1. What kinds of things do people on twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about, or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these twitter feeds.
When I searched "Veterinarian" on Twitter, I was surprised to find many accounts dedicated to Veterinary News, just like a Medical News account, but for animals! Most of the current news has to do with winter, how to care for pets that go outdoors often when there is snow and/or extreme temperatures. Along with these current posts, there are also news posts about animal cruelty, disease, miracles, and more. However, I did not find any interactive or ongoing Twitter discussions about any of these stories. I decided to broaden my search to include another passion of mine, which is veganism. I am already familiar with many Twitter accounts about veganism, and they include news articles, data, quotes from doctors/celebrities/civilians, and almost all aim to end animal cruelty.
2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found them interesting.
I chose one story from each topic that I searched on Twitter. The tweet with the veterinary article that I found most interesting was about second-hand smoke and how it affects pets, making them more likely to have health problems. When I saw the title I thought "duh", but then I realized that humans probably don't take animals into consideration when they are smoking. Honestly, the article was not very capturing, but the topic is. Pet owners have a responsibility to take care of their animals as best they can, and to expose them to something that is damaging to their health, and SO easy to avoid (just go outside) is cruel. The study being conducted in the article is unfinished, so it doesn't really have a professional foothold yet, but it seems like common sense to me.
The other tweet that I found interesting was from one of my favorite Twitter accounts, now if you click on the article I have to warn you it is very graphic in regards to the Egg Industry. I know that posting about veganism is so stereotypical of a vegan, and no one will REALLY want to look at this article because it makes them sad or uncomfortable or nauseous, but doesn't that alone tell you something? If these actions were ok, or ethically sound, why would we be so repulsed by these pictures about the egg industry? In my opinion, it is not even the worst part of animal agriculture. Anyways, this article of 21 secrets that the Egg Industry doesn't want us to know does a great job of educating us on the sacrifices that are made in order for you to have an omelette in the morning. I have seen all of this footage before, and I already knew what the conditions were like in these egg farms, but looking at those pictures and reading descriptions of what the chickens go through in this particular order should awaken compassion in even the most devoutly carnivorous human. The idea that animals are on this earth for us to exploit and use as we please is baffling; those chickens have just as much right to their lives as we do, and I bet that their life means infinitely more to them than their death could possibly mean to us.
3. Overall, what impression did you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.
I expected to find more scientific facts, medical cases, etc. on the different accounts that I looked at. The most common type of article or comment on the veterinary Twitter accounts were geared towards pet owners, which makes sense. I guess I had just never thought of Veterinarians in a casual sense, I typically think of them as doctors who are always serious and whatnot. I was not surprised to find a lot of advice, warnings, and animal news stories on the accounts, but it is difficult to really say anything substantial in 140 characters or less. On the vegan Twitter accounts, I didn't see anything surprising to me personally. I was already familiar with many of them, and they almost always have some sort of mixture of cartoons, graphics, statistics, quotes, opinions, etc.
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