Your journal entry should explain how an element of an interface works. If you are exploring a word processor, for example, you might look at how files are saved. If you are exploring a social media platform, you might pay attention to how posts are archived. Which element you choose to study is up to you; just be sure you explain the mechanics of how it works.
Your entry should also critique the element you are explaining by interpreting how it shapes any communication you might make in that interface. For example, if you have character limits on a social media site, how does this create and constrain possibilities in communication on that site?
We all know and love Twitter as a social media platform that allows you to communicate thoughts, often political, comedic, opinion-based, or informative. It works, honestly, at random. You make an account, and share, like, or post whatever you want. There is a search page in which you'll find trending topics, often political, popular, or urgent. This is designed to inform you of various subjects, explain why they are trending, and users are left to view, comment, share, and like them. I've found that with any social media platform, the content reaches Twitter first, and then spreads to other platforms. It is a very up-to-date outlet for information of any kind. Let's look at when Covid-19 first emerged, Twitter was the first to feature it as a trending topic. For anything celebrity-related, it will likely be on Twitter first. It is extremely useful for keeping up to date on virtually anything (no pun intended).
Twitter allows you to save things to your drafts. Maybe you want to save something for a later time when you have researched the topic a bit more. Or maybe, you're just drunk but you have enough coherence to know you probably shouldn't post that for the internet to see until you've sobered up a bit. You can always look back at these saved drafts, and laugh at them later. My biggest issue for Twitter is the 250 character limit. I think the reason for this is so that you aren't caught up reading a novel about “why pineapple on pizza is repulsive” in your free time. It was likely designed so that users can get to the main idea without including too much unnecessary information. Again, this could potentially be the cause of misinformation, because when you don't have enough space to talk about something, you could end up leaving important details out.
I have beef with Twitter for its lack of a dislike button. I admit sometimes I don't want to go into depth with some random uneducated asshole who doesn't know anything about the Black Lives Matter Movement…I just want to dislike the content and move on because I am tired of seeing ignorance. Trying to explain something to an ignorant Trump supporter is like talking to a brick wall. Furthermore, and frankly, the spread of misinformation is exponential. People can spread non-factual evidence like wildfire, and it becomes so popular that people will believe it.
Twitter, along with other social media platforms, have come to a realization that the spread of misinformation is happening, and have made significant efforts to fact-check. Let's not forget Trump is banned from Twitter, for this exact reason. This platform shapes its users to talk about things with little to no discretion. Sometimes, this is a good thing, allowing people to speak freely. However, sometimes people use this as a way to spread hate. As we've seen, things can get heated on Twitter. They do have policies in place about the use of language and hate speech, among other things, outlines in the “rules and guidelines”. Overall, they have done a sufficient job in creating a space for open conversation and sharing opportunities, at this point, it is up to humanity to use it wisely.
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