Politweets—Political expression, in 140 characters or less

January 25, 2008

Politweets—Political expression, in 140 characters or less

Photo: Courtesy of Politweets

How much can you say in 140 characters or less? If you're a writer and aren't using Twitter, a free "microblogging" platform, I suggest you give it a try. It's fun. You'll engage in surprisingly interesting and perhaps meaningful conversations. Also, it will challenge your writing.

I'm a firm believer that in order to say more, you have to say it with less. If you write on Twitter and update every day, you give yourself the exercise of having to say what you think in relatively few words. There is no room for excess and wordy dregs. Twitter users distill their facts and opionions; 'Net-speak abbreviations like LOL and BRB, and emoticons like :-) will only get you so far. Carefully chosen words will bring you home.

This brings me to Politweets, a Twitter skimming site which collects "tweets" that mention U.S. presidential candidates' names, and then presents them on their site. You'll be amazed how much people can say given such tight writing parameters. I've written an article about this social media phenomenon on the Huffington Post's OffTheBus:

Politweets — All the News That's Fit to "Tweet"

It's democracy in action. Political conversations have taken on a whole new twist, thanks to technology and innovation.

UPDATE: This article is cross-posted at techPresident. If you're interested in how technology is affecting the presidential elections, take note of this blog.

° It's time to get on "OffTheBus"
° Will the next U.S. President be a blogger?

January 25, 2008 in Contemporary Culture, Current Affairs, Journalism, Media, NewAssignment.net, Off The Bus/Huffington Post, Politics, techPresident, Trends, Twitter, Web/Tech | Permalink

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

The comments to this entry are closed.

Hello and welcome!

My name is Kristin Gorski. I recently earned my doctorate (EdD) in instructional technology and media. My research focuses on technology and literacies, writing in digital spaces, and how media literacy may support academic literacy (among other incredibly interesting topics). On occasion, I’m also a freelance writer and editor. “Write now is good.” is my personal blog about writing, creativity and inspiration (with healthy doses of technology in relevant places). I started it in blogging's heyday (2006) and still post to it, time permitting. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, have writing/technology/creativity info to share, or want to say, "Hi," contact me at kgwritenow (at) yahoo dot com. To read more about me, click on the "ABOUT" link below.