140 characters to answer the question, “What’s happening?” What was once a way to effectively update peers, the away message or Facebook status has now become nearly epic in length, while tweeting is more like dashing off a haiku, capturing thoughts, feelings, physical or emotional states of being, social commentary and even philanthropy (Go #lollipoptheater!).
Because 140 characters can only get you so far, no tweet goes unedited, and putting together the right expression is a painstaking craft of splicing and rearranging, seeing more cuts than a plastic surgeon’s scalpel.
And it has changed the way we think too--instead of taking the time to develop a scene of mounting tension, showing each and every stinging risk and sweet reward, “drama! tension! red or blue wire!” gets the message across, with a little over 100 characters to spare. If green is the new black, twitter is a new art.
More and more people are catching on to this new form of expression, and recently UK’s The Guardian posted a list of top 50 Twitter feeds for the arts. For more information, and a peek at everything from artistic work to the artists themselves, see the following link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/18/twitter-and-the-arts .
--as written for a binghamton university spring 2010 writing course
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