If you’re still looking for a costume idea and you’re 36, you’re in
luck. Show up tweeting from your mobile device and instantly be: the driving force behind Twitter's success. Although recent studies have shown that younger folks are warming up to Twitter, it’s the age 35 to 44 year old demographic in 2008 that catapulted the micro-blogging service into mainstream consciousness.
You can’t watch TV, read your RSS feed or even have a conversation
without tweet-infiltration. It’s everywhere. DM’s, @’s, RT’s, hashtags
and now listing. The subculture that comes along with being one of many
“tweoples” has even penetrated advertising and packaging. This Twitter
explosion and Twittification of language really got me thinking: why
the 35 to 44 demographic? I’m sure I’m not alone in this question. So
here’s an idea:
#CommandLineInterface
The age 35 to 44 demographic might remember a little thing
called DOS. Yes, the Disk Operating System. DOS operated on a Command
Line Interface, on which you’d enter a command, combined with
characters like these: $, %, #, :, > and @ . A few of these same
characters form the framework of the “Twitterverse.” Yes, the hashtag.
Not to mention the “@.” Some CLI users, depending on the operating
system, could type in the “@” character to specify users. Sound
familiar? It’s pretty simple to see the connection: The age 35 to 44
demographic might have a leg up navigating Twitter due to previous CLI
usage. If this same demographic began using CLI in their first computer
interactions, it’s not so crazy to think that adopting Twitter seemed
more natural—more intuitive.
Some
might deem this hypothesis misleading because of Twitter's simplicity
and ease of use, regardless of CLI experience, but place yourself in an
outsider's shoes. Navigating Twitter would be confusing with the many
functional symbols and site-specific verbiage. Getting oriented takes
time. Having CLI experience may have made it a little easier for a
specific demographic to become acclimated.
Have you seen the new Maddock Douglas homepage?
Follow Maddock Douglas on Twitter
read more »
