WEEK 3 "TED TALKS"

This week I was introduced to TED.com. The website displays numerous videos of TED talk conferences by individuals with worth spreading ideas. Many videos that I watched were very interesting and would be good sources for my future research or assignments. However, there was one particular talk about the media and new communication technologies that I found most interesting. The talk was by Evan Williams the co-founder of Twitter in 2009. In the video he talks about how Twitter started and its functions. Williams also talked about the several advantages of the movement of how we communicate through Twitter. The social network is unique by its ability to dispense news and information to a broad audience, whereas others may focus on the individuals. Therefore, it’s important for many people to use the medium to broadcast their opinions or photos particularly for politicians, governments, businesses, and celebrities.

As for Australia in 2013, I've noticed how the politicians have used Twitter to gain their votes in the recent election. I also found a news article from ABC interviewing Gus Whyte about his point of view of election campaigns being wedge online. Whyte claimed that "There's politicians that are finding Twitter is useful for them to get a message out, and I'm sure, or I would certainly hope, using it as a way to listen in on some conversations to see how they are going to be perceived and whether policies lining up with the wants and needs of the community."
This shows just how powerful Twitter has become since it was first launched in 2006. And I expect it become even more powerful in the future.

Reference: Can a tweet win your vote?