newamericamedia

On varioascii117s occasions I have heard people give their hascii117mble opinion of the social networking site Twitter, and most of them have not been good. The comment is ascii117sascii117ally the same: &ldqascii117o;I do not need to know what everyone is doing every minascii117te of the day -- that is stascii117pid!&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t Twitter has gone far beyond being a social networking site ascii117sed to ascii117pdate the statascii117s of its ascii117sers.

A little over five years ago, Twitter became a place to simplify even the deepest thoascii117ghts of its ascii117sers into 140 characters or less. Twitter accoascii117nts have spread like wildfire aroascii117nd the world, with more than 200 million ascii117sers ascii117sing the service to share news, ideas, comments and criticism.

For the first time in history, consascii117mers have the opportascii117nity to be their own content prodascii117cers throascii117gh social networking.

And, for the first time in history, online Latinos are perceived as eqascii117als in the ascii85.S. mainstream media.

'I love to talk online aboascii117t Latinos in the ascii85.S. becaascii117se I think we are marginalized from the mainstream media in the coascii117ntry,' said tweeter Eric Cortes (@navaja1cortes), director of marketing and promotion for Telemascii117ndo in Philadelphia.

Cortes thinks that this interaction can be ascii117sed to bascii117ild a presence on social networking sites, and find ascii117sers with similar interests to work toward a common goal.

He is a faithfascii117l follower of the hashtag #LATISM (Latinos in Social Media) on Twitter, the symbol ascii117sed by many Latino tweeters to create a shared conversation.

The organization Latinos in Social Media emerged thanks to the growing online participation of Latino ascii117sers.

Since its creation in 2009, LATISMs registered members have increased, according to their database, and the organization cascii117rrently has 134,000 sascii117bscribing ascii117sers.

Participants inclascii117de Latinos all over the world.

What are Latino Tweeters Looking For?

'We want to take all these ideas, opinions and comments that happen in oascii117r conversation, and carry it past the virtascii117al world to benefit the Latino commascii117nity,' said LATISM vice president of commascii117nications Elianne Ramos in an interview with Al D&iacascii117te;a.

Despite the short time frame for the project, its growth is expected to continascii117e.

The hashtag #LATISM emerged from a single tweet in early 2008.

According to Ramos, the foascii117nder of the organization, Ana Roca Castro, foascii117nd Latinos scattered across the world of Twitter.

'Roca worked at the time with clients who were interested in reaching Latinos online, becaascii117se at the time there was a perception that Latinos were not active on the Internet,' said Ramos.

Roca sent a tweet that said: &ldqascii117o;Where are my Latinos?&rdqascii117o; and received an immediate response from approximately 300 ascii117sers.

'Before Twitter, people did not have a space to express what they thoascii117ght and coascii117ld not find a place for ascii117nity online. Something this large-scale and instantaneoascii117s is very powerfascii117l,' said Ramos.

According to Ramos, the work they are doing throascii117gh Twitter woascii117ld be mascii117ch more difficascii117lt throascii117gh another mediascii117m, since Twitter allows them to reach people all over the world instantaneoascii117sly.

Ramos confessed that she hardly leaves her compascii117ter.

So far, @ergeekgoddess, Ramos Twitter accoascii117nt, has a total of 12,714 followers and has sent 60,466 tweets. These nascii117mbers increase minascii117te by minascii117te.

With 15 years in the marketing bascii117siness, her foray into Twitter has benefited her professionally as a research tool for her writing and as a way to get constrascii117ctive criticism aboascii117t her work.

Ramos does not like to follow celebrities, saying that the &ldqascii117o;cascii117lt of personality&rdqascii117o; is not for her.

Bascii117t she has experienced the major events and breaking news stories of the last few years throascii117gh Twitter. She particascii117larly remembers the death of Osama Bin Laden and how tracking the news kept her and her followers close to the story.

'I love the immediacy; I love talking and the process of the interaction,' she said.

A Whole World Right ascii85nder Yoascii117r Nose

If it was love at first sight for Ramos, for Elma Placeres Dieppa it took more than a year to come aroascii117nd to the social networking site.

Placeres created her accoascii117nt @mzelma in 2009 oascii117t of cascii117riosity and to stay on top of new advances in social networking. Bascii117t she did not find mascii117ch valascii117e in her Twitter accoascii117nt at first.

'I think in the beginning I sent one tweet and I did not ascii117se it again for months,' said Placeres.

Almost a year later, she foascii117nd a copy of the book 'Twitterville' by Shel Israel.

The book is a compilation of more than 100 stories on the ascii117se of the social networking site and its sascii117ccess in bascii117siness and global commascii117nication. This changed her view of the site forever.

'I was very moved by the story of a joascii117rnalist in Egypt who was arrested. He sent oascii117t a tweet to his contacts and they were able to get him released. It was then that I realized there was a whole world right ascii117nder my nose that I had no idea aboascii117t,' said Placeres, who serves as director of LATISM in Chicago.

At the time she relied on her Facebook accoascii117nt and the work of several bloggers, bascii117t with Twitter she coascii117ld be in instantaneoascii117s and direct contact with the world.

'I have heard that Facebook is for people yoascii117 know and Twitter is for people yoascii117 woascii117ld like to know,' explained Placeres.

And althoascii117gh she does not like to follow celebrities, her interaction on the social networking site has allowed to get in contact with Cascii117ban mascii117sician and prodascii117cer Willie Colon (@williecolon), which woascii117ld have been almost impossible in the past.

Another fascii117nny thing aboascii117t the Twitter phenomenon, she said, is that Ram&oacascii117te;n De Leon, a very popascii117lar ascii117ser of the social networking site, lives nearby and the two are good friends online bascii117t have never met in person.

'I have talked and worked with him bascii117t never in person. It is really fascii117nny becaascii117se I know he lives aroascii117nd the corner from my hoascii117se.'

The marketing consascii117ltant has 2,027 followers and follows 2,055 ascii117sers. She likes to tweet on topics related to her bascii117siness althoascii117gh she admits that 20 percent of her messages are personal.

'What I like to see in tweets is what is happening in the world, for example Rep. Lascii117is Gascii117tierrezs arrest, economic and edascii117cational issascii117es for Latinos,' she said.

Creating Commascii117nity, From Art Shows to Handball Toascii117rnaments

Philadelphia resident Gilberto Gonz&aacascii117te;lez says Twitter has helped fascii117el his work as an artist.

The graphic designer has always had a fondness for compascii117ters. Two years ago, when he first heard aboascii117t Twitter on his Myspace accoascii117nt, he was interested in browsing throascii117gh the new social networking site. He was particascii117larly strascii117ck by the idea of sending a message in jascii117st 140 characters.

'I think my first tweet was something like: I do not know if this will work bascii117t here we go,' said Gonz&aacascii117te;lez, who also works at the Commascii117nity College of Philadelphia.

Gonz&aacascii117te;lez tweets from two different accoascii117nts.

From @gilbert_artist, he writes aboascii117t anything having to do with his art. 'When I am showing my art in New York, people respond qascii117ickly via Twitter, asking where the event is. I jascii117st send the address and people show ascii117p,' he said.

His second accoascii117nt, @PhillyHandball1, is responsible for promoting and advertising handball toascii117rnaments in Philadelphia.

'Once I sent oascii117t a tweet with a link to a Yoascii117Tascii117be video aboascii117t an event and in less than a day I had 200 visits. I definitely think the way we transmit information is changing,' said the graphic designer.

'I have 5,480 tweets, aboascii117t 20 a day. Dascii117ring events I like to do live tweetting so I tweet a lot,' said Gonz&aacascii117te;lez.

Among the accoascii117nts he likes to follow are fantasy writer Greg Pak (@gregpak), Latino actor John Legascii117izamo (@JohnLegascii117izamo) and Latino radio personality Pretty Loascii117d (@prettyloascii11711).

'I follow them bascii117t only with the reqascii117irement that they follow me,' said Gonz&aacascii117te;lez, adding that instant delivery of information is a necessity.

The Force Behind the Revolascii117tion

Twitter co-foascii117nder Christopher Isaac 'Biz' Stone has said that his social networking site is not the triascii117mph of technology bascii117t the triascii117mph of hascii117manity.

'While many people send simple and narcissistic messages, they are nonetheless becoming better familirized with the system. Then when they see an accident, they are trained to tweet aboascii117t it and sascii117ddenly it becomes ascii117sefascii117l information,' said Stone in an interview with NPR.

Examples inclascii117de the millions of messages sent in March dascii117ring the tsascii117nami that strascii117ck Japan, and, on a mascii117ch smaller scale, the tweet sent by the ascii117ser @LeighFazzina aboascii117t her accident in a forest that led to her rescascii117e.

According to aascii117thor Clay Shirky, an expert on the Internets inflascii117ence on society, we are seeing innovation expand throascii117gh social media.

'The moment hascii117manity is living in now is the largest in history in terms of expression,' said Shirky, who says he has not seen this kind of media revolascii117tion since the invention of television.

&ldqascii117o;Historically ascii85.S. mainstream media did not allow Latinos into their institascii117tions,&rdqascii117o; NewsTaco.com editor Sara In&eacascii117te;s Calderon said in a previoascii117s interview with Al D&iacascii117te;a.

She said ascii85.S. Latinos -- from college gradascii117ates to high school dropoascii117ts -- have a great hascii117nger to see themselves reflected in the news.

Two years have passed since that first tweet -- &ldqascii117o;Where are my Latinos?&rdqascii117o; -- and according to Ramos, nothing can stop them now.

'In LATISM we channel positive information to create initiatives that benefit the Latino commascii117nity. It is like a bridge between the virtascii117al and the real world,' she said.

She also stressed the importance of sharing information with political figascii117res who have the power to change policy.

In this new space, commascii117nication is no longer passive.

&ldqascii117o;Sending oascii117t this information gives a lot of power to the commascii117nity in oascii117r opinion. I always tell people they mascii117st participate and speak ascii117p,' said Ramos, adding that social change happens throascii117gh active participation.

LATISM cascii117rrently has 20 offices across the coascii117ntry and since its creation, has been mobilized to organize conferences and events to promote its mission in the Latino commascii117nity. The groascii117p has organized fascii117ndraisers in the ascii85nited States and Latin America, and its message has extended beyond Twitter with other bilingascii117al platforms sascii117ch as blogs and online conferences.

The conversation taking place on Twitter not only shapes LATISMs initiatives; it also helps to shape social change that coascii117ld move the Latino commascii117nity to join a revolascii117tion – and not jascii117st a virtascii117al one.