Crawford talks about social media and the importance of the listener and audience in social media. The idea of “speaking up” and using one’s voice is often the most common an acknowledged way people participate in social media; however, “lurking” is also important for the continued growth of and participation in social media. The people who lurk are providing an audience for those “speaking up” to preform to and get reactions from, encouraging them to continue to share. Without people listening, social medias would die out; lurkers “contribute a mode of receptiveness that encourages others to make public contributions” (81). Twitter, as a social media, also plays off the idea of sound with its name; Twitter can apply to the “calling of birds, or the ‘idle’ chatter of humans” (83). The constant chatter of humans can be both entertaining and difficult to navigate and understand with “a stream of multilayered information” (83). One can have a tweet about a celebrity blog, political news, and a picture of a dog doing something crazy all in the span of seconds. This complex of information allows for many Twitter users to establish different types of relationships with the social media. Many will choose to share personal information while others choose to retweet other people’s thoughts or not post at all. However, all “disclosure made in social media spaces develop a relationship with an audience of listeners” (83). However, in 2009, when the piece was written, the norms of social media had not yet developed, leaving the relationship between audience and speaker unclear and difficult to define. In recent year, the increase in participation in social media has developed more norms. Corporations and politicians struggle to keep balanced communication with their audience with the growth in the platforms, so the expectation for constant responses has gone down. Therefore, they have moved to using their social medias for promotions and marketing. Individual users have also been able to set their own standard for how they are going to participate in social media. Lurking is no longer seen as a drain on social media; it has even been glorified. Many people openly enjoy, and even pride themselves in, being able to stalk other people. Therefore, the relationship between listener and audience can defined by the individual, breaking away from the idea of a norm.
