Blog about Twitter

The first Twitter discussion I had was the one for class with the hashtag #3810NET1 (It was also the first time I've ever had or used a Twitter account). I have listed some qualities about each method below: 

Twitter discussion: 

• Each post is short and concise (140 characters max) 
• People need to be considerate about what they want to say - they need to pack as much information and thoughts into a short sentence or two 
• Hashtags are used to pull together all relevant discussion posts from everyone who uses the hashtag, putting everything onto one thread
• Twitter automatically tags person you are responding to so the user can see who has responded
• Users are able to respond to a discussion in short form, so the page is never flooded with text 
• Anyone who knows the hashtag is able to join in the conversation, whether or not they are part of the CIS3810 class 

Blackboard discussion: 

• No limit on how much can be written about a topic 
• It is harder to have a discussion on Blackboard because each person has their own individual post that other students need to click into in order to respond
• Harder to see everyone's post on one thread
• There is more freedom to explain one's thoughts and opinions, sometimes making the Blackboard threads very lengthy 
• Less organized, Blackboard does not notify when a user receives a response to a post 

An in-class discussion: 

• People are able to have an open discussion that is real-time, allowing participants to jump in whenever they want to 
• There is no physical record of the discussion unless someone is taking minutes 
• Sometimes discussions can go on to tangents very quickly 
• Easier to understand emotions and feelings through hearing people's voices and seeing their actions 

I personally enjoyed the Twitter discussion because I don't like to spend all of my time reading long paragraphs about a topic that can be summarized into a quick short form. Additionally, responses to posts are short and concise so often times there is not a lot that I have to read. The most helpful aspect of Twitter is the hashtags because Twitter will pull all relevant posts and put them together on one thread and anyone is able to contribute to a conversation if they know what the hashtag is for.