In the three months or so that we’ve been running we’ve never taken the time to outline our take on microblogging. Today you finally get to see our definition.
Our Definition of Microblogging
microblogging [mahy-kroh-blŏg-ing] verb
A small-scale form of blogging, generally made up of short, succinct messages, used by both consumers and businesses to share news, post status updates and carry on conversations.
The reason we don’t include anything about a specific character limit for messages is because some platforms don’t limit the number of characters you can use (Pownce, Kwippy, Rejaw). The thing that all microblogging platforms share is the concept of limited overhead and ease of entry. There are no databases to build or themes to install. Starting a microblogging account on any of these websites is as easy as choosing a username and password. From there you just start typing.
Is It Really Microblogging?
Though many have debated over the “microblogging” term and whether or not it fits the medium, we believe it fits perfectly. However, we do agree with Stowe Boyd (@stoweboyd) that the hyphenated version must certainly be dropped. Microblogging is a term that was logically derived by the masses to describe what people were doing on Twitter and other platforms. Whether you are writing about your personal life, promoting a product or having a discussion with someone else, you are still composing small (micro) blog posts.
Other Forms of Microblogging
That being said, we do feel that most microblog posts can be further divided into more specific types: microsharing, micromessaging and micrologging.
- Microsharing - This was coined by Laura Fitton (@Pistachio) of Pistachio Consulting in reference to one type of microblogging where users are focused on sharing links and other content with their community.
- Micromessaging - This is similar to instant messaging, with the exception that it is not instant. Most platforms utilize the @ symbol along with a person’s username to direct a message to someone in particular. The message will travel fairly quickly, but it requires the person on the other end to refresh the page or to wait for their application to retrieve it.
- Micrologging - This refers to a user using their microblogging account as a personal log for their activities. This might mean the person is using it to chronicle their daily movements or they are using it in conjunction with a 3rd party service that requires them to submit data for tracking purposes.
In each of these instances, the micro portion refers to the size of posts and the effort involved. One of these terms cannot describe the rest because each one has an inherently different meaning and purpose. For anyone to come forward and try to rebrand microblogging as a whole with their own label just doesn’t seem necessary.
How Do You Define Microblogging?
Do you agree with our definition? Do you disagree? Let us know what you think microblogging is and whether or not we’ve got it all wrong.
Rob is one of the founders of Microblink. His interests include how people are using microblogs and the community growing around them.
Mike writes and edits for Microblink day-in and day-out. He is known as the marketing guy and handles most of the microblogging accounts.
Mark writes development-oriented posts as well as news items. He's not afraid to dive headfirst into technical topics for the sake of the team.
I don’t have a verb for it, but I’m searching for a concept I call microforums. Basically, it’s laconica with a few simple added features, namely an IRC-like ignore function. My quest is in order to avoid having to manage subscriptions, searching for those to follow, etc. I take the reverse method, create a community of like-minded people use laconica or even a Tweetdeck. The only problem with this is that sooner or later you’ll want to reduce the noise. I also think a rating system would be helpful so that if the community likes someone’s contribution they have karma, if the community gets tired of someone’s posts, they lose karma. I call that the “Survivor” function.
Great post Mike - Will definitely be referring anyone that asks about microblogging to it.
Thanks for teaching me microlessons I did not know!
I’ve heard quite enough of the term microsharing, but didn’t know its origin. Hopefully, this term will pass quickly. There’s nothing small about sharing.
The character limit makes the Twitter platform all the more powerful — encouraging more participation. Uniquely, the technographic profiles of people who Twitter are blurred. They can be — all at once — content creators, critics, organizers, joiners, and spectators.
The ongoing stream, built Tweet by Tweet, is anything but micro.
@Laura
I agree, “microsharing” is a terrible word for this.
@ Laura and Paul –
Luckliy, the term ‘micro’ in this context doesn’t pertain to importance, but rather to limited overhead, ease of entry, and (generally) message size. Any microblogging fanatic would tell you it’s more important to them than many other tools they use. Enough quantity of small things ends up making a larger impact, which is what Twitter is all about.