Tag Archives: twitter

#TwitterFiction – Short and Simple

Today was the first time that I heard about an actual event dedicated to storytelling via Twitter. That is not to say it’s the first time that I experienced the phenomenon.

To me, telling a story using Twitter can mean two things:

Firstly, you have your accounts set up to literally tell a series of stories in short sentences. One which immediately occurs to me is the EGOs Issue 0 Tweets. A quick background: EGOs is a recently started comic series published by Image, a company that specialises in more alternative and ‘out-there’ comics. A week or so prior to #2 being released, the writers of EGOs created a series of tweets which essentially told a ‘prequel’ to #1 via a few hundred tweets spaced 2 minutes apart. Reading back now, you will probably not realise fully the tone that experiencing #0 live held. It was definitely humbling, as a writer, to step back from the story and realise that they were essentially creating tiny pieces of cliff-hanging drama in tiny little sentences. There were a few times when 140 characters were just not enough to convey the imagery, and the writers used an image instead, but overall the slow-moving pace was actually incredible to experience.

Another way in which Twitter can be used to tell stories, and one touched upon by the first article that I linked to, would be the parody accounts who pretend to be the characters’ twitter accounts, and tweet accordingly. Many of these don’t last very long, because they were created on a one-joke basis, but many persist to create a kind of everyday, non-linear narrative of an entire individual.

Both of these are very interesting, because they use the tight restrictions of the medium – 140 characters are barely enough to gripe about grandparents, let alone tell an entire story! – to their advantage, and create a whole story using the constructed understanding that most Twitters users have about how tweets work.

And then there’s @horse_ebooks, which turned out to be part of an elaborate art exhibit.

Alex.

Er, yeah, H2A maybe?

Haha I can dream on. At the rate I’m (not) going, I might get a H2B if I’m REALLY lucky.

I just wrote another uni blog about TV. I should write more about my favorite topic but…I dunno.

Anyway:

What? Using Britney Spears lyrics? Atrocity!

I am writing this on the day that the new Glee episode Brittany/Britney is to air. I already have the songs on my iTunes, and have been listening to Toxic on replay since yesterday.

I have seen some screencaps on Tumblr of some highlights, and on Twitter I can see that trending topics include Heather Morris (the actress for Brittany, the blond cheerleader on Glee), and yet I won’t get to see the episode until 7:30 pm.

Watching TV isn’t just the act of watching TV anymore. I think watching TV has become something like living the moment of watching the show. Social networking sites like Twitter and Tumblr have made it possible for us to voice what we feel about a particular scene IMMEDIATELY. (Well, the immediacy is more a feature of Twitter, but Tumblr comes with pictures so in a visual media, that helps too.)

I’m not innocent of the need to broadcast my thoughts at the same time as watching a broadcast. Last week, when Glee’s Season 2 premier was on TV (I had refrained from watching it online three hours prior to 7:30, because a) I’d wanted to conserve bandwidth and b) I wanted to share the experience of watching it with people “around” me – online with me, in my timezone. Also I got yelled at quite a few times for revealing spoilers), I had been watching and tweeting all the moments that I found glorious. Someone replied to me, “I had missed these Glee tweets”, referring to the dry-spell when the show was on Summer hiatus.

Even when I’m watching a show not airing, such as last week when I was watching True Blood, or a while back when I was watching Chuck (neither of these shows are airing in Australia anymore), I still tweet about it. There is always going to be someone else like me in my larger social group who is a fan of a show not airing on Australian TV, and sure enough, my tweets gained a few “likes” on Facebook (because I am so connected, my tweets appear on Facebook too), and I immediately knew who else is a True Blood fan.

Ironically, when I am watching a show that DOES air in Australia, but ahead of everyone else (because we all know Australia sucks at keeping up with America, though they are giving it a shot with a few shows), I have to PROMISE people that I don’t tweet spoilers. I am currently ahead of Australia in NCIS, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, and as much as I want to tweet about it, I shouldn’t, because revealing something about it would ruin the experience for other people.

Which brings me back to my title. I don’t have qualms about listening to a Glee song before the episode airs, but one of my friend does. She is a huge Gleek as well, and I asked if she wouldn’t want me to send her the new songs when I get them. She told me she’d rather listen to them at the same time as seeing it on TV, so when she later listens to them, she can imagine the scenes on TV. The two of us both love Glee equally, but we like to experience it differently. I like to have all the social networks at my fingertips as I’m watching, because I like to see what others think about it, as well as have others see what I think about it. My friend would rather be shut off completely and be only concentrating on the show, and that’s how she rolls.

Currently, TV shows don’t really interact with other forms of media when they are airing. I guess that’s the traditional way. I do remember that the Glee pilot had once aired a re-run where as the show is airing, the cast of the show is live tweeting, and their tweets and commentary runs across the bottom of the screen (this, again, wasn’t available in Australia).

I guess where I’m headed with this is that, maybe, TV shows in the future would become sort of INTERACTIVE with Twitter, or whatever replaces Twitter next. Those who are like me can use Twitter to enhance their viewing experience, but those with a more traditional viewing habit like my friend can still watch the show as it is, and then talk about it.

TV is no longer an experience as it was when it first appeared, with the family gathering around a set to watch it together – I actually don’t like having my parents next to me when I watch a show I want to concentrate on, despite being online while watching the show. As weird as that is, I like it better when I’m alone with the internet… – but it’s not exactly a complete polar opposite either. Personally, the generation and cultural gap between what my parents like and understand and my own tendencies renders my family a divided unit when we watch TV, but I’m more than certain that in some other families, there is still at times a show or movie that has the whole family sitting together in the living room (or maybe in different rooms but with the TVs on the same channel, cos that happens too) watching together. The experience of watching a show is just as interesting as the show’s contents itself.

Okay I think I’m excused for another week before I post again? 🙂

Alex.

I’m such a TV whore.

Alex.

P.S. What is a TV whore? I just felt like saying ‘Whore’.

The Irony Of IRL And Otherwise

In real life (IRL) I can’t juggle for crap. No, really, I’ve tried. I’m in the juggling club at Uni, but I (Jen and I…we) haven’t been going forever.

But here, online, I’m juggling a Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, a 365 on Tumblr and now a FORMSPRING!

Yes, is it shameful that I, once again, linked each site AGAIN!?

The reason I got the Formspring (and there is a reason, because Tumblr already came with an ask function, and obviously you’re more than welcome to comment on my blog here, and Twitter is more of a you read what’s going on sort of thing) is so that you can comment on my Project365, because I was silly enough to set it up in such a way that it’s hard for you to comment on it unless you have Tumblr and follow my 365. So now, when you ask me a question on Formspring, you can either just ask me a question normally (and ignore the fact that Tumblr has an actual ask component, as stated before) and I will answer it and it will appear on Tumblr only, OR you can comment on my Project 365 and I will answer it, and I MIGHT post it on both Facebook and Tumblr (the parent Tumblr) but most likely only Tumblr. Because of this, I might remove the Anonymous function on my Tumblr Ask, but not likely.

Oh man, my head hurts from all of this.

Actually, writing, this I realize that I could’ve easily just had people comment on my 365 just on my Tumblr Ask, but but but but noooooooooooo. Formspring can be connected to Facebook separately. Tumblr would have to connect to Facebook for everything, and I spam people way too much with my Twitter connected to Facebook.

Which brings me to the point: I realize that, despite the links and advertisements, my WordPress is the least connected page of all the others. I mean, yes, these posts appear on my Facebook page, but that’s it. Whereas my Tweets appear both here and Facebook, my Tumblr will now be connected to my Formspring and sometimes Facebook, my…AHHH I THINK MY HEAD IS ABOUT TO EXPLO-

Let’s see how this goes. If this gets too difficult, I might abandon my Formspring, and have people comment on my 365 through Tumblr Ask.

And to think Dani told me to get a Flickr.

That’s Dani’s Project 365. I’m about to link that permanently to my page.

Seriously I think my head is going to explode. It’s good I picked today to do this, because I have an actual day off today (as opposed to last week, when my extremely many days off are packed with work).

AHH for the last time, I will wipe my brains off my couch.

Alex.

Perez Hilton and Will.I.Am…what else?

I took an mX going home today, and read about in the Twitter section the little joust between Perez Hilton and Will.I.Am.

I don’t think I’m going to comment too much, except that I really don’t like Perez anyway so I am finding it sort of funny (oh sure, I’d hate it if it happens to me but…that’s what makes Funniest Home Video so popular).

Anyway…here’s a small section of it:

I’m in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please. 5:34 PM Jun 22nd from Sidekick

I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke. 5:36 PM Jun 22nd from Sidekick

Still waiting for the police. The bleeding has stopped. I need to document this. Please, can the police come to the SoHo Met Hotel. about 24 hours ago from Sidekick

Later…

I won’t be talking about this any further. It is in the hands of the authorities.about 22 hours ago from web

Followed by…

I am NOT going to let this affect my work. And today will be a day like any other on the website. about 22 hours ago from web

And then 5 hours and 11 more tweets about it later…

My statement about being attacked in Toronto last night about 17 hours ago from web

I am honestly SHOCKED at the amount of people saying I deserved to be hit. Shame on you! NO. Violence is never the answer. NEVER. about 15 hours ago from web

There’s this from Will.I.Am, who set up an account following this incident:

i just made a twitter account because it isnt cool for someone to blame you and blast you with lies…about 23 hours ago from web

@officialTila this is dude is crazy…he will go to any length to get press… wow…!!!! about 23 hours ago from web in reply to officialTila

And that was about it.

Hmm.

Let’s see what happens next.

I’ve copied and pasted directly from their twitter. I’ve taken out all the links.

I won’t say what I actually want to say, and I won’t put too many tags into this post in case people googling it finds my blog, flames me for stuff I said and I get into trouble. But hey, interesting, don’t you think?

Alex.

Chirp, chirp, chk chk BOOM!

That was the sound of me on Twitter, and what VCE will do to me now that I am cheating on it with this WordPress, my Facebook, and now my Twitter.

It’s okay here on WordPress because WordPress and Facebook knows the other exists, and in deed promotes Twitter. Facebook even helps WordPress get more face-time (or should it be Word-time?). Facebook now also helps mention Twitter, and Twitter subsequently mentions WordPress. It’s a mutual 3-way as to the acknowledgement of the others’ existence.

But VCE. Oh no, VCE has no idea WordPress, Facebook and Twitter exists. VCE thinks she’s the only one for me, and I intend to keep it that way. As long as VCE thinks she’s unique, VCE will be nice to me. But if VCE was to find out…[shudder].

Nonetheless, if you  have Twitter, please check me out at twitter.com/lost_causes. I’mstill getting used to the whole “no immediate reply” thing, but I’m getting there.

Alex.