MICROBLOGGING

Micro-blogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates (say, 140 characters or fewer) or micro media such as photos or audio clips and publish them. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, MP3 or the web.

The content of a micro-blog differs from a traditional blog due in that it is typically more topical, smaller in aggregate file size (e.g. text, audio or video) but is the same in that people utilize it for both business and individual reasons. Many micro-blogs provide this short commentary on a person-to-person level, or share news about a company's products and services.

Micro-blogging is the practice of sending brief posts to a personal blog on a micro-blogging Web site, such as Twitter or Jaiku. Micro posts can be made public on a Web site and/or distributed to a private group of subscribers. Subscribers can read micro blog posts online or request that updates be delivered in real time to their desktop as an instant message or sent to a mobile device as an SMS text message.

The appeal of micro-blogging is both its immediacy and portability. Because posts are so brief (typically 140 – 200 characters), a micro-blogger can update his micro blog often enough to keep readers informed as events, whether large or small, unfold. Anyone with a cell phone can send and receive updates anytime, anywhere. Users can send messages as text, video or audio. Several social networking Web sites, including Twitter, are promoting micro-blogging as a convergence of several types of presence technology. Here's Twitter's self-description: "A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?"

A common criticism of micro-blogging is the trivial nature of most posts:

Although microblogging started as a way for young and technologically savvy users to keep in touch, the practice is moving into the mainstream. In the United States, for example, Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards started microblogging details from the campaign trail. Some traditional media organizations, including The New York Times and the BBC, have begun to send headlines and links in microblog posts. Other potential applications of microblogging include traffic and sports updates and emergency broadcast systems.