ReEngagement with Twitterville

An Introduction to Ecological Physics Method

In 2009, Shel Israel published Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods when Twitter was only 3 years old. Shel Israel pointed out, “Unlike other hot social media spaces, Twitterville is dominated by professionals, not students. And despite its size, it still feels like a small town. Twitter allows people to interact much the way they do face-to-face, honestly and authentically.”

Now Twitter is no longer a small town, it has over 321 million active users (February 2019). Does the notion of Twitterville still stay relevant?

As Israel mentioned years before, “No matter where you’re from or what you do for a living, you will find conversations on Twitter that are valuable. Despite the millions of people joining the site, you’ll quickly find the ones who can make a difference to you.” I think Twitterville is still a valuable idea because it describes a unique perspective that views Twitter as a living place for open social interactions as well as personal growth and development.

Israel used a narrative approach to research Twitter and focused on business professionals. Inspired by Ecological psychologist James J. Gibson’s ecological approach, I adopt Twitterville as a metaphor and redefine it as a theoretical…