What Twitter Means for Information Gathering

Twitter has become less "What are you doing?" and more "What's going on in the world?"

The Iran protests are a handy example. Searching #IranElection ("#" denotes a searchable subject) on Twitter yields literally hundreds of 140-character blurbs (albeit, some of which unreliable) on the escalating political situation every minute. Given that the Iran government has blocked most other media outlets in the country, Twitter has set the stage for which the events to unfold for the rest of the world.

The State department, knowing well the role Twitter is playing in Iran, asked the three-year-old social networking site to postpone a scheduled maintenance that would cause the site to be down. They complied and moved it to a less disturbing time for Iranians.

That's how you know we live in a digital world, one that journalists are increasingly on the heels of.

Time has already run a cover story about how Twitter is changing the way we live. Before reading that and other articles, I figured Twitter for a mere listing of daily play-by-plays by average people and celebrities. An earlier cultivation argued how Twitter feeds into narcissistic behavior. While that certainly litters thousands of "Tweets," I recently discovered how handy the free service is for information gathering after finally joining last week.

It all depends on who you "follow," which allows those selected persons' Tweets to show up on your homepage. For the purposes of this blog and my insatiable curiosity, I began following news organizations and journalists. For example, Ann Curry of MSNBC had this to Tweet about:

Activists rounded up at night. Amnesty International: " Some have been shot and killed, others have simply disappeared." #iran election

Want behind the scenes info on the set of new movies? Follow actors like Kevin Spacey, who will tell you who he's shooting with. Often times, Tweets will provide links when sites or blogs are updated, effectively pulling updated content from whoever you're following.

Love it or hate it, Twitter is simply another medium for information. It has become too hard to ignore; too big to call a fad. It is not a medium without its flaws: There is no business model to speak of; the founders invested millions to see how it would do. We have yet to see what will be implemented for Twitter to make money. Most annoyingly, the 140-character limit requires URLs to be shortened via tinyurl or other third-party websites. Misinformation and gossip is rampant. But the bottom line is that Twitter is where current information is. And that means that's where I'll be too.

Google-Microsoft Showdown Heats Up

The showdown between Google and Microsoft is at a very intense moment right now. Early this month, Microsoft rolled out Bing, a rival search engine to Google. The release has forced Google to take a look at the new engine, along with news of Bing's early success. It also most likely prompted a link posted under Google's famous search bar that explains all the areas search covers.

Bing has a long way to go, however. Google still owns a majority of web searches (about 60%), followed by Yahoo! and finally Microsoft. Besides, they have their own plans to gain a slice of Microsoft's market share.

Android, Google's operating system originally designed for mobile phones, will come pre-installed on netbooks as early as this summer. This reduces the ever-important price tag of the mini laptops that Microsoft Windows currently eats up. On top of that, Android is designed specifically for the web, the main use of netbooks. Even those warmly familiar with Windows may have to loosen their grip for this one.

Let's recap: Web dominant Google will soon roll out operating system software for netbooks while software giant Microsoft releases a web search engine.

This is great news for users. Two giant companies healthily competing against each other in a race for the better product means we will ultimately be able to purchase a better product. After all, the mind power of two companies is greater than one.

I haven't even touched on Google's web browser, Chrome (versus Internet Explorer); their talks with Twitter (Microsoft owns a stake in Facebook, so you can see where this is going); Book Search, an ambitious attempt to digitize the world's libraries; and Wave (see below), a new take on e-mail.

Microsoft does have Windows 7 in the works, aiming to amend the bad taste Vista has left behind. But unless Microsoft releases a quality product without the annoying compatibility issues and user prompting associated with Vista, Google may just gobble up a huge chunk of the market.

See what CNET had to say about the upcoming Google Wave:

Plain Language Disclosure

This week, I went over the towering amount of debt that I owe from college loans. Yes, like millions of American graduates, I will probably be paying off my education until I'm 50—not something to look forward to. I did, however, stumble upon a newly released Plain Language Disclosure document through one of my loan providers, which will no doubt ease the process and understanding of my repayment phase.

For those that don't know, the Obama administration recently pushed through legislation entitled the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which requires loan and credit card vendors to disclose certain "gotcha" details (the fine print people normally glance over) in a clearer and more blunt manner.

Right out of my Granite Plain Disclosure document, the explanations actually tell you what to watch out for (click on the images for a closer look):


...as well as the new limits to which they can penalize you for late charges:


Basically, instead of calling up multiple loan providers to contrast what one person said in intentionally confusing language with another, I have a document that tells me the essential facts right in front of me. That is a beautiful thing.

In addition, new changes to credit cards include:

• Earlier statements, with due dates that don't shift (21 days to pay, up from 14)
  
• An end to "anything goes" late fee penalization
• Plain language details in plain sight (goodbye fine print)
  
• Fair notice of increasing interest rates or other changes
  

Before signing the legislation on May 22, Obama emphasized that these changes were not put in place to lessen the responsibility of consumers. Sure, they can help people who have mismanaged their money, but the fact is: even responsible people were getting screwed over by endless loopholes and misinformation. If anything, the changes actually push more responsibility by forcing companies to conduct their business in more honest and upfront manner.

To learn more about the legislation, click here.

Remembering Tiananmen Square

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The incident left hundreds of pro-democracy protesters dead and many more injured, not unlike the way Hitler and Saddam Hussein destroyed political opposition to keep a tight hold on power.

The Chinese government never apologized for its extreme actions in defending communist stability, even tabooing the bloody ordeal by censoring media coverage. They've recently done so by banning certain websites like Twitter, Flickr and Hotmail in the days preceding the anniversary.

The event is erased from textbooks and never taught in schools, which begs the question: just how long will the Chinese government continue its efforts to distort history?

Liu Suli, one of the protestors in Tiananmen square, had this to say in a New York Times article:

If I don’t talk about it any more, I might forget,” he said. “I might not know how to say it."

If history tells us anything, it tells us that people will not easily forgo their history. That's why thousands gathered in Hong Kong for a Tiananmen vigil, away from the censorship of mainland China. The government can deny reporters and block websites all they want, but people aren't going to forget what happened. If anything, their efforts to make it a taboo will only draw more attention.

It'll be interesting to see if China will retain its communist government after proving itself as an international economic powerhouse. Will it still be necessary to rule with an "iron fist" after lifting millions out of poverty and dramatically increasing the quality of life?

“You can raise pigs to be very strong and very fat,” Liu Suli said. “But a pig is still a pig. And a pig has no rights.”