In contrast to traditional blogging, microblogging is distinguished by condensing the information into a microformat. The social media platform, Twitter is particularly well known for giving rise to this form of blogging. While it may not always be easy to summarize complex topics in 144 characters, the benefits of communicating in this way are clear to see; brief, snappy posts enable users to exchange information with a wide audience quickly and effectively. This is especially convenient for smartphone users, as the small screen size lends itself to creating short messages, rather than scrolling and composing lengthy articles.
Short posts (including the ever-popular tweets) can be published in a variety of formats, including the typical text and image formats as well as videos, audio messages and hyperlinks.
The microblogging trend emerged towards the end of the era of web 2.0, as traditional blogging started to incorporate various social media characteristics. The zeitgeist demanded a shorter, more direct form of blogging. Microblogging is essentially a method of creating short text messages for an online audience. It’s therefore a useful channel for fast and easy communication, and a way to inform a large group of people simultaneously about current news.
Microblogging has also become an important method of communication for universities and educational institutions. In recent years, a number of apps have been developed that allow researchers to discuss common interests and share exciting new discoveries. Using these, it’s possible to draw attention to a particular project and arouse the interest of fellow researchers. At some universities, microblogging is being used for more specific purposes: for example, regular short updates are being used to help students meet deadlines and promote their work, as well as keeping information and course materials relevant and up-to-date.
Some faculties even offer courses on microblogging. In this way, a backchannel is created for the students outside the seminar room. For example, Stephen Prothero, professor of Religion at Boston University, set himself the ambitious goal of using Twitter to summarize the characteristics of the eight major world religions, naturally, less than 140 characters per post.