Seven years old today
So, Twitter is seven years old today. It now has over 2 million users and people are sending over 400 million tweets each day. Whilst some embrace it, others reject it, and others lampoon it as the preserve of the vacuous. One well-known broadcaster has called on those using it to “stop counting letters and get a life”, and a magazine editor has compared middle-aged men tweeting to “dads dancing at a wedding”. Of course people are free to say whatever they like about Twitter, but aren’t some of these comments missing the point?
Twitter is a medium of communication – nothing more, nor less. Its restrictions of format are no more significant than the the length of, for instance, a magazine editorial or a radio broadcast. As with any use of language the limitations arise from the imagination and discipline of the user, rather than the medium itself. Dismissing Twitter per se is like saying that every short story is nonsense because it is short, and every editorial is forgettable simply because there will be another one along tomorrow.
In the past four years Twitter has allowed me to:
- Co-ordinate a remarkable collaborative publishing project to raise over £2500 for a children’s hospice.
- Compile an interactive map expressing people’s experience of awe around the world.
- Co-ordinate perceptions of prayer across ages from 16 – 80 and across international and denominational borders.
- Interact with those of other faiths on matters of common interest
- Enhance collaboration and communication across both church and business communities in the town where I live.
Twitter is as good, or as bad; as vacuous or as significant as we make it. Time to stop being a Twitter luddite though, I feel, and dismissing it as the invention of the verbal devil.
Image: thehealthybear.com
New from the Preachers’ Blog Change the record! http://t.co/4zIgAa6IpH
Change the record! http://t.co/4zIgAa6IpH
BBC News -Twitter celebrates its seventh birthday http://t.co/7YqO8lQ1Po Then again-shouldn’t we “change the record”? http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
RT @richardlittleda: Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http …
RT @richardlittleda: Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http …
Change the record! http://t.co/9Ywplnyv2Y Happy birthay twitter – 7 yrs old today – a reminder of the good power of twitter @richardlittleda
RT @richardlittleda: Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http …
RT @richardlittleda: Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http …
@drbexl Twitter is 7 years old today – isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up too? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
Twitter is 7 years old today – time the criticism grew up? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/apSKmDNPOn via @richardlittleda
RT @revpamsmith: Twitter is 7 years old today – time the criticism grew up? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/apSKmDNPOn via @richardl …
RT @revpamsmith: Twitter is 7 years old today – time the criticism grew up? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/apSKmDNPOn via @richardl …
RT @revpamsmith: Twitter is 7 years old today – time the criticism grew up? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/apSKmDNPOn via @richardl …
RT @revpamsmith: Twitter is 7 years old today – time the criticism grew up? See “Change the record”:http://t.co/apSKmDNPOn via @richardl …
@alantlwilson Thought on Twitter’s 7th birthday here- as good or as bad as we choose to make it. Your thoughts?http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
@annamdrew Thoughts on Twitter 7th birthday http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
RT @richardlittleda: @annamdrew Thoughts on Twitter 7th birthday http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
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@JeremyJacobs See also “change the record – thoughts on Twitter’s birthday”: http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
RT @richardlittleda: Twitter is 7 years old today. Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little too? See “change the record”: http …
“Happy birthday to you” Twitter 7 today.Isn’t it time the criticism of it grew up a little? See “change the record”: http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
@DrNickMorgan Been thinking about the essence of good communication on Twitter’s 7th birthday:http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
nice blog post on Twitter’s 7 years by @richardlittleda – http://t.co/vhBo4Z9Yxf
@mashable And here”s apost suggesting that it is high time the criticism of it grew up too:http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
RT @DrNickMorgan: nice blog post on Twitter’s 7 years by @richardlittleda – http://t.co/vhBo4Z9Yxf
RT @DrNickMorgan: nice blog post on Twitter’s 7 years by @richardlittleda – http://t.co/vhBo4Z9Yxf
@ruskin147 Don’t know if you saw this piece on Twitter’s 7th birthday? Time the critique of it grew up a little too: http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
@bigbible @mashable AS Twitter has now grown up a little – maybe its critics should too? See “change the record”: http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus
RT @richardlittleda: @bigbible @mashable AS Twitter has now grown up a little – maybe its critics should too? See “change the record”: h …
@suellewellyn @SamiraAhmedUK @LeVostreGC Indeed it does. Did you read my “defence” of Twitter on its birthday?http://t.co/x2qkxoBtus