Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/coztheymatter

 

After doing some research on my topic of interest, a few of the hashtags that I found most relevant and suitable were #AnimalCruelty, #AnimalRights, #RacingExtinction and #StartWithOneThing. Although the hashtag on #RacingExtinction was the least used on any of my posts so far, it is only applicable for certain animals that are on the verge of extinction, mainly caused by the inhumane and inconsiderate ways of human kind. After making a decision of what hashtags to use, I realise that the content becomes so much more organised allowing my readers or Twitter users in general to effortlessly search for something that they are interested in. As further explained by Boyd et al. (2010, p. 2), the practice of using keywords to label tweets freely enables the categorization of web content while providing more visibility through what is called “social bookmarking”.

 

Throughout the week, I’ve received a number of responses from the Twitter community whom, through my analysis, contained a mixture of those that shared a similar love and interest towards animals and also those that didn’t. As a summary of the responses on the four posts alone, there was a total of 21 likes and 16 retweets. In accordance to Boyd et al. (2010, p. 6), people tend to retweet more mainly because they are trying to engage in conversations and share information with those on their list of followers. I believe that this would differ from an individual whom would use Twitter for just daily chattering about anything.

 

Also, my Twitter account was replied to twice by two other users. Unfortunately, one was not inspired or had any connection whatsoever to the topic being discussed. To the one that did, however, had a statement as such: 

 

"Its a noble deed what you're doing here! Small but impactful movement towards a greater cause. Al the best!"

 

Therefore, creating a very conversational environment through short yet impactful messages from those of the community. It also demonstrates how direct conversations can be made with one another in a more private setting as well.

 

Based on my experience, Twitter is very much different from a service such as Facebook where it is more public. With that being the reason, “people are writing to give value to readers who don’t know them personally”, therefore providing the avenue for readers to follow all sorts of news and communities that are in relation to their interests (Nuttall. 2008, para. 7). Hence, making Twitter a very powerful social networking platform that is being integrated into the daily lives of many.