As I first started watching the YouTube video "Flutter: The New Twitter," I was convinced that Flutter was a real website until they introduced the idea of an iPhone app that automatically updates posts regarding your location, such as "Kim get coffee." The layout of the video includes a presentation by the founders of this fake website, testimonies by "real users," and even a multitude of screen shots of the website--all of which give a feeling legitimacy. However, eventually the sarcasm and the introduction of ridiculously impractical concepts such as the iPhone app and the Flutter glasses inform the viewer that the video is just a parody.
The goal of the makers of this video is to criticize Twitter's tight constraints on post length; Flutter allows 26 characters maximum in "Flaps," and Twitter allows 140 characters maximum in "Tweets." This drastic contrast gets their point across--that Twitter's idea of shrinking post length to 140 characters is impractical in many situations-- and also adds to the comedic effect of the video. In addition, the video makes an attack on everybody in our digitally dependent society today, arguing that our need for instant access to information is spiraling out of control. This is presented in the video by means of the privacy-invading iPhone app as well as the eyeglasses that display "Flaps" right on the lens. If I could add one observation of Twitter to be mocked in the video, it would be my personal observation that the majority of Twitter users are companies that use the site to market their products/services. This greatly depersonalizes the website, setting it farther apart from other social networking sites such as Facebook. I completely agree with the arguments that were made about Twitter in this parody, yet I think it would be even more effective and comical if a few more points were included such as the marketing one just mentioned.
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While company marketing on twitter might be a little impersonal, marketing itself is the Twitter's greatest appeal to its users. Yes, companies use Twitter to promote their products, but so do so many Twitter users who are not companies. View any Twitter page of any musical artist. It is full of "tweets" declaring where they are performing tonight or projects they are working on. Artists are only one example, there are plenty more people who market their products. Today everyone is trying to get their name out, and what better, what more public/accessible, way than Twitter?
ReplyDeleteI also initially believed the website was actually real. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought this. I liked how you explained how it was tricky in the beginning to tell if this was just a joke or not. I also like your point that most Twitter users are companies using Twitter to sell their products. The creators of the video should have make fun of this as well. You certainly identified and proved the other arguments in the video. Excellent Job.
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