Michael Belknap
Twitter Article Synthesis

Farhad Manjoo writes an article titled, “Do I Really Have to Join Twitter?” in which he states his dissatisfaction with the aforementioned website. On the other hand, Caroline McCarthy stands by the website in her article, “In Defense of Twitter.” Manjoo tries to prove that Twitter is pointless and that it does little to improve on current methods of conversation. McCarthy tries to prove that Twitter is an enjoyable experience largely due to the randomness of the content that is posted on the site. Both of the authors agree that the site has become incredibly popular in recent years. They also agree that the site is rather easy to get in to and very accessible for most people; however, they disagree on the purpose of twitter and whether the quality of the tweets makes the site really worth following. According to both Manjoo and McCarthy, Twitter has gained large leaps in popularity in recent years. Manjoo states that Twitters has seen a 700 percent increase in the amount of users in the last year. McCarthy refers to Twitter as the, “Much talked about micro-blogging site.” Inferring that Twitter has had some degree of popularity for a while now. Courtney Haden writes in an article in Birmingham Weekly that, “Twitter [is] one of the fastest growing phenomena on the internet.” All three of these sources hint that Twitter is quickly becoming one of the biggest social media sites. Manjoo also states that, “According to comScore, the microblogging site received about 10 million visitors in February.” This is obviously quite a lot of people for only a single site. This leads me to me second point of how both Manjoo and McCarthy see the site as being easy to get into. Twitter is an easy site to become a part of according to McCarthy and Manjoo. In “In Defense of Twitter.” It’s stated that Twitter doesn’t require that the user to set up anything “elaborate.” This means that just about anyone can join Twitter with a minimal amount of effort. Manjoo states that Twitter is, “A cinch to get into.” Despite his former dissatisfaction with the site. McCarthy also implies that Twitter is easy to implement with her statement that the user isn’t required to fill out a list of interests like other social-media sites. This further proves her point that setting up a Twitter account is very easy. Manjoo outlines that all you have to do is, “sign up, pick a few people to follow, then start typing out your thoughts.” This all seems to point towards the fact that both Manjoo and McCarthy agree that Twitter is an easy site to become a part of. Both writers are very affective in proving the point that twitter is an easy site for someone to integrate into their daily life. Manjoo and McCarthy, however, seem to disagree on one major aspect between their two articles. Both Authors seem to disagree on whether the content posted by Twitter is really worthwhile. Manjoo equates the writings on twitter to “short quips on bathroom stalls”. Manjoo is dissatisfied with that 140 character limits and how many people on Twitter (especially ones with large amounts of followers) tend to use the site for more mindless posts. McCarthy reports that she enjoys that, “There's no obligation to be philosophical, thought-provoking or grammatically sound.” She seems to really like the spontaneity of twitter as it seems to help keep the website fresh and interesting. Stever and Lawson (both writers for the North American Journal of Psychology) stated that, “for celebrities who were using Twitter, the dialogue is serious, meaningful, and appears to have impact for those participating.” This shows that even celebrities on twitter with sometimes post thought provoking content on Twitter. Each person seems to have a different interpretation of the content posted on Twitter ranging from thought provoking to mindless. I think that both writers are decently effective in how their claims are presented. Manjoo is very successful in providing precise examples of his frustration with Twitter. With his struggles of getting more followers to the 140 character limit. McCarthy does a good job of showcasing the simple joy that can come from making simple posts on Twitter. She finds the spontaneity of Twitter to be one of its most enjoyable features. Both authors fully agree that Twitter has gained large amounts of popularity in recent years. And finally, both authors agree that Twitter is a very accessible website for most people; referencing the fact that you don’t have to fill out a list of your interests or even perform much maintenance like what a blog would require. In the end, Both Authors have thoroughly presented their satisfaction and grievances with the site and both are very affective in proving their points.

Works Cited

Stever, Gayle S., and Kevin Lawson. "Twitter As A Way For Celebrities To Communicate With Fans: Implications For The Study Of Parasocial Interaction." North American Journal Of Psychology, 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Haden, Courtney. "Putting the Twit in Twitter." Birmingham Weekly: 6. Mar 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

McCarthy, Caroline. "In Defense of Twitter." CNET News. CBS Interactive, May 30, 2007. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Manjoo, Farhad. “Do I really Have to Join Twitter?” Mcgraw Hill Reader. Ed. Gilbert Muller New York: Mcgraw Hill, 2009. 163-164. Book.