Tweet or Sour?

Tweet or Sour?

What Should We Make of Twitter Technology?
by Alyssa Wiley

Mouths dropped open in amazement; heads shook in disbelief; teenagers stood in silence. The date? October 9, 2010. The reason? Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter!

Who could forget the famous rap video, which broke the news to the world? Car accidents and burglaries, kidnappers and rapists, health care reform and terrorist attacks all took a back-seat on this date to the news of Miley’s stunt.

“I started living for moments, instead of living for people” is one of the explanations she gives for deleting it, adding, “Yeah, you write what you’re doing but who really cares if I’m…just doing my hair?”

Many others agree with Miley’s sentiments that Twitter is just a waste of time. Two High Point University students expressed similar feelings to those rapped by Miley when asked about Twitter.

Morgan Gunn, a sophomore, said, “I feel like it’s like Facebook updates and I already have a Facebook.”

Spencer Hatcher, a senior, also agreed that she didn’t see much of a point in having one. “I don’t understand why you would constantly need to tell people where you are and what you’re doing,” she said.

In addition to sentiments that Twitter is pointless, some go a step further and say it can be harmful to your reputation.

Internet Screening:

“Well, his resume looks good, but let’s Google him.” The hiring manager takes a quick look at Twitter and Facebook. He sees a few expletives and tosses the resume in the trash.

It may be hard to believe, but this sort of thing is happening more and more.

A recent article in The New York Times, for example, entitled “A Pair of Social Media,” delves into some of the drawbacks that Twitter and other digital media present, especially in the business world.

The article states that 45 percent of employers on CareerBuilder.com use networks like Twitter and Facebook to screen for potential employees.

Even getting the job offer doesn’t mean you’re in the clear, as one internet-infamous man discovered. A tweeter called “theconnor” posted this message after getting an offer:

"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

To which a Cisco employee quickly tweeted:

"Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web."

Bitter Tweet:

Even worse, though, than not getting hired because of Twitter, is getting fired because of it, as Jon-Barret Ingels, a former waiter in Los Angeles, learned the hard way.

He was fired shortly after tweeting complaints about actress Jane Adams walking out on a check.

Jon-Barret is not alone. As an article in Vanity Fair quips, “…A number of high-profile cases have shown that tweeting your mind and keeping your job can often be incompatible.”

Why Twitter?

Still, there is an upside to the Twitter-craze, which Vanity Fair claims, “…finally made the leap from media-hyped fad to ubiquitous cultural phenomenon.”

One man in particular, named Jason, is most certainly thankful for Twitter’s existence—he wouldn’t be here without it.

When he and a fellow skier went missing, the rest of his party used tweets to find his cell-phone number, and then used GPS and Google Maps to find their location. Sadly, the other skier, Rob Williams, did not survive. Yet, Jason survives as a testament to some of the benefits of modern technology, like Twitter.

While a few life-saving-stories like Jason's have occurred, the average tweeter seeks something less grandiose. They say it's just a great way to stay connected.

Twitter users like Josh Fast, for example, an HPU senior and intern for a local marketing firm, say it’s a great networking tool for companies and jobs, as well as a great way to follow your favorite bands and artists.

Word on the Tweet:

So, what are we to make of the Twitter phenomenon? Is it sweet or sour? Some say it is pointless and a waste of time.

It could get you hired.

It could get you fired.

It could even save your life.

So, is it your friend or foe? Are Twitter and other technologies like it helpful, or harmful to society? Opinions on the subject are mixed and will likely remain so for as long technologies like these exist.


Links:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/03/twitter-google-maps-used-to-track-down-two-missing-skiers/
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/03/google-maps-twitter-search-for-ski.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/