); February 15, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
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