Social Media Wars: Twitter vs. Tumblr
“Perhaps, Americans have moved from a print-based culture to an aural/visual one, preferring electronic media for information, distraction, and entertainment” (Media and Popular Culture, 426). In the past few years social media has been a staple to the everyday life of our society. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Tumblr have become the most used websites and apps used every day. Every site is different and every site has its similarities, but there are a few elements that make them better than the other websites. There are always back and forth battles from users claiming one site is better than the other. Two websites always being compared are Tumblr and Twitter. Both sites offer a wide variety of different things to do while on their site, but they also offer some of the same qualities.
Twitter “a Web site and messaging service that allows its two-million-plus users to broadcast to their friend’s haiku-length updates—limited to 140 characters…” (Thompson 170) twitter allows its users to express themselves in 140 characters or less. The 140 character rules cuts down on long statuses and allows people to simply read the sentence or phrases of their followers and then continue strolling. With twitter it’s easy to find who you are looking for when it comes to businesses and celebrities. Twitter verifies legitimate celebrities and business so that users can follow the real people so that they won’t get fooled by fakes. Above the verified user would have a blue check mark above their name; only twitter can verify a celebrity or business. That is one factor that separates twitter from other social media sites. Most twitter users use twitter for their own personal advantage. They vent abo...
... middle of paper ...
...umblr.html>.
Davis, Hayes. "Why 2013 Is The Year You Need To Get Serious About Tumblr." Forbes. Ed. Eric Savits. Forbes Magazine, 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. .
Goldberg, Stephanie. "Why Are We Still Watching Awards Shows?" CNN. Cable News Network, 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Media and Popular Culture. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 426. Print.
Thompson, Clive. “I’m So Totally, Digitally, Close to you.” The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 168-177. Print.
"Tumblr Users Urge New Owner Yahoo To Keep The Site Weird." Morning Edition 21 May 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Dines, Gail, and Jean McMahon Humez. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995. Print.
Ruffner, Howard. " Introduction by Howard Ruffner." The Digital Journalist . N.p.. Web. 5 Dec
According to Nair (2011), “The social media property on the web is exploding and fast becoming a necessary part of the arsenal of any organization. It took 38 years for the radio to attract 50 million listeners, and 13 years for television to gain the attention of 50 million viewers. The Internet took only four years to attract 50 million participants, and Facebook reached 50 million participants in only one-and-a-half years. Facebook, which was originally designed for Harvard students and launched in 2004, has become a phenomenal example of social engagement. By 2009, Facebook had already achieved 100 million monthly active users covering age groups from 13 to 65; by the end of 2010, there were more than 500 million users. (p. 46) With so many people connected through social media and since businesses are dependent on people to thrive, they have been impacted both positively and negatively.
Mass Media. Ed. William Dudley. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 121-130.
Winograd, Morley, and Michael D. Hais. Millennial Makeover [electronic Resource] : MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2008. DiscoverE. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Fourth Edition. Athens: University of Georgia Press. 2006. Print.
Selfie-Loathing: Here’s Why Instagram Is Even More Depressing than Facebook. Slate Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/07/instagram_and_self_esteem_why_the_photo_sharing_network_is_even_more_depressing.html
This world as we know is heading towards a more virtual era, where everything we need to know is under the palm of our hands. We have many devices such as smart phones, tablets, computers, which gives us access to an infinite amount of information. This virtual life style we are becoming accustomed to introduced us to social media. An increase amount of interaction is being built between known and unknown users from all around the world. Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, twitter, and even tumbler have become an everyday routine of our daily lives. In this modern society, all these social media websites have brought about a significant amount of impact in many of us. It has really influenced its users on how to conduct their lives.
Thompson, C. (2008, September 7). Brave new world of digital intimacy. The New York Times.
Millan, M. (2010). Surprise: The Twitter me is not the real me. Retrieved from the LA Times website:
Millan, M. (2010). Surprise: The twitter me is not the real me. Retrieved March 8,2014 from the LA Times website:
Hoover, Lisa. "How Social Networking Has Changed Society." PCWorld. 7 Apr. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. .
... Evolving Discourse: Communication in the Age of Social Media." The American Conservative. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 May 2014. .
Social media has become a major epidemic in today’s society. According to millions of people have signed up on social media websites, allowing their basic information to be shared with the world wide web. Two of the biggest social media websites today are Facebook and Twitter. The new generation tends to use Twitter over Facebook, the older generation prefer Facebook over Twitter. Though Facebook and Twitter serve the same purpose and have many similarities, they both differ in many ways.
Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change” (John Podhoretz). It encompasses the advertisements we see on T.V, the clothes we wear, the music we listen too, and it’s the reason Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar yet. It defines and dictates the desires and fears of the mainstream members of society; and it is so ingrained into our lives that it has become as natural as breathing. Moreover, adults never even bat an eyelash at all the pop culture and advertising that surrounds them since it has become just another part of everyday life. Pop culture is still somewhat seen as entertainment enjoyed by the lower class members of society; but pop culture standards change over time. A notable example of this is the sixteenth century author, William Shakespeare, since his works were considered pop culture, entertainment that could be enjoyed by everyone, but now they are considered literary classics. While pop culture encompasses most aspects of our lives, its influence is most obvious through each generations reaction to media,