On Day 2 of A2Z Challenge 2019, I talked about Blog. Today, on the 13th day, I am going to talk about A2Z of microblogging. A microblog is a type of blog in which a user can post small pieces of text and audio/visual on the Internet. Unlike traditional blogs, that are often hosted on a custom website, microblogs are incorporated in different websites.

Microblogs are becoming popular because of their portability. They are also gaining popularity in mainstream communication. They can provide real-time updates of any incident, as the content is published instantly. As the posts are small and crisp in nature, the interaction rate is high. Many mainstream media houses are using microblogs to publish the latest news. Marketers are also using microblogs to attract new visitors to their websites.

A2Z of Microblogging: Few Microblogs

The most common micro-blogging platform is Twitter. The website allows its users to post updates of upto 280 characters (previously 140 characters). The platform is also known as ‘SMS of the Internet’. These 280 characters updates are called tweets. They may include hashtags, mentions (tagging other Twitter users), links, images and videos.

You can also micro-blog on Facebook. On Facebook, there’s no character limit, this lets you post longer updates. This is the reason why some people don’t consider Facebook as a micro-blogging platform. You will be surprised to know that some people blog on Instagram by sharing their photo journals.

A2Z of Microblogging: Traditional blogs vs Microblogs

In this section of the post, I shall try to highlight the difference between a traditional blog and a microblog. So, why should you opt for a microblog? Here are a few reasons:

• Less Time: You spent less time in creating content due to character limits. Microblog posts are crisp in nature – straight to the pinpoint.
• More Frequency: You are saving time by posting shorter content. This will allow you to post more frequently.
• Easy to Use: Most microblogging platforms have been designed to be easy and fast to use. You can directly communicate with your followers. They are mobile friendly too.