Twitter's revolutionary potential?

• Source: Global Times
• [22:20 July 08 2009]
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Editor's Note:
The following is an interview by Global Times (GT) reporter Ao Lin with Dr. Luan Yimei (Luan), an expert on new media and the director of New Media Development Department of China National Radio, on the political, economic, and social impact of the micro blogging service known as Twitter, a new communication tool that has taken off worldwide in the last year.

GT: What distinguishes Twitter from traditional media and other new media?

Luan: Twitter has some distinct advantages that allow it to stand out in the media landscape.

First of all, it is among the fastest and timeliest means of communication.

The news that a collapsed Michael Jackson had been rushed by ambulance to hospital was first reported not by CNN or the New York Times, but by a Twitter user who witnessed what happened outside Jackson's house. The tweet he or she wrote ignited heated debate among followers. Traditional media, which reacted more than one hour late, had to cite these tweets as one of the sources.

Likewise, many other sensational events, such as China's CCTV blaze or the death of the Japanese former AV star Ai Iijima, all came to light internationally first over Twitter.

Second, Twitter differs from Instant Messenger (IM) and many other network media in that the former can spread information much farther and wider, representing a center-peripheral communication model instead of the point-to-point model used by IM and the like. Thus Twitter creates countless far-reaching personal media by attracting tons of followers.

Third, Twitter has somehow, and rather surprisingly, gained more credibility than other new media. This may be because Twitter users are relatively mature. Besides, the use of real names, encouraged on Twitter, builds up trust.

GT: We've heard about the so-called “Twitter revolution” in Iran. In what way has Twitter changed politics?

Luan: The Iranian government tried every means to shut out all media from covering the political turmoil there, but failed to tackle Twitter. Twitter played a prominent role in facilitating the communication among Iranian protestors and their contact with outside world, filling the information vacuum created by the government.

Twitter has substantially altered the political environment. One of the central concerns of governments and politicians is how to effectively manipulate public opinion. With the rise of Twitter, traditional ways of screening out inappropriate information and opinions will be obsolete. Governments and politicians will have to come up with new strategies.

It is better if they can avail themselves of Twitter, like Americans, rather than crack down on it.

GT: What about Twitter's influence on other dimensions of social life, like business, culture and entertainment?

Luan: Many people use Twitter to pour out the troubles they encounter in their personal lives.

For instance, a Chinese woman had a big fight with her husband. After she twittered about her experience, numerous followers gave her advice on her problems.

A lot of single women seek dates through Twitter. Twitter has added a new spice to our personal lives.

Many stars in the West have shrewdly observed Twitter's advantages and enthusiastically display their charisma over it to foster relations with their fans.

Twitter also makes sense economically. Conventional methods that media rely upon to make profits, such as running ads and charging for media content, do not work well for Twitter. But I think people can earn from Twitter through database marketing, which helps companies collect consumers' experience of their products.

GT: What are the shortcomings of Twitter?

Luan: Strengths aside, Twitter is plagued by some drawbacks. The vast volume of tweets, each of which is no more than 140 characters, provide extremely fragmented information that deluges people, offering no clear meanings and purposes.

To solve this problem, powerful media organizations are needed that are capable of synthesizing and integrating fragmented information to endow meanings to whatever is on Twitter. This demands higher level of talents from new media professionals and Twitter users.

But information fragmentation can at the same time benefit society, as it is usually closer to truth than processed information. Yet consumers of Twitter information should have sound judgment to avoid getting lost in it.

GT: Technically, is it possible that some more advanced media technology will supersede Twitter? Is Twitter just a passing fad?

Luan: I believe the prime mover of new media is new technology, which is always moving forward. It is certain that better and faster technology will emerge. But that does not mean Twitter will disappear some day; most likely, it will be incorporated into new communication tools and continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

GT: Are there some differences between the Twitter phenomenon in the West and in China?

Luan: According to research, Twitter users in the West range in age from 30 to 45. They are more mature and independent minded. In China, by contrast, younger people between age 20 and 30, mostly male, form the bulk of Twitterers.

Westerners twitter about information and opinions on everything, while their Chinese counterparts largely focus on entertainment and intimate life. So a striking difference is that Twitter in China has little bearing on politics.

Twitter is for the moment only in English. This poses a constraint on the growth of Twitter in China, though we already have some burgeoning para- Twitter websites.

Taken as a whole, Twitter is still something novel for Chinese.

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