Extended Post: Plugging Into the Twittersphere

The public sphere, the domain for conversation and public information, has long been the imagined space for the 'people'. It has come under many guises; be it through newspapers or public spaces, on radio or across the internet. An evolving space that is always changing. In the contemporary media climate, the Internet has become the primary space for public discourse and rhetoric, especially given the advent of 'blogging' and Social Networking. More specifically, the twittersphere has become a central node for public discourse and conversation, allowing for 'open conversations' to exist (Johnson, 2009) between its 140 million active users. Through this, Twitter has developed 'into a powerful form of communication' (Johnson, 2009), allowing users to subscribe to the information and content they wish to see. This differs from the more traditional outlets of the 'public sphere', as those in the 'twittersphere' can tailor the information they receive based on their social, political and cultural beliefs. Twitter has also become a platform for political, cultural and social change, evidenced by the Arab Spring Uprisings, the #occupy movement and the Iranian Presidential elections of 2010 among others. These movements underline the power of the 'open conversation' and how it can generate action almost instantly. The way in which we interact with others online has also shifted, as Twitter may be 'fundamentally changing the ways in which we configure celebrity status' and culture (Faina, 2012). Evidently, the 'Twittersphere' harnesses powerful properties that can instigate change and public discourse; properties that will only become more powerful as its user base grows. 

With the rapid growth of the internet, the theory of the public sphere has evolved to envelop that of new media avenues. Social networks have catered to this shift in theory, as public conversations are increasingly moving towards social portals such as Twitter and Facebook. Twitter has become one of the central nodes of this online discourse, as the nature of 'hashtags' allow for accessible and open conversations, irregardless of location. As such, the opinions we find in the twittersphere 'influence our opinions offline as well' (Smith, 2009), evidenced by the reporting of major events first on Twitter which are then filtered through traditional media (Smith, 2009). Further to this, people 'follow others not just for social networking but for information' (Dijck, 2011) in a similar way that people would buy newspapers or view the news on TV. The essential difference here is that Twitter caters for public conversation through the same avenue that the original news item is viewed, creating a tailored public sphere for its users. While traditional media would have generated conversation with family members around a dinner table, Twitter can harness genuine discourse between interested users as the event transpires in real time (Johnson, 2009). It highlights the power of the twittersphere as a public space, a central component to the movement of conversation from traditional means to online platforms. 

The instantaneous and open nature of Twitter has also cultivated a heightened accessibility to those of fame and fortune. Unlike other social networks, the appearance of personal information from celebrities on Twitter 'creates a sense of intimacy between participant and follower' (Boyd & Marwick, 2011), in what users perceive as normal, everyday conversation between equals (Johnson 2009). Through avenues of social media, celebrities are managed as a brand - they maintain their fan base by appearing authentic and accessible so as to further their desired image (Boyd & Marwick, 2011). It has created a culture of hyper publicity, where every tweet is analysed as a source of gossip by the fans of each celebrity (Faina, 2012). Resultantly, this hyper publicity has provided a pathway for fans to emulate what is perceived as 'famous' behaviour, manipulating their online image so as to run parallels with celebrities lifestyles. While interest in celebrity movement and behaviour has always existed in traditional media, the open and instantaneous nature of Twitter has changed the way people access that information. Fans can follow 100 of their favourite stars and have 'backstage' updates instantly (Boyd & Marwick, 2011), accentuated by the array of devices that access Twitter. This evolution of online celebrity culture has also shifted the 'market of personalities' (Marshall, 2010), where those of fame are competing for crucial branding opportunities and an enhanced image. Therefore, ensuring often engagement with fans and an accessible persona online has become paramount for the desired perception of each celebrity. 

The rapid movement of information and the instant connections between users has positioned Twitter as a platform for political, social and cultural change. During recent global events, Twitter's instantaneous nature has empowered its users (Alqudsi-ghabra, 2012), acting as a facilitator in the process of social and political movement. The Arab Spring Uprisings of 2011, also known as the 'twitter revolutions', underline the powerful properties of the social network as a social aggregator. While negative sentiment  in Egypt had been prevalent for some time, Twitter assisted in ensuring the movement gained critical mass (Choudhary et al, 2012). It became the portal of the revolution, as it organised and accumulated the masses in Egypt, while keeping the global public informed and aware of the situation. Resultantly, the simplicity of the hashtag and the instantaneous nature of the network became too difficult for the Mubarak regime to track, and thus contributed to its collapse (Gladwell & Shirky, 2011). Simiarly, the Iranian Presidential elections of 2009 utilised Twitter to ensure the democratic voting process was upheld. As online news networks and television stations were shut down by the then authoritarian government, Twitter facilitated conversation and provided an avenue for young Iranians to voice their discontent with the current government (Schorr, 2009). From a western perspective, the #Occupy movement grew from its starting point at Wall St in New York to just about every major global city through a hashtag on Twitter, #OccupyEverywhere. This hashtag mobilised people throughout the globe who sympathised with those on Wall St, viewing the movement with merit and demanding that 'politics be about the people' (Schneider, 2011). These cases underline the power of Twitter to facilitate and fuel the social and political movement of the critical mass, often through a simple hashtag. 

In the contemporary media climate, the proliferation of social media has created a platform for public conversation and discourse. More specifically, the twittersphere has become a social and political portal, allowing users to tailor and control the information they wish to engage with. This ability to tailor and control content highlights the powerful properties of this social network, as it gives new meaning to the public sphere as we know it. It is a new form of public arena that can instigate dialogue from interested parties all over the globe, facilitating an open conversation through the use of a simple hashtag. While undoubtedly Twitter will not replace or absorb into the public sphere as we know it due to the limitations it places on its conversations (140 characters or less) (Hauth, 2010), it is an example of the modern nature of the public sphere and the way we receive information. 

Reference List:

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'Choudhary, A et al, Social Media Evolution of the Egyptian Revolution' 2012, Communications Of The ACM, 55, 5, pp. 74-80, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 4 October 2012

Dijck, J 2011, 'Tracing Twitter: The rise of a microblogging platform', International Journal Of Media & Cultural Politics, 7, 3, pp. 333-348, Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 September 2012

Faina, J 2012, 'Twitter and the New Publicity', ETC: A Review Of General Semantics, 69, 1, pp. 55-71, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 September 2012

Freeland, C 2012, 'The Cost of Modern Revolution', Atlantic Monthly, 310, 1, p. 64, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 4 October 2012

Gladwell, M & Shirky, C 2011 'Tweeting Toward Freedom?', Wilson Quarterly, 35, 2, pp. 64-66, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 4 October 2012

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Mirrors, Reality and the Specular Economy

The influence of the celebrity in our society is unparallelled, especially given the effect that they have upon children. We live in an information society which is fuelled by image and branding, enhanced by a celebrity culture that is plastered across advertising, magazines and TV. This celebrity culture has evolved due to the online activity of users, as they're lives become more accessible and 'instantaneous' thanks to a social networking site such as Twitter. With the evolution of this celebrity culture, it has also  shifted the 'market of personalities' into a digital and more robust form (Marshall, 2010). We have become eager to emulate our favourite star, manipulating our online image so as to run parallels with their lifestyles. 

Social Networking and 'blogging' are the central nodes to this creation of online persona's, due to their simplicity. Users can post what they want to post, be it image or text, in a way to present their desired image or status across a site like Facebook. It has allowed for the creation of aliases or alternate persona's which users deem desirable, in a way that emulate's a certain lifestyle or personality. Marshall (2010) has labelled this as a 'Specular Economy', where we are more conscious about the way we present ourselves. Using the example of a two-way mirror, he highlights how social networking and online activity has allowed us to reflect a certain persona that may not be true reflection of the self. It is an interesting concept, especially as we become more reliant on social networking platforms. 

Reference List 

Marshall, PP 2010, 'The Specular Economy', Society, 47, 6, pp. 498-502, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 September 2012.