#Twitter@Beloit

By Jonah Isenstein
CONTRIBUTOR

“140 characters is a format, not a limit” –Anonymous Twitter User. As Oprah may or may not have told you, Twitter is a social networking site that consists of followers and following. If someone “follows” you on Twitter, they can read your “Tweets.” A tweet is a short blurb that can range in theme from shameless self promotion (@Kanyewest) to out of context social commentary (@OldTeaBag) . At first glance, Twitter and Facebook seem similar. A tweet is basically a Facebook status, but for most twitter users I know, Twitter is a more anonymous outlet, in the fact that it isn’t necessarily linked to your face and name. Maybe you don’t want to tell your mom, your ex-girlfriend and your entire high-school class that you “KEEP IT REAL, I DON’T LIE SMOKE BLUNTS TIL I DIE,” or that you “Got caught checking Oden out in the library in one awkward moment of eye contact.” You don’t mind sharing that with your 30 or so followers, but telling every person you know may be a little bit too much. Businesses use Twitter to advertise (@NikeBasketball), politicians use it to contact their constituents (@Ron4Senate), religious leaders use it as a means to diffuse 140 characters worth of inspirational material (@TheRevAl), some people use it to make broad generalizations about their classmates (@BeloitHipster), and some colleges use it to communicate with students and parents. In the immortal words of (@Ballinouttactrl), “Don’t just talk about it, Tweet about it.”