Mi­crob­log­ging: a new way to blog

The term mi­crob­log­ging refers to a method of com­mu­nic­a­tion that combines the key features of blogging and instant messaging. Mi­crob­log­ging allows users to compose short, snappy posts and messages and share them with a follower base online. Despite the rising pop­ular­ity of mi­crob­log­ging platforms, its pre­de­cessor is also more widely used than ever. The main dif­fer­ence is simply that the content is more com­pressed with mi­crob­log­ging than in tra­di­tion­al blog posts.

Since the internet became a widely ac­cess­ible tool in the 90s, blogging has been a popular method of sharing ex­per­i­ences, news, and in­form­a­tion with people around the world. Fast-forward twenty years and we can now find bloggers spe­cial­ising in all kinds of topics in the farthest reaches of the internet. Fashion and travel blogs are by far the most popular, with some bloggers in this sphere boasting millions of readers. But there is a blog for prac­tic­ally every subject ima­gin­able, from astronomy to business, from art to extreme sports.

In contrast to tra­di­tion­al blogging, mi­crob­log­ging is dis­tin­guished by con­dens­ing the in­form­a­tion into a mi­cro­format. The social media platform, Twitter is par­tic­u­larly well known for giving rise to this form of blogging. While it may not always be easy to summarise complex topics in 144 char­ac­ters, the benefits of com­mu­nic­at­ing in this way are clear to see; brief, snappy posts enable users to exchange in­form­a­tion with a wide audience quickly and ef­fect­ively. This is es­pe­cially con­veni­ent for smart­phone users, as the small screen size lends itself to creating short messages, rather than scrolling and composing lengthy articles.

Short posts (including the ever-popular tweets) can be published in a variety of formats, including the typical text and image formats as well as videos, audio messages and hy­per­links.

The mi­crob­log­ging trend emerged towards the end of the era of web 2.0, as tra­di­tion­al blogging started to in­cor­por­ate various social media char­ac­ter­ist­ics. The zeitgeist demanded a shorter, more direct form of blogging. Mi­crob­log­ging is es­sen­tially a method of creating short text messages for an online audience. It’s therefore a useful channel for fast and easy com­mu­nic­a­tion, and a way to inform a large group of people sim­ul­tan­eously about current news.

Mi­crob­log­ging has also become an important method of com­mu­nic­a­tion for uni­ver­sit­ies and edu­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions. In recent years, a number of apps have been developed that allow re­search­ers to discuss common interests and share exciting new dis­cov­er­ies. Using these, it’s possible to draw attention to a par­tic­u­lar project and arouse the interest of fellow re­search­ers. At some uni­ver­sit­ies, mi­crob­log­ging is being used for more specific purposes: for example, regular short updates are being used to help students meet deadlines and promote their work, as well as keeping in­form­a­tion and course materials relevant and up-to-date.

Some faculties even offer courses on mi­crob­log­ging. In this way, a backchan­nel is created for the students outside the seminar room. For example, Stephen Prothero, professor of Religion at Boston Uni­ver­sity, set himself the ambitious goal of using Twitter to summarise the char­ac­ter­ist­ics of the eight major world religions, naturally, less than 140 char­ac­ters per post.

What benefits are there to pub­lish­ing your content on a mi­crob­log­ging provider, if a normal blog would also suffice? Here are just a few reasons why it’s worth using mi­crob­log­ging services like Twitter or Tumblr:

• Takes less time to create content: putting a long blog entry together takes time. Mi­crob­log­ging, on the other hand, is a different story al­to­geth­er. The art of mi­crob­log­ging is ex­press­ing yourself concisely. When mastered, current events can be reported in real time, with only the core in­form­a­tion being conveyed. In contrast, users expect a deeper dis­cus­sion when reading a longer blog post. This, of course, takes more time.

• High density of in­form­a­tion and sticking to the basics: mi­crob­log­ging is primarily aimed at the users of mobile devices. As smart­phones and tablets are often used while on the go, the user has no time to scroll through pages of text. It’s therefore important to get to the point when reaching out to these users, and condense the essential in­form­a­tion into short, cleverly-worded posts. In­flu­enced by the presence of mi­crob­log­ging, shorter formats such as lists are becoming more and more popular in con­tem­por­ary media, and most users are already used to content like this.

• More posts in less time: tra­di­tion­al blogging usually involves posting detailed articles, often with a few days between each new post. Mi­crob­log­ging, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: shorter, more frequent posts. This is ex­cep­tion­ally useful for those com­ment­at­ing on current affairs and events that change rapidly, including politics, sporting events, and celebrity news. Frequent, brief updates are therefore the best way to keep your finger on the pulse.

• Posting in real time: most mi­crob­log­ging platforms have been developed with a strong focus on simple and fast usability. Tweets, Instagram photos, and Tumblr posts can capture a fleeting moment, which can be lost in a long-winded text.

Mi­crob­log­ging platforms offer a simple way to exchange points of view and feedback with followers. Not only are they capable of spreading news quickly and easily, but users can also react to posts in real time. The re­cip­roc­al exchange between users takes place through comment functions, retweets, reblogs or for­ward­ing. If content is strong and in­ter­est­ing, it will be spread through the community without the need for promotion, po­ten­tially even going viral.

Mobile hotspots and 4G means that more and more people can microblog remotely. It's far more con­veni­ent for users to send a tweet spon­tan­eously using their smart­phone, rather than wait to use their PC, which can be a lengthier, more cum­ber­some process. For many users, using a mobile device to write lengthy blog posts is in­con­veni­ent. Thanks to its quick and easy nature, mi­crob­log­ging is the ideal solution for posting on the move.

Nowadays, users want and expect short, regular updates on social media sites, par­tic­u­larly since many internet users now browse casually on their mobile devices while on the move. Due to de­vel­op­ments in com­mu­nic­a­tion and tech­no­logy, the way we consume in­form­a­tion is now com­pletely different from when print media had its heyday. One thing is certain: our average attention span is shorter than ever before – we tend to judge the quality of social media posts in seconds.