Microblogs

Blogs and microblogs are used for communication, knowledge management, and publishing. Blog is simply a shortened version of weblog, a coinage of “web” and “log,” representing an information system that lists diary entries online. Microblogs can be seen as consisting of shorter blog entries. This entry further defines microblogs, then discusses the process of microblogging and how it functions as a means of mass communication.

Akshay Java and colleagues describe microblogging as a small-scale form of blogging, generally made up of short, succinct messages, used by both consumers and businesses to share news, post status updates, and carry on conversations. Describing the difference between blogs and microblogs, Jeremiah Owyang (2008) says that in comparison with the rapid flow of information on Twitter, “long form blog posts ...