Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of
blogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size. Microblogs "allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links".
As with traditional blogging, microbloggers post about topics ranging from the simple, such as "what I'm doing right now," to the thematic, such as "sports cars." Commercial microblogs also exist, to promote websites, services and/or products, and to promote
collaborationCollaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
within an organization.
Some microblogging services offer features such as privacy settings, which allow users to control who can read their microblogs, or alternative ways of publishing entries besides the web-based interface. These may include
text messagingText messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
,
instant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
,
E-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, or
digital audioDigital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
.
Services
The first microblogs were known as
tumblelogs. The term was coined by
why the lucky stiffwhy the lucky stiff is the persona formerly used by an anonymous and prolific writer, cartoonist, musician, artist, and computer programmer notable for his work with the Ruby programming language...
in a blog post on April 12, 2005, while describing Christian Neukirchen's Anarchaia.
Jason KottkeJason Kottke is an American blogger and former web designer currently living in New York City. He designed the Silkscreen typeface and has won a Lifetime Achievement Award as a blogger...
described tumblelogs on October 19, 2005:
However, by 2006 and 2007, the term
microblog came into greater usage for such services provided by
TumblrTumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
and
TwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. In May 2007, 111 microblogging sites were counted internationally. Among the most notable services are
TwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
,
TumblrTumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
, whatyadoin.com,
PlurkPlurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length....
, Emote.in, PingGadget, Beeing,
JaikuJaiku is a social networking, micro-blogging and lifestreaming service comparable to Twitter. Jaiku was founded in February 2006 by Jyri Engeström and Petteri Koponen from Finland and launched in July of that year...
and
identi.caidenti.ca is an open source social networking and micro-blogging service. Based on StatusNet, a micro-blogging software package built on the OpenMicroBlogging specification, Identi.ca allows users to send text updates up to 140 characters long...
.
More recently, varieties of services and software with the feature of microblogging have been developed.
PlurkPlurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length....
has a timeline view which integrates video and picture sharing. Flipter uses microblogging as a platform for people to post topics and gather audience's opinions. Emote.in has a concept of sharing emotions, built over microblogging, with a timeline. PingGadget is a location based microblogging service.
PowncePownce was a free social networking and micro-blogging site started by Internet entrepreneurs Kevin Rose, Leah Culver, and Daniel Burka. Pownce was centered on sharing messages, files, events, and links with friends. The site launched on June 27, 2007, and was opened to the public on January 22, 2008...
, developed by
DiggDigg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
founder
Kevin RoseKevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk...
among others, integrates microblogging with
file sharingFile sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
and event invitations. Pownce was merged into SixApart in 2008.
Other leading
social networkA social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
ing websites
FacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
,
MySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
,
LinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
,
Diaspora*Diaspora is a free personal web server that implements a distributed social networking service. Installations of the software form nodes which make up the distributed Diaspora social network....
, JudgIt, Yahoo Pulse,
Google BuzzGoogle Buzz is a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool from Google integrated into the company's web-based email program, Gmail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox. On October 14, 2011,...
,
Google+Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
and
XINGXing may refer to:* an abbreviation for crossing, primarily used in North America* Qiao Xing Universal Telephone Inc. * XING, a social network platform* Xing County, in Shanxi, China* Xing - A Korean boyband...
, also have their own microblogging feature, better known as "status updates".
With the growth of microblogging, many users want to maintain a presence in more than one social network. Services such as Lifestream and Profilactic will aggregate microblogs from multiple social networks into a single list while other services, such as
Ping.fmPing.fm is a free social networking and micro-blogging web service that enables users to post to multiple social networks simultaneously.Making an update on Ping.fm pushes the update to a number of different social websites at once...
, will send out your microblog to multiple social networks.
Internet users in China are facing a different situation. Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, Google+, etc. are blocked in
mainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. The users use
Chinese weibo servicesWeibo is the Chinese word for "microblog". It usually refers to one or all of the China-based microblogging services, or one's account at these services.-Terms:...
such as
Sina WeiboSina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA...
and
Tencent WeiboTencent Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website launched by Tencent in April, 2010, and is still currently under beta testing. Users may broadcast a message including 140 Chinese characters at most through the web, SMS or smartphone.-Features:...
. Tailored to Chinese people, these weibos are like hybrids of Twitter and Facebook, they implement basic features of Twitter and, allow users to comment to other's posts, post with graphical emoticons or attach image, music, video files.
Usage
Several studies, most notably by
Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and
SysomosSysomos Inc. is a Toronto-based social media analytics company.The company uses content of social media sites including blogs, forums and Twitter to create a real-time picture on how products, people, and brands are covered in those media sites. Unlike other similar services, it also attempts to...
, have tried to analyze the usage behavior of Microblogging services. Many of these studies show that for services such as Twitter, there is a small group of active users contributing to most of the activity. Sysomos' Inside Twitter survey, based on more than 11 million users, shows that 10% of Twitter users account for 86% of all activity.
Twitter, Facebook, and other microblogging services are also becoming a platform for
marketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and
public relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, with a sharp growth in the number of
social media marketers. The Sysomos study shows that this specific group of marketers on Twitter is much more active than general user population, with 15% following more than 2,000 people. This is in sharp contrast to only 0.29% of overall Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people.
Microblogging services have also emerged as an important source of real-time news updates for recent crisis situations, such as the
Mumbai terror attacksThe 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
or
Iran protestsProtests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
. The short nature of updates allow users to post news items quickly, reaching its audience in seconds.
Microblogging services have revolutionized the way information is
consumedConsumed were a punk rock band from the outskirts of Nottingham, England. Primarily consisting of brothers Steve and Mike Ford who provided the songwriting, vocals and guitars. They were signed to Fat Wreck Chords then moved to Golf Records shortly before the release of their final album Pistols at...
. It has empowered citizens themselves to act as sensors or sources of data which could lead to important pieces of information. People now share what they observe in their surroundings, information about events, and what their opinions are about certain topics, for example government policies in healthcare. Moreover, these services store various metadata from these posts, such as the location and time of these shared posts. Aggregate analysis of this data includes different dimensions like space, time, theme, sentiment, network structure etc., and gives us an exciting opportunity to understand social perceptions of the people about certain events of interest, for tapping the pulse of the populace, or a platform for situational awareness and, as correctly pointed out above- a perfect medium of communication during crisis management. Such analysis can help us answer key questions that could have been asked during recent events for improving situational awareness: During the Mumbai terror attacks, what were the main topics (key phrases) that were discussed in the tweets originating from Mumbai during each of the three days of carnage? During the Haiti earthquake, or recent Pakistan floods, what were the primary immediate requirements in rescue situations, where were the possible locations for supplies that matched requirements, and many more queries like these.
The findings of a study by Emily Pronin of Princeton University and Harvard University's Daniel Wegner have been cited as a possible explanation for the rapid growth of microblogging. The study suggests a link between short bursts of activity and feelings of elation, power and creativity.
Microblogging for organizational usage
Users and organizations can set up their own microblogging service:
free and open source softwareFree and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
is available for this purpose. Hosted microblogging platforms are also available for commercial and organizational use.
Microblogging has the potential to become a new, informal communication medium, especially for collaborative work within organizations. Over the last few years communication patterns have shifted primarily from face-to-face to more online communication in
emailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
,
IMInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
,
text messagingText messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, and other tools. However, some argue that email is now a slow and inefficient way to communicate. For instance, time-consuming 'email chains' can develop, whereby two or more people are involved in lengthy communications for simple matters, such as arranging a meeting.
The 'one-to-many' broadcasting offered by microblogs is thought to increase productivity by circumventing this.
Another implication of remote collaboration is that there are fewer opportunities for face-to-face informal conversations. However, microblogging has the potential to support informal communication among coworkers. Many individuals like sharing their whereabouts and status updates with microblogging.
Microblogging is therefore expected to improve the social and emotional welfare of the workforce, as well as streamline the information flow within an organization. It can increase opportunities to share information, help realize and utilize expertise within the workforce, and help build and maintain common ground between coworkers. As microblogging use continues to grow every year, it is quickly becoming a core component of
Enterprise Social SoftwareEnterprise social software , comprises social software as used in "enterprise" contexts. It includes social and networked modifications to corporate intranets and other classic software platforms used by large companies to organize their communication...
.
Issues with micro blogging
Some issues with microblogging are
privacyPrivacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
,
securitySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
, and
integrationIn engineering, system integration is the bringing together of the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system...
.
PrivacyPrivacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
is arguably a major issue because users may broadcast sensitive personal information to anyone who views their public feed. Microblog platform providers can also cause privacy issues through altering or presetting users' privacy options in a way users feel compromises their personal information. An example would be
Google’s BuzzGoogle Buzz is a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool from Google integrated into the company's web-based email program, Gmail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox. On October 14, 2011,...
platform which incited controversy in 2010 by automatically publicizing users’ email contacts as ‘followers’.
GoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
later amended these settings.
SecuritySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
concerns have been voiced within the business world, since there is potential for sensitive work information to be publicized on microblogging sites such as
TwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.This includes information which may be subject to a superinjuction.
Integration could be the hardest issue to overcome, since it can be argued that corporate culture must change to accommodate microblogging.
Related concepts
Live BloggingA liveblog is a blog post which is intended to provide a rolling textual coverage of an ongoing event, similar to Live television or live radio. Liveblogging has increased in usage by news organizations and blogging establishments since the mid-2000s, when they were initially used to broadcast...
is a derivative of microblogging that generates a continuous feed on a specific web page.
Instant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
systems display status, but generally only one of a few choices, such as: available, off-line, away. Away messages (messages displayed when the user is away) form a kind of microblogging.
In the
Finger protocolIn computer networking, the Name/Finger protocol and the Finger user information protocol are simple network protocols for the exchange of human-oriented status and user information.-Name/Finger protocol:...
, the
.project and
.plan files are sometimes used for status updates similar to microblogging.
See also
- Blauk
Blauk.com is a microblogging website that lets users to express their thoughts to a stranger or acquaintance they see everyday at public places. Blauk.com ensures that the people being talked about can read these thoughts and allows people to read what strangers think of them...
- Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
- Comparison of microblogging services
- Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Geosocial networking
Geosocial Networking is a type of social networking in which geographic services and capabilities such as geocoding and geotagging are used to enable additional social dynamics. User-submitted location data or geolocation techniques can allow social networks to connect and coordinate users with...
- Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
- Google Buzz
Google Buzz is a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool from Google integrated into the company's web-based email program, Gmail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox. On October 14, 2011,...
- Heello
Heello is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts and to share pictures and videos. It was launched on August 10, 2011, by Noah Everett , exactly one day after twitter rolled out its official photo-sharing app...
- Jaiku
Jaiku is a social networking, micro-blogging and lifestreaming service comparable to Twitter. Jaiku was founded in February 2006 by Jyri Engeström and Petteri Koponen from Finland and launched in July of that year...
- myYearbook
-History:myYearbook was initially created by two high school students, David and Catherine Cook, and their older brother Geoff, during Spring Break of 2005. Catherine persuaded Geoff, who founded EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com from a dorm in 1997, to invest in their project...
- Plurk
Plurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length....
- Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
ing
- Tumblr
Tumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
- Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- Microblogging in China
Weibo is the Chinese word for "microblog". It usually refers to one or all of the China-based microblogging services, or one's account at these services.-Terms:...