Twitter isn’t just your average social network. In addition to allowing its users to upload and share status updates, pictures or any other useless 140-character banter the user feels like posting on the Internet, Twitter is revolutionizing how we obtain information, report the news and keep in touch – in a condensed form.
As sports fans and tweetaholics probably already know, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals was recently fined $25,000 by the NFL for tweeting during last week’s pre-season warm-up against the Philadelphia Eagles. The tweets got the Bengals’ wild receiver in trouble for possessing a mobile device during game time and posting information to a social media website during the game, prior to post-game press and media sessions.
Johnson posted this at 6:50 p.m.: “Just talk with Kelly Washington, Desean Jackson, Geoff Pope, Hank Baskett and I caught a ball from Mike Vick, I love pre-game warm up.” This was followed later that evening by the slightly more comical, yet equally atrocious grammar at 9:53 p.m.: “Man Im sick of getting hit like that, it’s the damn preseason [expletive] 1day I’m gone jump up and start throwing hay makers.” Johnson subsequently tweeted some half-hearted apologies and a statement claiming that the fine is equivalent to two months worth of his Bugatti payments. Before forming an opinion on Mr. Ochocinco’s dilemma, take the time to ask yourself what’s more "#ridiculous:" the fact that someone can be fined for posting on a social media site from the sidelines or that social media has gained such a presence in our everyday lives that a fine of that nature even exists? Certainly the latter is relevant to the NFL, when previously players actually had to do their smack-talking on the field in order to acquire such hefty fines.
In a time I like to refer to as “The Land before Tweeting,” paparazzi really had to work in order to find out what high-profile celebs like Chad Johnson do in their leisure time. Now, it’s as simple as opening your phone and following Twitter. I certainly don’t care that @ParisHilton is powdering her nose with @lindsaylohan or how @OGOchocinco doesn’t like how hard he’s being hit during the pre-season. These are such trivial aspects of celebrities’ daily lives, it shouldn’t matter to the rest of us.
To that end, why do we, as an emerging media-producing generation, find the everyday errands of celebrities and for that matter,our peers, so interesting? Are we that bored with reality that we have to re-create it online? Just going online feels like we’re all working together on writing the sequel to “Texts From Last Night.” It’s not like a majority of the tweets put out there really carry any sort of significance. I feel like CNN would still report on it if there were to be an @OsamaBinLaden account tweeting things like “View from the cave is great, ate some lamb and worked on plans for future projects.”
But, seriously, does tweeting about watching a movie make watching it any more enjoyable? It’s not even that I’m saying Twitter is a bad thing; it’s definitely annoying and not nearly as fun as MySpace, but clearly not altogether horrible. However, the impact it has made in terms of advertising, online and testimonial marketing make even the dot-com bust look miniscule in comparison.
In an age when the evolution from MySpace to LinkedIn makes more sense to people than the evolution of man, the answers to some of these questions are probably and unfortunately a “yes.” And, for the other questions, well, as we have proven, there is some sense of unity, a mentality of community and a feeling of togetherness that we obtain by befriending our friends online. It may not make sense, and in six months there will more than likely be something new chompin’ at the bit to be the next big thing, but, right now, it’s lookin’ like Twitter is here to stay. Don’t ‘twote’ me on that.
Reach the reporter at ben.karris@asu.edu, or drive him nuts by following him on Twitter @BenKarris
