Microblogging: The Critical Reflection
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Microblogging
As was quoted in my previous post, microblogging is described by the Upland Blog as follows;
“Microblogs are shorter form blogs, which allow users to exchange small elements of content such as single sentences, individual images, or video links.”
If you would like to learn more about the basics of microblogging and the practical steps that you can take in beginning your journey into the blogging form then please check out my previous post entitled ‘A Beginners Guide to Microblogging’.
Microblogging is different from traditional blogging because it involves limited content that is delivered regularly with ideas and opinions. Common microblogging platforms that you may have are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, practically any social media platform contains microblogging tools.
Studies have shown that microblogging is a really popular practice due to the fact that they deliver content to audiences that can be easily decoded and understood.
One of the most popular platforms for microblogging is the platform Twitter as it has 290.5 million worldwide users. Therefore, I found that It may be useful to reflect on my experiences of microblogging on the platform in order to help you guys become educated and interested in partaking with the practice.
Personal Reflection
I first started microblogging in 2014 when I made my own Twitter account in order to follow updates from my favourite musicians and footballers. At the time, I was 14 years old so didn’t really use the platform to keep up to date with current affairs. The reason that I made this Twitter account was to connect with my friends and follow celebrity news. I also tweeted general thoughts or opinions I had about things that I now cringe at whenever I think back to it. I then took a break from the platform until I hit the age of 18 where I would go back on it to blog about more important issues and ideas.
When I made my first professional account in the year 2022, I created the page (@JCopsonBlogs) where I decided to start posting content relating to travel journalism.
I chose JCopsonBlogs because it contains my initial and my full name alongside the information that I am a blogger, hence the ‘Blogs’. I also thought it was important that I chose the correct profile picture that reflects that this account is a professional one however that it still represents my personality as being relaxed and respectable. My Twitter bio is short and provides clear information to my followers of who I am and what I do. Lastly, I put a link to my Medium blog so that my posts can reach people who engage with my social media can now engage with my blog page too.
When I started this professional account I thought it would be useful to follow other accounts that posted about journalism and travel in order to get into the loop about ongoing events. Following these accounts also enables me to regularly retweet and reply to posts in order to integrate into the online communities that I am writing about.
To begin my journey of posting content I started by posting a link to each blog post that was published on Medium alongside short descriptions of what they’re about for my followers.
When I wasn’t tweeting about my recent blog posts, I would be retweeting or commenting on important current affairs within the travel industry. This shows my followers that I am aware of ongoing events and information in this sector of journalism which reflects integrity in my writing. As well as the retweets, I would use ‘quote retweets’ which involves the inclusion of a 280-word limit text that addresses the important information in the post.
Things that I have gained from my experience of professional microblogging
Well, I know that I have only just tested the waters of what microblogging has to offer as I don’t currently have a large following or level of engagement. Its certainly true that increasing engagement with social media accounts is a skill which is often underestimated and there are numerous job opportunities for people who can master it in practice.
It is early days and although I am happy with the content I have been posting, I know I can improve and with the studies of mentions, hashtags and trends, it is definitely possible to achieve a successful travel blog. The opportunity to practice microblogging on numerous platforms including Medium, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook has allowed me to understand how these different platforms work and the best content to post on each one.
Something I always have found it difficult is the ability to be succinct in my delivery of information. This exercise has helped me to break up large bits of information and condense it down into the platforms respective word limit.
Thank you for reading about my experiences with microblogging, if anyone has any questions or suggestions for me then please drop me a message on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter :).
