Has Donald Trump Ruined Twitter?!

With the recent revolution of new technology emerged a new form of communication that is known as social media, which takes place on the world wide web. The web, or internet, has evolved from a completely alienated form of communicating to becoming the new norm. In all reality, most people today can't go a day without using the internet. With this evolution, came several new forms of social networking sites that allow people to communicate in a continuous, instantaneous cycle. One of these sites, Twitter, has become a conglomerate of instant messaging and mostly, a forum of everyone in the worlds opinion.

In the article "What Is Twitter & How Does It Work?", there is a reference to how "rapid and scan-friendly" Twitter is, as one is able to follow hundreds of Twitter users and read their content with just a simple glance. Each tweet is limited to 280 characters versus the previous 140. This challenges the writer to have to become very creative with each tweet, while using very specific language. It then goes on to say that this is ideal for "our modern attention-deficit world." Because of this, Twitter has become one of the most popular forms of social media, which makes it very appealing to those involved in the news media, the entertainment business, and politics. It is also a very popular marketing tool for businesses. Through Twitter, companies are able to develop a following of people that they hope to become avid consumers of their product/service. In turn, the company provides some sort of knowledge value to their followers which helps them to become supporters of their cause. They are also able to brand their company as they can voice their brand on specific issues and influence their consumers. Additionally, companies are able to advertise their product/service in such a way that appeals much more to the modern day consumer. Twitter advertising is much less intrusive, is faster, and can be turned on or off at the consumer's will. Lastly, Twitter is different from other forms of social media in that it is a form of micro blogging. The limiting word count of 280 characters puts a strain on the amount of information one can put out in a single tweet. This is actually a benefit for the companies tweeting though since the readability is much easier.

Twitter is also used by news outlets and journalists. It allows them to put out information as quickly as possible in hopes of getting accredited for being the first to do so. This stems from the expectation from consumers that information should be readily available to them. But with that rush to be first leaves more room for a mistake to be made, right? When a reporter or news outlet puts information out there that either leaves information out or isn't entirely correct, shots are fired from every direction. This makes the pressure even more because it isn't just about being first, it's also about being correct.

Social media, being as easily accessible as it is, allows for anyone to put any information out there for everyone to see. That being said, people are allowed to put out false information. From this, comes the topic of "fake news". Fake news, by definition, is: false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke. News outlets have been accused of spreading false information. It usually happens by accident in this case. However, Donald Trump, current President of the United States, feels as though some news outlets only report fake news, and he calls them the "Fake News Media". This is where politics comes into play with Twitter. Politicians using Twitter as a means of communicating can get ugly. In this day and age, there are topics that are difficult to discuss when it comes to political beliefs, and social media makes it all the more complicated. With more and more people having an opinion and being able to express that online, Twitter turns into a place where political rants are seen and shared. When people see a politician tweet something that they either relate to or disagree with, they then can retweet it and write a comment about it attached to the original tweet. This is called "quote retweeting" and it happens quite often when it comes to politics. One of the most prominent politicians that tweets a lot is: Donald Trump. In reference to what was mentioned above, he has a lot of opinions on a lot of issues and he uses Twitter to put out those opinions. This involves him getting a lot of media attention because most of the time, he is tweeting pretty controversial things for the President of the United States to be saying.

Twitter has been used as a form of communication in many recent events. One instance where Twitter was used to communicate a recent event was during Hurricane Harvey. Those who were affected by the hurricane used Twitter as a cry for help. Because emergency lines were so inundated with incoming calls, people resorted to tweeting at the emergency lines and rescue organizations in an attempt get help. People who were stranded posted photos that were then retweeted and spread like wildfire. From this experience, one can only hope that in any similar future incidents, social media can be a more effective tool to getting people the help that they need. Another event was after the shooting in Parkland. Many of the students who survived took to Twitter and began using the hashtag #NeverAgain to encourage politicians to take action for stricter gun laws. There has been a lot of discussion over this issue because there is such a division in views on the issue of gun control, but the students created a movement that wouldn't have been possible without social media. Lastly, when Donald Trump sent out a tweet poking fun at global warming. It read: "In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!" Several climate scientists tweeted out responding to Trump, one reading: "Believe it or not, global climate change is very real even if it’s cold outside Trump Tower right now. Just like there is still hunger in the world, even if you just had a Big Mac." And another: "Global warming is fake because it is cold where I am
No one in the world is starving because I have food in my kitchen
Poverty isn't real because I just got paid
And around we go
Forever."

The topic I chose for the Twitter assignment was facts about the island of St. Croix. I chose this because my mother recently moved to this island and I went to visit her while I was on spring break. I absolutely love the island and wanted to communicate how great it is to my fellow classmates. On the account, I chose to "follow" Sarah Sanders, SeaWorld, and the Humane Society. I chose Sarah Sanders because I am very curious how she deals with being the face of Donald Trump in the White House. I chose SeaWorld because they have faced a lot of heat for their actions against Killer Whales and keeping them in captivity. And I chose the Humane Society because I love their mission of being a voice for animals and speaking out against animal cruelty.

Overall, Twitter is an amazing source of rapid communication. It is the one form of social media that is purposeful and provides users with an effective experience.

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