The Twitter Obsession: Theory of Formula

Film makers have long used a type of formula in an attempt to make a successful movie. If you look at the modern day romantic comedies you can see the formula at play – boy meets girl, boy befriends girl, girl dates other guy, girl realizes her error, boy gets girl. There are also certain components to the formula that must be included for it to be successful – chemistry, another genre (sports, action, period piece), and of course a good story line. The theory of formula can also be applied to social media outlets, but in a different way.

I found it difficult to theorize about a formula for Twitter, likely because it is not as obvious as my first example. However, after researching why Twitter is successful, I began to see how it would be possible to use a formula to ensure its success. Here is the formula that I theorize could be applied:

·         Ease of use – Twitter had to be designed simply so anyone could use it with little or no training.

·         Easier to read than a blog – with the limited character count, instant online connection, notification system Twitter is easier to use over a blog.

·         Generates interest – People are always interested in what their friends are saying or doing. Twitter gives them a way to satisfy that interest quickly.

·         In tune with pop culture – let’s face it, the target audience called the always-connected generation thrives on pop culture. Twitter allows them to follow their favorite celebrity which gives them a false feeling of friendship with them. That false sense of friendship will keep people coming back to Twitter.

·         Social connection – Twitter can create a feeling of social connection to hundreds of people in many ways. One way is the Twitter friends that you gain which makes a person feel popular. Another way is connecting with other people using Twitter; it gives us something to talk about.

Looking for a formula has made me think differently about Twitter and Facebook as well. We do gain a false sense of security, almost a feeling that people do care about our lives and what we have to say. In reality, many people follow each other on Twitter simply to gain more followers themselves, which is a popularity contest of sorts. There are ways these social media outlets use their formula to bring in more users which will also bring in more earnings for them. In the end, it’s all about the bottom line for companies such as Twitter.

The Twitter Obsession: Cult of Celebrity and Rituals

The theories that best represents my topic, The Twitter Obsession, are the cult of celebrity and the theory of rituals. The current obsession with Twitter in our society both creates celebrities of a sort, as well as allowing fans a connection with their favorite celebrities. Twitter could be considered a ritual because of the regularity with which people tweet and also check other people’s tweets. Additionally tweeting would be considered a public ritual performed by an individual for the purpose of social bonding.

In looking at Twitter in relation to the cult of celebrity, people can become a Twitter celebrity by tweeting their every thought, idea, or every move which other people then become obsessed with following, so they follow that person’s account. Twitter is almost like a popularity contest in which people vey for the coveted position of having the most followers. By gaining such a high number of followers, those people become celebrities in the world of Twitter. However, there are also other celebrities who use Twitter, such as Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, and Ashton Kutcher; to give their fans what seems to be an intimate connection and look inside their person lives. This false sense of intimacy only bolsters the obsession of the fans and elevates the celebrity’s status.  Twitter also allows celebrities to extend their fame beyond their regional geography to reach a global audience, which in turn creates a larger fan base for that celebrity. This could mean more contracts, bigger movies, and more money – all for the benefit of the celebrity.

The theory of rituals would also apply to our fascination with Twitter. As stated earlier, Twitter would be an individual public ritual performed for the purpose of social bonding. The rituals are individual because it is an individual action – you tweet on your own account what your own thoughts are. The rituals are public though because the tweets are read by hundreds or millions of other Twitter followers. The ritual is for the purpose of social bonding because it’s creating a shared experience between the person posting the tweets and the “fans” who follow the people tweeting. The sharing of our everyday lives and thoughts creates a sense of connection to the other people in the Twitter community, however real or false that connection might be. Twitter could also be considered a ritual because it has become so ingrained in many people’s lives. There are people who cannot start their day without the ritual of saying good morning to all of their Twitter followers, or someone who have to tweet obsessively at certain points throughout the day.

The most interesting things that I have learned about my topic of The Twitter Obsession is how crazy our culture is for social bonding experiences such as Twitter or Facebook. Even the word Tweet has made its way into online dictionaries. I think it has been interesting learning how our culture has turned away from a face-to-face communication culture to an online, texting, tweeting culture. Sadly, it is more common to receive a text than a phone call these days. It seems as if our society uses Twitter and other social media as a way to connect with others, without ever really having to connect.

I really do not think of Twitter differently after my analysis. I do not tweet, but have many friends who are faithful Twitter followers. To me, I just don’t see the sense in using Twitter to tell people things about myself or my thoughts. I already use Facebook, which is enough social media for me. I know Twitter can be a useful media outlet, such as stores tweeting about special sales, or companies tweeting about needing to hire for a specific position. Personally, I do not need another reason to disconnect further from the intimate, personal connections that are made during face-to-face interactions.

The Twitter Obsession: The Cult of Celebrity

In this day and age, almost anyone can become a celebrity. While they might only be a celebrity for only a day, or a week, or a month – our culture seems obsessed with other people’s lives. Take Octomom for example. She’s such a celebrity that my spell check didn’t even underline the word as a spelling error. The question is why is she a celebrity? Because she has too many children that she, sadly, cannot care for alone? Was it because she gave birth to 8 children at once through faulty judgment and a desire to be famous? She is a celebrity because our culture made her a celebrity. We became obsessed with watching the train wreck of her life unfold before our eyes. 

This then begs the question, how do people become celebrities? In relation to Twitter, people become a celebrity after a certain amount of people become obsessed with following their tweets, thus elevating them to celebrity status on Twitter. There is a need in our culture, for some reason, to inform people of our every move, thought, idea, and event. People are tweeting about what they ate for breakfast, and shockingly people actually find this information interesting.

Celebrities tweet their “intimate” thoughts for the entire world to see in hopes of gaining a larger fan base. The notion that their tweets are actually their intimate thoughts is actually funny considering there are thousands of people reading them. Additionally, by using Twitter celebrities are able to extend their fame beyond their regional geography to reach a global audience. For an actor this could translate to a larger viewing audience for their films, which also translates into larger royalties from the films. For an athlete this could translate into global sponsorship or advertising campaign deals, which also translates to increased profits.

In our celebrity obsessed culture, Twitter gives fans a seemingly intimate connection with celebrities. This false sense of intimacy only bolsters the obsession of the fans and elevates the celebrity’s status. In the same way that our culture gobbles up the information in the tabloid magazines, we also gobble up the information shared by celebrities on Twitter allowing celebrities to gain new levels of status.