4 thoughts on “Cassandra– Twitter As a Global Force”
I really liked how this infographic concentrated on the contribution of twitter – an abstract, non-tangible online force – to globalization – an international integration. I think there’s kind of two types of globalization, really: the globalization of power players (here’s where economics/trade import-export/etc. come in), and the globalization of the people. Yes, the world is flattening such that the power players can cross geographical borders and exchange information at rapid rates. But there is also a potential for the flattening of social borders we as humans create around ourselves. For instance, there’s a tendency to think that one nation’s way of doing things is “best” (not that national pride is a bad thing, just saying that most people, to some extent have some). But through social media, we can easily relate to each other and find commonalities in the human experience. It’s interesting that, while power player globalization may only increase and add to the tensions between nations, “globalization of the people” (via social media) could break them down. Money dictates the rules of one form (power players), and technology increasingly seems to dictate the other. It’s sad though, how the use and access of social media is being more and more regulated by power players (you have to buy a smart phone/laptop to get on fb, pay for internet; net neutrality may end soon, etc.), not to mention that many individuals use social media as a way to reify the worst aspects of corporations, such as giving free advertising (think of the “rich kids on instagram” type) or cyberbulling. Such potential, clearly, as twitter is clearly a major player in globalization (175,000 tweets sent per minute wtf).
Also, how is google plus the second most popular social network? Don’t know anyone who (regularly) uses that.
I really liked how you infoprah connected to globalization 3.0. The use as an example of twitter was very creative way of showing this phenomena. This social media also shows the idea that Globalisation 3.0 is not mainly going to be driven by western countries, which is illustrated in you infoprag of the countries using twitter. Twitter allows people to share values and opinions, removing government authority because nowadays you don’t need to be an authority to raise your opinion.
This is so great! As a communications major, I am always really interested in the influence of social media in our cultures and societies. Social media, such as twitter, has everything to do with globalization because it does create that flattening that we have talked about so much. In instances such as the Arab Spring, social media was a core influence on the outcomes of the demonstrations. The way you put these stats into a easy to read and understand infographic was both visually appealing and informative. Overall, I just really liked your idea and the way that you connected it to globalization. My only suggestion for next time is maybe varying the colors more in the bar graph so that the differences in the countries is more obvious.
It makes sense that English would be the most used language on Twitter. Japanese being used more than Spanish, though, is interesting. That’s strange, given how many more people speak Spanish globally than Japanese. It must speak to levels of technological engagement between cultures, or maybe more the usefulness of Twitter as a tool within a given country. I notice that Turkish has a presence here as well. Many pro-democracy protests in recent months have relied on Twitter as an organizational tool, so much so that the Turkish government eventually blocked it. I am continually fascinated by how people communicate across platforms and utilize them to achieve their goals. Twitter, with its tremendous flattening power, is a fantastic tool.
I really liked how this infographic concentrated on the contribution of twitter – an abstract, non-tangible online force – to globalization – an international integration. I think there’s kind of two types of globalization, really: the globalization of power players (here’s where economics/trade import-export/etc. come in), and the globalization of the people. Yes, the world is flattening such that the power players can cross geographical borders and exchange information at rapid rates. But there is also a potential for the flattening of social borders we as humans create around ourselves. For instance, there’s a tendency to think that one nation’s way of doing things is “best” (not that national pride is a bad thing, just saying that most people, to some extent have some). But through social media, we can easily relate to each other and find commonalities in the human experience. It’s interesting that, while power player globalization may only increase and add to the tensions between nations, “globalization of the people” (via social media) could break them down. Money dictates the rules of one form (power players), and technology increasingly seems to dictate the other. It’s sad though, how the use and access of social media is being more and more regulated by power players (you have to buy a smart phone/laptop to get on fb, pay for internet; net neutrality may end soon, etc.), not to mention that many individuals use social media as a way to reify the worst aspects of corporations, such as giving free advertising (think of the “rich kids on instagram” type) or cyberbulling. Such potential, clearly, as twitter is clearly a major player in globalization (175,000 tweets sent per minute wtf).
Also, how is google plus the second most popular social network? Don’t know anyone who (regularly) uses that.
I really liked how you infoprah connected to globalization 3.0. The use as an example of twitter was very creative way of showing this phenomena. This social media also shows the idea that Globalisation 3.0 is not mainly going to be driven by western countries, which is illustrated in you infoprag of the countries using twitter. Twitter allows people to share values and opinions, removing government authority because nowadays you don’t need to be an authority to raise your opinion.
This is so great! As a communications major, I am always really interested in the influence of social media in our cultures and societies. Social media, such as twitter, has everything to do with globalization because it does create that flattening that we have talked about so much. In instances such as the Arab Spring, social media was a core influence on the outcomes of the demonstrations. The way you put these stats into a easy to read and understand infographic was both visually appealing and informative. Overall, I just really liked your idea and the way that you connected it to globalization. My only suggestion for next time is maybe varying the colors more in the bar graph so that the differences in the countries is more obvious.
It makes sense that English would be the most used language on Twitter. Japanese being used more than Spanish, though, is interesting. That’s strange, given how many more people speak Spanish globally than Japanese. It must speak to levels of technological engagement between cultures, or maybe more the usefulness of Twitter as a tool within a given country. I notice that Turkish has a presence here as well. Many pro-democracy protests in recent months have relied on Twitter as an organizational tool, so much so that the Turkish government eventually blocked it. I am continually fascinated by how people communicate across platforms and utilize them to achieve their goals. Twitter, with its tremendous flattening power, is a fantastic tool.