6 years ago, everyone had Ramu Yalamanchi's Hi5 as their homepage.
4 years ago, everyone had Google offering, Orkut as their homepage.
Currently, the homepage is Mark Zuckerberg's wonder child - FACEBOOK.
Every teenager and those in their early twenties log on to Facebook, get some gossip, look at a few pictures & put up their statuses. Then they log in again and see if anyone else has liked a particular or even better commented on it. Take it a step higher and wait to see if someone else has shared an item you posted.
A lot of people are now on Twitter. When Jack Dorsey launched Twitter in 2006, not many paid much heed. Indians ignored it point blank. I mean who wanted to log on to a website and update their status in only 140 characters when he/she could mighty well do it on Facebook. 140 Characters seemed like a big hurdle until America took up Twitter as if it was a cause. Celebrities found a new home. Paparazzi "followed" them on Twitter as well. An era of Twitter began.
A Twitter Account is very simple to operate. All you have to write there is what you feel like. It does not have to be what is on your mind and you carefully write it. Twitter is a free world of sorts that we Indians dream of. You write what you are doing, post links, engage in conversations with celebrities and follow people.
Websites like tinyurl.com & bit.ly amongst others cannot deny one bit that Twitter is a boon to their existence.
What differentiates Twitter from other Social Networking sites is the dynamism. Like in India, we say things move very fast in Mumbai & our American contemporaries would talk about New York, Twitter moves the world at a faster pace.
In India, Twitter's emergence is clearly linked to the increase in the number of celebrities on it. Not many can deny that Sachin Tendulkar opening a Twitter account was an important event in Indian Social Media circles. It was all over the news & so many people joined Twitter because of the master batsman. Initial reports suggested Sachin might give Ashton Kutcher a run for his money but reports were far fetched.
WIth more & more people on Twitter from India, usage of Social Networking sites on the go has seen a stark increase. Twitter clients like UberTwitter, Twitterific & Snaptu have become very popular in India. A lot of my friends like to keep their Twitter accounts always updated and keep searching for new Twitter clients & better people to follow. A lot of Indians have joined Twitter in a slew to share their humour, wit & some fascinating online content. Indian Media is madly & I am not exaggerating one bit, following the celebrities to catch one small news and then write entire articles or present half hour shows for that matter. Indians are very outgoing & that is the primary reason why all the Social networking webistes are hugely successful in India.
A few mortals to follow include rameshsrivats, greatbong, suhel & surekhapillai. Add them to know how integral Twitter has become to our online presence and how by tweeting about their lives
My simple suggestion is to join Twitter & write freely. Simply enjoy the atmosphere, take in the knowledge, carefully avoid celebrities and Tweet as you like.
You can choose to follow me @MirajVora on Twitter
4 Shared their Level Headed Sensibilities:
Addict!!!!
Oh by the way..I have been planning to join Twitter for quite sum time but you how lazy I am but I guess ab join kar hi leti hu!!!
A very balanced piece on one of the most powerful mediums of social interaction. Good work. And thanks for the mention.
Let's see how twitter evolves and differentiates it's expansion from Facebook. The key point about Twitter is that it is specifically a no non-sense utility to disseminate information in short bursts; excels there, absolutely!
BTW, Your sarcasm parallels that of Suhel Seth!
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