Microblogging, when email is not enough
If the growth of blogging has slowed down and the social media using Facebook and Bebo has blown up in 2007, the year 2008 we see the ontogenesis of a different form of communication medium. It is microblogging. Using short texts, and sometimes images and videos, you convey your sentiments and actions. Its prominence is its simplicity. It liberates you from hard thinking and wordy texts.
If you are at ease sending text messages from your cell phone, you are ready for microblogging. However, instead of sending text message to one person, you use microblogging to broadcast to your social network.
What are the instruments available at your disposal for this fresh and fascinating medium of communication? The last few years have seen the birth of a dozen microblogging sites to cater to your respective needs.
Twitter is the leader of the gang. As soon as you make an account, you are ready to publish your micro-contents using your web browser , cell phone, or the email client. You can also follow interesting people like artists, athletes, bands, politicians and check out their announcement regularly.
The site Tumblr has a refined and simple interface. Use it to put out photos and videos from your cell phone. Even if you are not wordy, you will be able to share your love and hate with others.
If you choose talking, rather than writing, use MySay. You call the MySay service and leave a message. People in your contact will be able to hear your thoughts using their phones, emails, or computers.
If do n’t like texts or audio, use Hictu for video micro-blogging. Use your webcam to video your actions and publish it in Hictu with the click of a mouse.
IRateMyDay has an interesting angle to the micro-blogging. Instead of publishing everyday activities of you daily living, you rate your day on a scale of Worst to Great. You can also write some explanation for your rating.
Are you emotionally upset? Instead of using IRateMyDay, use EMotionr. If it is one of the happiest day of your life, rate it the highest possible 10. Do n’t rate the lowest 1. It ca n’t be that bad.
Moodmill is where you should go after rating your day or emotion. This website is for managing your temper. Use the mouse to slide the mood index and share it with your friends and contacts.
If you are at ease with French or German language, you can use Frazr. It has all the characterictics and functionality of Twitter.
Now that you know a few popular microblogging tools available on the web, you may be marveling, how can I express my thoughts and actions using this new communication medium? Why people will like to read my everyday daily activities? And what value does it provide to my readers?.
To see the value of microblogging, check out what Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s team is doing. They are broadcasting all the meeting schedules, caucus and primary results, informational and inspirational messages for volunteers to take actions.
If you are a blogger, you can tell your Twitter followers using some teasing information about an upcoming blog article before you publish it on your blog. This will create anticipation and desires.
If you are selling something on the web, you can use Twitter to publish hot sales for your Twitter followers. This will give you an idea which products are hot sellers so that you can stock them before you announce the sale to everybody using other medium.
You can publish cool tricks and tips that you just read in a blog about personal growth, productivity growth, money saving ideas, etc.
You can run a quick poll by asking a short question.
You can follow thought leaders, industry luminaries, artists, athletes and other interesting people in Twitter to gain insights on diverse topics.
2008 is the year of microblogging. As the email was a radical communication medium a decade ago for the most people and it eventually made the letter writing a lost art, micoblogging will surpass blogging within a few years.
