Social Networking | Viewpoint
Micro- and Macro-Blogging: 3 Major Differences and Their Benefits to Instruction
Although similar, macro- and micro-blogging differ from one another in important ways. Recognizing those distinctions can help instructors find new ways to engage learners and improve outcomes.
Blogging or "Web-logging" has been used in instruction for years now and with it have emerged new and exciting possibilities for instruction, such as benefiting students in various academic disciplines and providing instructors with various added perspectives by including students' personal voices in the learning process. More recently, however, attention has been on another form, called "micro-blogging," which uses platforms such as Twitter, FriendFeed, or Floss.pro. The distinctions between the two kinds of platforms create unique opportunities for instruction and student engagement.
Differences Between Macro- and Micro-Blogging
It is important to begin with an understanding of the main differences in the micro and macro environments and also how those differences affect instructional settings. Although there can be specific software or platform differences, in general, the application and use differences can be categorized as follows:
- Purpose of the tool--each has a very different purpose and not all blogs are the same;
- Speed and intention of flow--there is a distinct different in how the flow of information occurs; and
- The appeal to students--students show interest for different reasons.
Purpose Micro-Blogging Tools
Adrian Chan, social media consultant,
wrote in a blog post, "Twitter is a conversation tool, and content on twitter is more akin to speech than it is to its long-form brethren. The term 'micro-blogging' is, I think, a bit of a misnomer in fact. 'Micro-blogging' suggests writing (blogging). To me, Twitter is clearly talk. Micro-messaging would be more accurate --but then messaging is micro already.
"Because the content on twitter is produced by people talking, it would need to be measured differently than conventional page-based content, social or evergreen. We would want to measure talk, not pages. We would want to measure talkers, not sites or domains. We would want to measure relationships, not in-and out-bound links."
Therefore, rather than try and make it something else, it is important to maximize the fact that it is a conversational tool. Of course that can be used negatively to distract students but it can also be used to motivate students when the conversation is on topic and for a specific purpose.