"What is Twitter doing to our language?" a CPCC prof asked from the audience of a talk on Wednesday evening. To which I replied: "OMG, Gr8 question!!!"
It is a great question. Students in the audience piped up that it can be hard to shift away from text shorthand when they put down their phones (intermittently) to write papers. I'm going to throw it out to you, and write my own paper (excuse me, my phone...) about it soon. In the meantime, I thought this piece by Greg Downey was interesting. He argues that texting and Twitter are indeed a kind if pidgin, but that their own rules, conventions and even witticisms are developing. I agree. Inspired Twittercisms can be quite charming, to my writing ear. It's also kinda cool that @grammarcops on Twitter have more than 4,400 followers.
The bacon Bloody Mary, which could play a key role in bringing us out of this here recession, is of course garnished with a social media tie. Join the Terrace Cafe's Facebook fan page, get a bacon Bloody for two bucks. And you get a secret code word, too. Pretty fun stuff from the stylish eatery near SouthPark. Wouldn't everything be better with a piece of bacon stapled to it and a secret code word whispered on the side? There is, BTW, a big daddy version of this porcine beverage, at 750. That's grams of fat. Kiddin'. $7.50.
More Twitter links go to news sites than anything else, a new survey from Chitika marketing research shows. Then movie sites, and tech. Facebook users are less newsy. They go to tech, then lifestyle (wow!), then news. Twitter is a better headline service. Interesting, though, that Facebook is more tech. I think of it as less so.
Still interested in how nonprofits are using social media, and whether its working to bring in money. For a story in The Observer coming soon. Holler at me.
No comments:
Post a Comment