Topic – Technology: The future of Twitter

The future of Twitter

Here is a link to the listening text we worked on in class recently:  Twitter ‘could go the way of the dodo’  BBC Best of Today, 21st March 2011 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9431000/9431215.stm)

I’m not sure how long the link will work as the BBC might remove the content sooner or later so here is an alternative:  http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/37183366

This was the activity we worked on in class, based on the CPE listening test, part 2:

Twitter is five years old today, but will it go the same way as Bebo and Myspace and eventually lose the interest of the public?  Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com and Aleks Krotsky, social psychologist at the Oxford Internet Institute, reflect on the past half-decade of tweeting.

1)  It tool Twitter three years to produce one billion tweets but the number is now ……………………………………………

2)  Twitter has grown incredibly in 5 years and it is now approaching …………………………………… users.

3)  Brent says that Twitter is now looking at revenue …………………………….. for the future.

4)  He says Twitter is a wonderful feed for ……………………………………………………… communication.

5)  In Brent’s point of view, Twitter will be part of the next ……………………………………………………………………..

6)  Aleks says that many Internet phenomena can be ………………………………………………………….

7)  She says that a lack of a ……………………………………. could mean that Twitter will not achieve longevity.

8)  She says that the web encourages ……………………………………………… so people might move en-mass to a different online service.

9)  Brent mentions that Twitter is selling a rich ……………………………….. to Google and Facebook.

10)  In the future, Brent says Twitter can make money from …………………………. the data it has about people.

11)  Aleks says that Twitter could be ……………………………………. by other companies.

12)  Brent describes Google as a “search” facility, Facebook as “social” and Twitter as …………………………………………..

13)  Aleks concludes by saying that if Twitter puts …………………………………….., there is the chance that it might die out.

vocabulary focus:

Categorise the following words and expressions according to whether they talk about:  becoming extinct / being popular for a long time / being popular for a brief period

• to die out
• to be a passing fad
• be defunct
• to be a short-lived craze
• to stand the test of time
• to have lasting appeal
• be obsolete
• to go the way of the dodo/dinosaurs etc.
• to hold its own in the long run
• in for the long haul
• become passé
• become outmoded
• fleeting (adj)

Which of the expressions are more informal?

In class we also discussed the future of some common objects which have stood the test of time for many generations but might face an uncertain future:  books, petrol cars, offices, CDs, cinemas, newspapers etc.

We also revised the use of participle clauses to provide justification for ideas and expressions for talking about future possibility and probability:

Participle clause	Expression of possibility / probability
Having seen how…Given that…Taking into account how/that…Considering how/that… Knowing how/that… Bearing in mind how/that… Looking at this from a long/short-term perspective…	…it’s inevitable that……x (be) bound to……there’s a good/strong chance that……there’s only a slim chance that… …I can’t really see… …I would (n’t) bet on… …it’s just a question of time until…

…and combined these using the pattern:  participle clause + justification for prediction + expression of probability/possibility + prediction

Here are some examples:

Knowing how paper dictionary sales are falling due to the popularity of computerised versions, I reckon it’s only a matter of time before we see the same happening with novels.

Considering that newspapers are losing out on advertising revenue as circulation figures drop, aren’t some of them bound to go out of business sooner or later?

Being old enough to remember cassettes I know how quickly old formats can become defunct so I wouldn’t bet on the CD being around in 50 years to come.

Textualising:

Imagine you are the chief executive of a large chain of cinemas.  What are the main threats facing your business?  What ideas can you think of to ensure that your cinemas will be alive and well in the future?  Write a short text (120 words or so) for a speech you are giving to your managers  at an Annual General Meeting which outlines some of the threats your business faces and ideas for overcoming them.  This text gives you the opportunity to use some of the language features which appear in this post.  There are some ideas below but you can add to these.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Movies still as popular as ever.Sound and vision of cinema still beats home cinema technology.	Recession means fewer visits to the cinema. Buildings a bit dated.Public perception is that we’re overpriced.
Opportunities	Threats
Appeal to wider audiences – e.g. Bollywood not just Hollywood.Show alternatives to films – e.g. live concerts in the USA screened live in Spanish cinemas / Opera from Milan / ballet from Russia screened live in the cinema at affordable prices / sports eventsUse screens and auditorium for company presentations.Use screens for gaming events with console technology.	Home cinema technology improving all the time and getting cheaper.A generation of kids who have grown up with downloading films – cinema just not part of their lives.

Further reading:

For further coverage of the first five years of Twitter, check out:  Twitter celebrates its fifth birthday (BBC News, technology, 21st March 2011).

C2.2 – Writing (Letter) – The value of higher-education

CPE Writing Exam

Part one of the CPE writing paper is a compulsory task in which you write an article, essay, letter or proposal of between 300 and 350 words.  It is common for the letter to be one written to a newspaper in response to something that has already been published.  You are often given an extract from the piece and a question to respond to.

Task Introduction

In this post I’m going to set up a writing task based on an original web article on the topic of university degrees that you can read before writing your response.

First of all, think about the following statements.  Which do you agree with?

• A university degree is a passport to a rewarding career and financial security – you are closing doors of opportunity on yourself if you don’t get one.
• University study may be expensive but the cost is justified when you consider the quality of the courses on offer.
• A university education does not prepare people for the reality of the world of work.  More can be learned about business and life in six months working than in three or four years studying.
• What’s the point of studying hard and paying for a degree and masters when all you are doing in reality is becoming over-qualified for the first job you’re likely to be able to get when you finally start working?
• The quality of university teaching is in a state of continuous decline.  A degree today is worth less than one ten, fifteen or twenty years ago.
• If your objective is to own your own home, drive your own car and gain financial independence and security for your retirement, you’d be better off leaving school before you are 18, finding a job, working hard and working your way up in that company.  You’ll find that by the time your contemporaries are finishing their university degree, you’ll be well on the way to achieving your goal while they are up to their necks in debt.
• In the future we’ll see a reversal in the growth in the number of people going on to study at university.  Not everyone needs a degree.  Practical apprenticeships for skilled labour jobs like carpentry and plumbing will become more popular again.

You are now going to read a summary of an article on this topic which appeared in The Week (18th September 2010).  Which points above does the writer agree or disagree with?

Like the housing bubble before it, “the higher-education bubble” is about to burst, says Michael Barone.  Over recent decades, yearly tuition fees at most of America’s private universities have climbed far beyond the rate of inflation, to $30,000 and above, on the widespread assumption that a college degree guarantees a successful life.  Many young people and their parents have taken on debts of $100,000 or more, only to find that in our new economy, graduates can’t find the high-paying jobs they assumed would be there – or any jobs at all.  More troubling still is that many graduates emerge with subpar educations, as colleges water down standards and squander millions on administrators and star professors who do little teaching.  For many students, two years in a low-cost community college might make more economic sense; for others, training in a specific trade, such as carpentry might provide a more secure future.  “America leads the world in higher education”, but this success has led colleges to assume they are immune to the business cycle and the law of supply and demand.  “Turns out that’s wrong.”  The skyrocketing cost of college “is not sustainable” now that people are starting to “figure out they’re not getting their money’s worth”.

Writing Task

Having read the article summary, you decide to write a letter to the editor of the newspaper, commenting on the article and giving your own opinions.  You should write between 300 to 350 words.

Preparing to write (ideas)

In preparation for writing, here are some steps you might like to follow:

• Brainstorm your own opinions on the topic.  Identify the key points the writer makes about higher education in the U.S.  Do they apply to Spain?  Europe in general?  Can you relate any of the points to current debates about education in Spain?  How do they relate to your own experience and that of people you know?  Note down your opinion to each of the key points – do you agree/disagree with them?  Why?  What examples can you give to support your opinions?  What are the effects of the points the writer makes on people today and their implications for society in the future?
• Read the original article in full here.     Add any further ideas to your notes.
• Read some of the comments offered by readers at the bottom of the article.  Which of them agree or disagree with your original ideas about the article.  Can you ‘borrow’ any of these ideas and use them in your letter?
• Evaluate your notes.  Do you now have enough ‘content’ to write a response of 300-350 words?

Preparing to write (planning the text)

• Try setting out a paragraph plan for your letter based on your notes.  This may help you produce a letter which is suitably coherent.  You could start with giving a reason for writing this letter (Paragraph One), and end by rounding off your ideas in a summary paragraph.
• Think about the key vocabulary you will need.  You could brainstorm words and expressions related to the topics of higher education, value for money, the world of work etc.
• Get writing!  If you want to, it would be great if you could write your answer in the comment box on this page.  That way I can offer feedback on your text and other readers can compare their ideas to yours.  Please don’t be shy!  Feedback will be constructive and we are not aiming for perfection yet.  We are practising.  Don’t think of the piece ‘finished.’  It’s always a work in progress that can be edited, amended and improved on.

Post-writing evaluation

When you have written your text, before posting the response here, it might be useful to check…

• Spelling.  Look up and check any words you were not sure about as you wrote.
• Word choice.  Look back at your text as an editor.  Look out for words/expressions/phrases which you think may not fit the overall register of your text (e.g. slang expressions in a semi-formal/formal text) – can you substitute any of these?  Evaluate how cohesive your letter is – do the sections link together clearly?  Have you used suitable linking expressions to help you do this.
• Read your text through for clarity.  Are your opinions about the topic clearly stated?
• Ask for feedback – is there something in particular you want me to focus on when I give feedback (e.g. how can I make my writing more engaging to the reader?  Do I use prepositions correctly?)

Happy writing, I look forward to reading your responses.

References

Summary of Michael Barone’s article from The Week (18 September 2010) (Dennis Publishing)

Original article by Michael Barone, Higher Education Bubble Poised to Burst from The Examiner (Washington) (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Higher-education-bubble-poised-to-burst-720594-102180809.html)