Damn you Twitter, now I’m hooked … You’re like crack. Maybe we can call it twack?

Back in November, I blogged about Twitter with a heavy degree of trepidation about the site. I almost gave up on it as utterly pointless, but decided to renew my tweeting in March and give the site a second chance. Well, now I can say that without a doubt, I am hooked on the sweet, sweet crack that is this most succinct of social networking sites.

I should have expected this. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Facebook status updates and change my GChat status all the time. I find that I often use these two services to either express my current emotion (e.g., Vitak is screaming expletives from the rooftops) or to share funny links (e.g., my favorite lolcats). With Twitter, however, I find myself feeling the need to share my daily activities with the world, and it’s often not information I would consider posting in my GChat or Facebook. These daily ruminations do contain the occasional gem (my personal favorite thus far is “I played too much Nintendo as a kid…The rain kept changing direction on my walk, and all I could think of was board 2.3 in Ninja Gaiden 2″), but they’re usually the dull and boring comments on my thesis and the like. Maybe this is because so few of my friends and/or colleagues are on the site. I only have 10 followers and I only follow 15 people.

So then the question becomes: if I become more popular, will I change the content of my postings on Twitter? Will I become one of those people who tweets every time I post a new blog and use the site as a way to promote myself? Or will the site turn into a sort of time-delayed instant messenger, where I’m interacting with a number of friends at the same time? A public IM? Sounds like a strange concept, wouldn’t you think?

We’ll see how the summer affects my tweeting. After all, in three days, I’ll be officially done with my master’s program and will have a bit more time on my hands. Maybe I can develop a massive following and just tweet all day long, constantly.

Wow, that would be totally lame.

You can follow me on twitter here.

OMG Mom, I’m talking to my BFF: New Pew Internet Report gets to the heart of teen writing

Ahh kids. So cute, aren’t they? These little “digital native”-buggers take to new technology like a fat kid takes I would take to an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. Teens and young adults are some of the most Internet-savvy people out there, and they have often mastered new gadgets before their parents have mastered the “on/off” switch.” For example, think back to last summer when a 17-year-old boy managed to hack into and unlock an iPhone. I don’t even think I’d be able to get the case off the phone, and I consider myself relatively intelligent when it comes to new technologies.

So, the question then becomes, what kind of impacts are these new technologies having on the current generation of young people? Will the technology help them become smarter, more astute adults who know a lot more about more things than their parents’ generation? Or will they degrade into a mass of acronym-spewing, proper-English-devoid, short-conversation imbeciles? Case in point, a fabulous Verizon commercial that debuted relatively recently:

This question is the focus of the Pew Internet Project’s latest report, Writing, Technology, and Teens, which considers the methods teens use to write, both in formal and informal situations, and how the Internet and more abbreviated forms of communication (e.g., emoticons, lack of proper grammar like capitalizations and punctuation, and the use of abbreviations such as LOL, etc.), are creeping into students’ more formal writing endeavors.

This is a great read if you have any interest on the impact of technology on youth. For a brief summary of findings, check out the Associated Press’ article on the report here.

Oh glorious master’s degree, you are within my grasp!

I defended my thesis today in front of my advisor, reader and an audience of my peers. My thesis considers the impact of new technologies on communication methods, specifically the impact of Facebook on college students’ methods of interaction, both in the online and offline worlds. I gave a solid presentation and was awarded “distinction” for my research, which gives me a great sense of satisfaction. Apparently, six months of hard work, research and writing non-stop can actually pay off. I’ll post the link once the final version is online, and hopefully I’ll be able to publish my work in a major journal by year-end. I’ll certainly be continuing this strain of research over the next several years as I pursue my PhD at Michigan State. w00t!

Picture of the Day: Why will people never understand techno?

I love electronic music. I remember the first techno CD I bought at the tender age of 14 — Messiah’s “21st Century Jesus” — and I would listen to it on repeat constantly. Well, that and Sarah McLachlan’s “Fumbling Toward Ecstasy” — and yes, I realize that’s a very strange combination, but, hey, I was a strange kid.

I feel that I must constantly defend my love of techno. People just don’t understand its musical contribution or how anyone can listen to such repetitive beats. No matter what I say, I can’t convince the vast majority of my friends to give techno a chance. So when I saw this xkcd.com comic strip this week, I had a good laugh, as it quite accurately summarizes the problem I encounter when talking to a friend about techno.

Burger King steals classic RPG theme song for new commercial

I must admit that I love most of the BK ads released in the last couple years, especially the one where the guy wakes up and the king is next to him in bed. However, the latest installment, which shows the (vomit-inducing) breakfast of the future immediately caught not my eye, but rather my ear. When listening to the commercial, I immediately recognized the music, and could barely believe my ears. It’s the theme song from the original Final Fantasy for NES! I couldn’t believe it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if you’re going to steal a song from a video game, Final Fantasy is a great place to go (although I think the Mega Man series has some of the best music of all time), but c’mon people, let’s think of something original when trying to sell our icky fast food.

Here’s the commercial (although you can barely hear the music on it, so I would advise turning the volume up on your TV next time it comes on):

And here’s a link to the original Final Fantasy theme song:

Now, am I right or am I right?

Dear Facebook, stop giving preferential treatment to the ivy-leagues!

I’ve been patiently waiting for Facebook Chat to launch for a week or so, even though I’m not sure why I care so much about it. A staunch devotee to GChat, I don’t really plan on using the feature, but I guess curiosity has gotten the better of me. I blame my thesis, since I want to blame just about everything on it right now (e.g., My Saxby’s chai tastes bad? Must be because of my damn thesis! grrr). Yes, yes, I know, too much anger is a bad thing. But it’s also so much fun!

ANYWAY… So last week Nick O’Neill teased me by saying the launch was imminent, and should definitely happen by week-end, i.e., April 5th. Well I waited and waited. When I was presenting research at a conference Saturday, I excitedly told everyone it should be “any second now.” A CNN article boldly claims that Facebook Chat will surpass GChat in terms of use because of the frequency with which users log onto the site.

But here I am, still excited, and still waiting. This feature could have a significant impact on both my recent research on collegiate Facebook use, as well as Michigan State’s ongoing Facebook research. I don’t know about you, but because of GCHat (and, I’ll admit, because I’m addicted to my email), I keep Gmail open 24/7. I don’t quite do that yet with Facebook, although it is often open as a reference for my thesis writing (ok ok, and because I’m obsessed with online communication). Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t talk about instant messaging in my thesis…

But now I just found out why I’m not seeing Facebook Chat yet. After teasing me last week, Nick O’Neill has now posted on allfacebook that the feature did indeed roll out, but just to the “elites” of the collegiate world — namely, Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Berkeley, Brown, Dartmouth and MIT. First, a quick question: Why the hell is U of C in this group? C’mon people, Georgetown should get chat long before that university. The rest of the roll out will happen gradually, and in typical Facebook-fashion, without a definite time frame. I’m expecting it to launch completely on the day of my thesis defense, and somehow find a way to nullify all my results.

Damn you Facebook!

Google goes black — and so should you

Thanks largely in part to Al Gore, it has become nearly impossible to deny the reality of global warming. However, knowing isn’t enough; action is required in order to begin a reversal of the damage done to our planet. Most people are unaware of just how easy it is to do this.

This is the focus of Earth Hour, a now annual event which encourages businesses and consumers to turn off the power for one hour as a simple way of saving energy. The event began in Australia in 2007 and this years aims to become global. You can participate by turning off your lights, computer, TV, etc., from 8pm-9pm local time TONIGHT, March 29, 2008.

Even Google has joined in to encourage participation by symbolically “turning off the lights” on its homepage. The site also links to a page with more information on Earth Hour.

So don’t just say you care about the planet tonight. PROVE IT.

Picture of the Day: Security threats go pastel to celebrate the arrival of spring

Living in DC, the Homeland Security security threat level is always present in some form. People living here don’t seem to have any concern for the fact that we’ve had a heightened threat level for most of our lives, which makes me wonder if we’d even notice if something really bad actually happened.

Anyway, the standard color-coded threat level scale is harsh, mainly primary colors. Red is bad, blue is good. So boring! With spring in the air and cherry blossoms a-blooming, the folks over at Wired decided the scale needed a spring cleaning, and I completely agree. So without further ado, I give you the new and improved Homeland Security Threat Level Scale!

My favorite is definitely the Snorkel Azure, although Rococco is a close second. I’m sending emails to Homeland Security to suggest they post scratch-and-sniff versions on all Metro trains and buses.

jessica vitak, phd

Author Archives: vitak