How Twitter has Changed the World
Now in it’s seventh year, Twitter has revolutionised the world in a number of ways. Much of our young society are active users of the site, whilst almost every person will have at least heard of the social network.
So how has Twitter changed the world we live in?
Anyone can share anything – 400 million tweets are sent every day!
Just eaten a really nice sandwich? Tell your followers about it.
Someone on Eastenders really getting on your nerves? Tell your followers about it.
Feeling philosophical? Political? Loved-up? Annoyed? Hungry? Confused? Tell your followers about it.
Promotion and advertising – making you more money
Twitter can be used as a platform for advertising and promoting your business, gaining new clients and keeping in touch with existing customers. Twitter can make you money in just 140 characters. Read more here.
Breaking News is heard almost immediately – local, national and international; important, unimportant, downright ridiculous; official and unofficial
The birth of the Royal baby? Heard about it on Twitter.The score of the Manchester derby? Saw it on Twitter.
The results of the election? Followed it on Twitter.
The winner of the local pie-eating contest? Read it on Twitter.
Platform for Change
What better way to get something noticed than by making it accessible to over 200 million people? With hashtags used to get things trending locally, nationally or internationally, Twitter is an effective method of protest.
Trolling
We’ve all heard the Twitter horror stories – celebrities being berated for putting on weight or not looking their upmost best, teenagers being cyber bullied for not fitting in, and so on. Twitter unfortunately gives those nasty little humans the chance to hide anonymously behind their computer screen and say hurtful things about others, whether those nasty things are ‘harmless’ insults, threats or personal harassment.
Twitter Celebrities
A culture sometimes linked to trolling, Twitter has also given users the platform to promote themselves as a local celebrity by becoming ‘Twitter famous’ – even WikiHow now has a page on ‘How to Be a Twitter Celebrity’. Sometimes, this desperation to be ‘Twitter famous’ leads to users being as vile as possible for attention – whether that is young women being sexually provocative to attract thousands of male admirers, or young men being as offensive as possible in the name of ‘banter’.