Microblogging has become a popular phenomenon with a huge
number of people using Twitter to share their ideas. Unlike Facebook, Twitter
allows you to send short messages of 140 characters to other users. It also allows
you to retweet other users' posts. You can also post photos and links to other
websites.
Although Twitter has a large user base, it has not been
profitable. In 2009, it made a deal with Google and Bing for data sharing, and
earned $25 million. However, questions remain about whether it can survive
financially. The company is now under pressure from CEO Elon Musk, who
announced a plan to double the character limit to four thousand.
Twitter, along with other microblogging sites, have been
used by many organizations and activists to keep their followers up to date on
their latest activities. They can also be used to engage in two-way
communication and to gather feedback. For example, a tweet by a high-profile
user in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti helped raise eight million dollars.
This could be a potential source of income for Twitter.
As of September 2013, the Twitter market value had reached
over $31 billion. However, experts warn that Twitter may not survive, and
suggest that users should save their tweets. Many Twitter users have developed
conventions to make the most of the service, such as 'following' someone else
or'retweeting' a message.
Users have access to Twitter through mobile devices. The
service also supports broadcasting through SMS. A third-party desktop
application allows you to create and post tweets from the web. Another option
is to create a custom feed to follow specific topics. To ensure your privacy,
you can use a third-party application to block your followers.
Researchers have studied the ways microblogging affects
people's behavior. The main purpose of microblogging, according to the
research, is to provide information. Some previous studies identified status
and directed posts as the most common types of posts. Other studies found that
Twitter users primarily use the microblog to inform others about themselves and
their activities.
Twitter has also been used to broadcast news during major
events. It has been a tool for breaking news during riots in Iran, for example.
And Twitter has been used to gather feedback from customers. When the Haiti
earthquake struck, Twitter users were able to respond to the situation with
tweets, which helped to raise $8 million within 48 hours.
The popularity of microblogging is increasing. Many consumers
find it difficult to engage with lengthy posts on mobile phones, and microblogs
have become a popular solution for facilitating interactions.
As with any form of Internet communication, some concerns
have been raised about the privacy of microblogs. Most of the microblogs use a
system of conventions to facilitate interaction. If a microblogger wishes to
grant a request, the request can be granted automatically. But if the
microblogger chooses to decline, the information may not be available to the
user.