How and why people Twitter: the role that micro-blogging plays in informal communication at work

ABSTRACT

Micro-blogs, a relatively new phenomenon, provide a new communication channel for people to broadcast information that they likely would not share otherwise using existing channels (e.g., email, phone, IM, or weblogs). Micro-blogging has become popu-lar quite quickly, raising its potential for serving as a new informal communication medium at work, providing a variety of impacts on collaborative work (e.g., enhancing information sharing, building common ground, and sustaining a feeling of connectedness among colleagues). This exploratory research project is aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of how and why people use Twitter - a popular micro-blogging tool - and exploring micro-blog's poten-tial impacts on informal communication at work.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.4 SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

General Terms:
Human Factors

Keywords:
Twitter, informal communication, micro-blog