As you are probably aware, Twitter is now five years old, so it's probably a good time to reflect on how it has changed our lives, our communications and our communities.
Well I believe for those who enjoy, participate and ‘get’ Twitter all those areas have been touched, and for the better.
A lot has been said about its motivation and many have dismissed Twitter as simply a PR machine for celebrities or condemned it as a platform for mundane, pointless tasks.
But if you look beyond the surface, challenge and appreciate its unique nuances, it is surprising how clever and encompassing this social media tool really is. In fact, I don’t think its amazing inventors truly realised what a genius idea they generated in those early days.
As it has evolved over the years, it's the ‘followers’ rather than founders who have taken it to another dimension.
Although the worldwide web has slowly been bringing us together for years, it hasn't broadened our horizons or enabled us to interact with one another quite like Twitter does. The very fact that you can be tweeting to unknown followers in South Africa when conversing with a friend down the road, and bring them into your conversation, is pretty amazing.
We can finally make the news that ‘we’ think is important and in our interest, not what journalists or media moguls think we want to know or is relevant
One of the best things about Twitter is all its unique mannerisms - for example, the hashtag, previously so underused but bringing together a common reference so sweetly.
Or the RT/retweet. You think a tweet is cool or clever and you want others to read it, so you relay it in one click. Can you really imagine such minor things having such an impact on your daily life five years ago?
So we come to the mighty trending topics - so simple yet so effective. We can finally make the news that ‘we’ think is important and in our interest, not what journalists or media moguls think we want to know or is relevant; fact the news reporting now actually tells you what is trending in Twitter!
Never has this type of function been so apparently worthwhile. In light of recent disasters and important socio-political happenings around the world. Twitter has helped campaigners fighting for liberation in the Middle East communicate and organise themselves, giving a level of control to people, so they can bring together ideas when time is of the essence, organising individuals into groups to make a stand and keeping a common theme in the spotlight.
In Japan, Australia and New Zealand, where natural disaster has taken down most forms of traditional communication, Twitter has been able to help get information through, just a few lines or simple phrases - enough to offer awareness of the situation, unite those affected and help in the provision and distribution of aid.
And who can forget when travellers affected all around the world were stranded by the tyranny of volcano Eyjafjallajökul. If you were stuck in a foreign land with scant media information filtering through the chaos, for many Twitter was a direct and cost-effective means of obtaining information, leading them to safe routes home.
So if you think Twitter is just about 140 characters… what do you really ‘need’ to say? Sometimes less is more. If we think about how our world is changing maybe this analogy could be introduced into most of things we do. Is great length and detail always really necessary?
As the world comes together, sharing ideas, thoughts, common goals and ideals, could we all play a part in forming trending topics of the future? Through tweeting we can disseminate the ideas and news we want, not what our leaders want us to heed.
