The development of World Wide Web and the transformation to web 2.0 brought a lot of changes to people’s lives. Starting from providing easy access for file sharing with static web page, animated gifs, and blinking words, now we can do and find anything in the web. Because web is all about communication, collaboration, and information sharing between people in the network. And unlike the early web, web 2.0 allows people to participate more in the web. People begin to live with the web. From sharing their thoughts through blog to the famous one, joining a social network sites (SNSs—will describe further in this paper). One of the form of SNS is microblogging, a specific website to update your status. In this paper, I will argue that microblogging is a new way of communicates and the risen popularity since it emerged because of the easy to use way, the community created by it, the first form (blog), and how microblogging is useful to every sectors of life.

SNSs are the evidence of the development of web 2.0 that is become more interactive. SNSs, such as SixDegrees.com—the first SNS which emerged in 1997 but failed and closed in 2001, Facebook—the most well known, Friendster—also a failed SNS are web based sites where user can construct a profile and share it publicly or privately, define who they can share it with, and view and traverse their list of connection (boyd & Ellison, 2007). In SNS people can be friends with everyone, they have already known, or the one they want to know about. This invention makes communication much easier than before. It connects people without boundaries. People are starting to see SNS as a simple communication tool. The reason they choose SNS is because they can keep track of each other, share their thoughts even to make a commercial transaction (Huberman et al., 2008). They can stay all day long in front of the computer just to manage their account. Checking their profile, make connection with friend (by chatting or post some thing in their page), or use another application provided on the webpage. Even you can make your own application. With the growth of SNS, sharing based website put SNS content (user profile, comment box, friend list) in their web (boyd & Ellison, 2007). For instance, Flickr (photo sharing) and YouTube (video sharing).

However with more bustling activities, people need a more simple way to communicate. This is where microblogging takes part. As a new form of SNS, microblogging offer shorter and easier way to stay connected and sharing contents. It is only take a couple of minutes to share your status. It is like sending a text message but in a big number to your family and friends. It has the potential for exchanges of thoughts, micronews, ask for help, and fast discussion (Ebner & Schiefner, 2008).  With this privilege, people begin to choose this new technology and become more popular these days.

Microblogging is a form of blogging that allow us to share an updated status from instant message, mobile phone, email or the web. It does not matter if it is important to another people or just share daily life activity. You can also share links, post a photo or video—anything with URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Johnson (2008) said that, “It is a mix of three elements—social networks, live searching and link sharing—to defeat Google’s monopoly”. Whenever users update their status, people who follow their account will get the update right away. Instead of writing three paragraphs of your thoughts and feeling in a blog, microblogging offer simpler way. For example, on Twitter you can share your thoughts in 140 characters, click it, and people who follows your account will see that on the timeline. The numbers of characters are almost the same like sending a text message but microblog definitely offers more economic way than spend a lot of money on mobile phone’s credit. One click, single message, many recipients.

Although it is a new form of social network, microblogging become popular in a short period time. We can see it from the number of microblogging sites available on the web. Each site offers specific contents to differentiate from another. For example, Plurk’s (http://www.plurk.com) timeline integrates video and picture sharing. Shout.em (http://www.shoutem.com) is a mobile-based microblogging and 12seconds.tv (http://www.12second.tv) is a video messaging service. The rising popularity of microblogging can be seen from the rise of the users. For example Twitter (http://www.twitter.com), as the most popular microblogging site has 7 million users until March 2009 (McGiboney, 2009). It is 50 million new tweets—what they called the updated status—per day, which around 600 tweets per second. From this data we see the growth of microblogging as the evidence of its popularity.

Microblogging is a light application real time. It fills the gap between blogging and instant messaging (Passant et al., 2008). It does not “eat up” users’ internet bandwidth so they can access it through their mobile phone. Because of that, ordinary SNSs also provide this technology. For example, Facebook and MySpace put a box where you can type your status. It allows their users to access the page from mobile. Microblogging is also less time consuming. The users only need to type your short status and post it to the timeline. Different to SNS, they have many contents in the page that makes users distracted and do another thing besides updating their status. It’s only consumed a couple minutes of users’ daily activity. This simple reason makes microblogging become popular.

Microblogging popularity comes with the successful its first generation, blog. When blog is a tool of knowledge, microblogging is more personal, a quick reflection of you (Ebner & Schiefner, 2008). Reason that people like to write in a blog is because its usability, collaboration, and personality (Ebner&Schiefner, 2006). It is easy to use since you do not need any special skill to do it. It is fun and entertaining. From sharing status (what are you doing), sharing photo and video, to sharing links. You can do everything in it. Blog are also personal things. It is belongs to you, you feel free to share your opinion and thought. People like to do this activity. They can freely share their thought or write an academic post in every topic they want. Because of blog successful story, microblogging emerged. It has similar function but in a short way and people can do it frequently due to their busy daily activity. Microblogging becomes popular as complementary of the blog.

In the same way like how SNS works, microblogging is also a community. Users make their own society by being friends with other, such as family, real life friends or perfect strangers. They can manage their own page and control what public will see about them on the web. They belong in the community they created on microblogging sites. Even though most of the users do not intend to make a new community (boyd & Ellison, 2007). The community consists of people who are already part of their community in real life. Peoples’ intention when joining microblogging sites are to seek information, share information and make friendship-wise relationship (Java et al., 2008). They are looking for an effective and efficient way to connect with their community. Microblogging provides this kind of tool that makes users feel satisfied.

The popularity of microblogging is also because of this community. People are social beings; they like to communicate with others. In microblogging, users can share information or feeling about a particular topic users and their community interested in. Users can choose the topic depending on the wants and needs of their community. From hobbies, sports, movies, horoscope, even gossip. In Twitter, you can participate in those communities by follow their account or type hashtag (#) before your tweet to participate in the thread. In their homepage, Twitter provides lists of featured and most popular account people followed. It gives you choices and an easy access to your preferred community. On the other hand, if you want more personal topic, you can make one. Because this is the reason why they launch Twitter. “If only there were a technology that would allow me to send a message to my 50 friends, alerting them in real time about my choice of breakfast cereal”, said Steven Johnson, the founder of Twitter (Johnson, 2008).

Some of critiques directed to microblogging are people said that it is only a waste of time and meaningless. They assumed that others would not care about what am I doing at the moment, vice versa. But it’s contradicts with Thompson statement (as cited in Johnson, 2008), “…by following these quick, abbreviated status report from members of your extended social network, you get a strangely satisfying glimpse of their daily routines. We don’t think it at all moronic a start a phone call with a friend by asking how her day is going. Twitter [as a microblogging] gives you the same information without you even having to ask.” Social scientist called it “ambient awareness” (Thompson, 2008). Like being physically standing beside some and guess his mood by everything he does.  People like to get all the updates and arrange it as a whole story of someone else life. Alexander (2007) also state “We love reading other writers, listening and commenting on their podcasts, checking their daily lives via Twitter, laughing at photo on MySpace.” People do care about others but they don’t want to express it directly. With those opinions we can see why microblogging is popular. It can be a useful source of personal information or just a way to feel less alone.

The popularity of microblogging is not only among social network friends, but also spread to the company environment. It has become a useful tool to communicate between the workers or the whole company organization. They called it enterprise microblogging. Generally, it is a private microblogging. You can be the part of the community if you have the company email. Enterprise microblogging help company listen you their worker thought and also a great way to market their company. Enterprise microblogging sites, such as Yammer, Socialcast, Socialtxt, and Obayoo also offer different content to differentiate with other sites. Socialcast (http://www.socialcast.com) offer a consultancy service, Obayoo (http://www.obayoo.com) users can invite their contractor or client with non-company email. Socialtext (http://www.socialtext.com) offer SocialCalc, a social spreadsheet program to reduce error and increase productivity (Callari, 2009). The usefulness of this invention makes company attracted to microblogging sites. It changes how company communicates with their employees. It makes office environment become more relaxed.

After affecting company activities, microblogging started to reach education level. It seems that popularity of this new technology affected all sectors in life. In higher education, such at university, microblogging is a useful tool to spread the information about the lecture or try to give comment. In Pennsylvania State University in University Park, one of the professors uses two screens to teach. One is shown the lecture that day and the other is Twitter page where the student can post a comment about the lecture (Young, 2009). It seems like technology is the best way to connect with students. They used to this application and teachers can see it as an opportunity make the students attracted to the lecture.

In conclusion, the popularity of microblogging is because of all the advantages and privileges they offer. The easy to use way, the community created by it, the first form (blog), and how microblogging is useful to every sectors of life. It is the evidence of the development of web 2.0 that combines the entire web 2.0 characteristics (communication, collaboration, and information sharing). Microblogging is easy and simple, less time consuming compared to the SNSs. Just type your status, click, and it send to your followers. It doesn’t matter it will attract people to read and give feedback, sometimes it is only for self-amusement. It is the “ambient awareness” phenomenon. And yes, microblogging is a social network. You create a profile in the site and manage your own friends, who can be friend with you. Then follow your family, friends and the preferred community. It is community with your own goal, with your own convention. Even it is virtually, it is still a community and users belong in there. Microblogging popularity supported by all the advantages and privileges you can get from it, and also specific content that offered by different sites. Even some company look microblogging as a useful invention to keep them interact with their employees. Enterprise microblogging become a new way to communicate. Higher education also sees microblogging as a great opportunity to be involved in the classroom. Alexander (2007) state, “If we want the students to engage the world as critical, informed people, then we need to reshape our plans as the world changes.” It means using web 2.0 in classroom is good way to get the students focused. For all that reason mentioned, microblogging is become more popular day by day. It’s affected all sectors in our life. The useful advantages users can get—simple, easy, fast, mobile—makes microblogging the best choice for communicate in these bustling life.

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