@A Tweeting Addiction (Twitter.com)

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	Twitter.com
Date:	26/05/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: layout, navigation, attractive, celebs

Disadvantages: n/a

About three months ago I was watching a video on Youtube and the 'presenter' mentioned some site called Twitter. At the time I hadn't heard of it, and it sounded a little dull. However I decided to do some investigating to see what all the fuss was about.

My good friend Wikipedia informed me that that Twitter was founded in 2006, so I was quite surprised that it had taken me this long to find out about it. It's headquarters are in San Francisco, which possibly explains why it took a while for the obsession to reach the UK. Described as a micro-blogging, it was beginning to sound a little more exciting ago I thought best to head straight over to the website itself.

When you first click onto the website, you are greeted with an exceptionally attractive homepage. The background is a heavenly sky blue colour with little cartoon clouds. In the centred white square, you can see a preview of what the profile pages look like, with a gorgeous little cartoon bird at the side of it. This bird has become the well known logo for Twitter, often seen alongside a little cloud. To the side of this image there is the log in section, but of course I was going to have to sign up first. It takes me a little while to find the 'register' section on some websites, but thankfully this was not a problem. Underneath the white box there is a large bright green clickable stating, 'Get Started - Join!'. I gave this a click and prepared to start what could be a disappointing journey.

The 'Create an Account' page on Twitter looks a little like any other; nothing too eye catching with a lot of boxes which need to be filled in. You have to give information including Full Name, User name, Password and E-Mail. You also have to copy the two words seen to make sure you are not a robot, and in case you cant read this there is an audio version too. It all seemed quite innocent, and no extremely personal information was requested, so I felt quite happy to sign up. A confirmation email was sent immediately and I was ready to get going.

I signed in to my account and at first things seemed a little complicated. Your own home page is basic, with nothing more than your name, and a space to fill in your home town and your website. You can also upload your own picture, which is not hard to do at all - simply click on the space where the picture is supposed to be and upload a file from your computer. You can also select a photo to use as a skin for your page. Once you're done personalising it's time to progress.

The key thing with Twitter is to answer the question, 'What are you doing?'. You type in your answer in the box at the top of your page, with a limit of 140 words to type your answer - it's just a short and sweet update to let everybody know what you are doing. You can answer this question as often as you like (and some people do it a little too often!).

Of course there's no fun in sharing your updates with the world if you don't have any Followers. Your followers are those who have chosen to view your updates, which they do by clicking on the little grey box under your name. Once they follow you, your updates will appear on their page. You can also message somebody directly if they follow you too. However if it not mutual, they can send you a message as an update, by adding your name to it. You do this with an '@'/For example, my user name is McLeanAmy, so if somebody wanted to send me a message, they'd simply write '@McLeanAmy', followed by whatever they wanted to say. There's really nothing to it.

The one thing that attracts people to social network sites is the ability to share photos with others. It took me a while to discover this, as at first I thought Twitter was just a version of the update box on Facebook, or the 'Me Too' on Bebo, but you can also share photos on Twitter too. To do this, you need to log onto the connected site, www.twitpic.com, with your Twitter user information. When you upload a photo here it will automatically be shown in your updates back on Twitter. I like this site as it separates the images from your more basic Twitter page, making it a little more organised and tidy.

Myspace, Facebook and Bebo are probably three of the most used social networking sites. They're so complex and useful. Though I feel Twitter is becoming the new black. More and more people are being converted to it, and 'Tweeting' constantly. In fact, I find it's becoming an obsession for many - it is now possible to buy t-shirts with the Twitter logo (which is on my 'To Buy' list). The thing that attracted me to Twitter was my curiosity, but I think many are won over because of the wide group of celebrities that use it. When I was down in London watching All Star Mr and Mrs being recorded, Phillip Schofield was talking to us about Twitter, which may have been a little strange, but indeed he tweets quite frequently. There are other fantastic stars on Twitter, including Amanda Holden, Paula Abdul, Carol McGiffin Noel Clark and Soleil Moon Frye. I think I am following more celebrities than I am 'normal' people but that does not bother me! I find that there are also a lot less 'fakers' there too. For example on Bebo if you search 'Madeline Duggan' (EastEnders actress), you will be met with over twenty people claiming to be the real Maddie Duggan. However

I personally prefer Twitter to any other social networking sites. It is so simple to use and straight forward, without the constant desire at parties when you feel you just have to take those great photos to share with others on Bebo, or use the greatest Apps on Facebook. The layout is simple yet attractive and there are some fantastic people there. It's great for being informed with updates! If you've not had a look yet I strongly suggest you do so soon, as eventually the whole world will be tweeting and you cannot afford to miss the excitement!

Tweet ya later!

© @McLeanAmy 2009
www.twitter.com
www.twitpic.com

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