It was a strange idea: a website that simply allows people to post short bursts of inconsequential information in 140 characters or less. Why would anyone be interested in publishing or reading daily minutiae? It seems like a ridiculous expression of modern narcissism. But since its creation in 2006, Twitter has generated more than $57 million for venture capitalists and has become the pulse of the online world.
In the midst of trivialities such as what a friend ate for breakfast, you can find helpful information about news, local events, or whatever piques your interest. Twitter filters through the vast amount of information on the Internet, providing a quick and personalized news feed from people who care about what you care about. You can form a list, which provides a stream of information only on a topic that interests you at the moment. Twitter can alert you about a bridge closing or an art festival going on in your area.
On a personal level, following your friends on Twitter gives you a type of E.S.P. as you absorb the ambient information. Each tweet may seem mundane and insignificant in itself, but the threads are woven together to reveal the tapestry of someone’s life. It is like being able to read someone’s mind at a distance. It would seem that trying to follow the continual updates of your friends would be an impossible task, but it is effortless to absorb ambient information. Unlike email, where you must open, assess, and respond to messages directed to you, tweets are easy to skim over and absorb. However, Twitter users should be careful that close, real-life relationships are not drowned in a veritable flood of Twitter stream. It is one thing to observe someone; it is quite another thing to know someone.
Beyond the personal level, Twitter has proved to be a powerful tool in times of crisis. It has been found that Twitter does a better job in getting out information than the traditional media. There are so many users that at any given time, there is usually someone who has heard about an event or even witnessed an event and tweets about it. The news spreads like wildfire. Twitter first gained international respect when it was used to spread political information and organize protests in the wake of the much-disputed June 2009 election. Using Twitter, Iranians circumvented the government blockage of text messaging. During the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Twitter was used to distribute vital information such as hospitals needing blood donations and emergency phone numbers.
From being scorned as a mundane triviality to becoming a vital tool for spreading information, Twitter has burst onto the modern world with surprising usefulness. It is, in a sense, a democratic platform for anyone who cares to tweet. The celebrity, the housewife, the factory worker, and the politician are all given equal voice. If you have something worthwhile to say, it will most likely be noticed. The conversation is continuous, and anyone can chime in. From the mundane to the monumental, Twitter truly is the heartbeat of our time.
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