Amid the flurry of marriage proposals likely to have taken place yesterday, one can be fairly certain that a novel handful happened on Twitter, the microblogging site that is fast colonising the world.
Such proposals wouldn’t be the first. That honour goes to Greg Rewis, a software manager from Phoenix, who popped the question to his fiancee (aka “stefsull”) on Twitter last March: “@stefsull – OK for the rest of the twitter-universe [and this is a first, folks] – WILL YOU MARRY ME?”
To which she giddily replied: “OMG – Ummmmm … I guess in front of the whole twitter-verse I’ll say – I’d be happy to spend the rest of my geek life with you.”
It was early proof that Twitter, like true love, knows no bounds.
For those unacquainted (or “twirgins”), Twitter is a social networking service that combines elements of blogging and texting by allowing its users to send updates to their friends (or “followers”) via the web or mobile phone in messages (or “tweets”) of up to 140 characters each. Unlike Facebook, anyone on Twitter can follow your updates. The service, created in 2006 by San Francisco-based whizz kids Jack Dorsey (31) and Biz Stone (34) now relays up to three million tweets a day and is one of the fastest growing websites in the UK.
Despite the site’s question of intent — “What are you doing?” — users rarely restrict themselves to status reports (“Am going for run” or “Watching Loose Women.”), twittering instead on a number of subjects.
At any given time, you can expect alerts, observations, questions, wisecracks and links to other sites from the constellation of people you are following. In its uneven variety, it starts to resemble real conversation, albeit in 140 character gobbets.
Granted, Twitter can look like blogging taken to its banal extreme. “Pointless email on steroids,” is how author Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Work Week) described it. But, says co-founder Stone: “Twitter allows a kind of social alchemy.”
Not only is there a cumulative power in posting regular updates, even on the most mundane topics, but in broader terms Twitter becomes less about what we are doing, as the site’s strap-line would have it, and more about what we are thinking and what we are talking about. It is, as one analyst rightly coined it, “the water cooler of the 21st century”.
It is also changing the shape of popular culture. Twitter lets us interact with each other and our politicians, business leaders, writers, producers and even our fictional heroes (in tweets dreamt up by fans). Twitter is the new cultural forum. Even the starriest celebrities, such as Britney Spears and Demi Moore, have embraced it. For good reason. It’s an ideal format for chatting to (if not always with) fans.
As Stephen Fry, owner of the second most popular profile on Twitter (more than 160Â 000 followers), imparted to his fans: “I love to see your tweets: I love your wit, your kindness, your observation, your occasional mean streaks of bitchiness, remorseless logic and your long memories that pounce on my all too frequent inconsistencies and rashly made promises … I am delighted to have you as a follower. Let’s enjoy ourselves and to hell with those who don’t get it.”
Television
Giving voice to fictional characters
Mad men
Even the office photocopier Xerox 914 from 1960s New York-based advertising firm Sterling Cooper has a Twitter feed (courtesy of one wry fan — xerox914): “Last night, the cleaners made copies of $5 bills. They haven’t figured out the green yet. Hope they don’t spend xmas in jail.”
Damages
An FX network marketing ploy, the Twitter feed for Machiavellian litigator Patty Hewes (PattyHewes), played by Glenn Close, is laced with acerbity: “Everyone thinks they want to be at the top. But most are just fooling themselves. Few have the stomach for it. Or the balls.”
The Simpsons
The handiwork of one diehard fan, H Simpson’s Twitter feed (homersimpson) is riddled with Homerisms: “Homer got a donut. Homer not angry anymore.”
Behind the scenes
Diablo Cody
(diablocody) on writing her new US TV series United States of Tara: “I was assigned parking at the Fox lot today, but I’m kind of nervous because the spot says ‘Kelsey Grammer Only’.”
Jonathan Ross
(wossy) on meeting Brangelina at the Baftas: “Chatted to them both afterwards. Both incredibly nice and sweet — but impossible level of glamour! Needed to sit down afterwards.”
Writers
LiteratureWriters
(neilhimself), author of the Sandman comic book series: “Clues you’re twittering too much: during an interesting dream, you think ‘I must twitter this’ and start looking in dreams for your phone.”
Paulo Coelho
(paulocoelho): “Right now — remembering yesterday. Stayed until 3am with Maradona talking about the film of this life — directed by Kusturica.”
Literary Trivia
Twitterlit
Twittering the first lines of books. You guess by whom (twitterlit): “Within 24 hours, everyone would know.”
Twittories
Stories written in 140 characters or fewer (From rgouldtx): “‘Time travel works! ‘ the note read. ‘However you can only travel to the past and one way.’ I recognised my own handwriting and felt a chill.”
Twi-fi novella
A sci-fi novel in serialised tweets (From goodcaptain): “He didn’t respond. I pointed to one of the cabin portholes, which offered a glimpse of space and a glimmer of light from the sun.”
Business
As a means of communicating with a lot of people at the same time, Twitter is acknowledged an invaluable business, networking and marketing tool, linking colleague to colleague and company to client.
PR
Twitter lets a company respond rapidly and directly to complaints from the public and bad press. “There’s a rapid-fire element to Twitter,” says Jackie Huba of the Society for the Word of Mouth, “that causes conversations to go viral when something bad happens with a company. Companies that have a Twitter account are prepared. If something goes wrong they can respond.”
Idea sharing
In the spirit of conferencing, business folk are using Twitter to trade information. From venture capitalists dispensing advice to CEOs forwarding or “retweeting” posts from other users and links to other sites.
Off-shoot services
Business off shoots from Twitter include StockTwits () “Bloomberg for the little guy and gal” for tracking stock investments and market info and Yammer (), used by Xerox and search engine firm Maholo, for internal communication between colleagues in an organisation.
Celebrities
Stars share their thoughts
Ashton Kutcher(aplusk) and Demi Moore (mrskutcher) rant about their neighbour’s early morning building work: “The neighbour doing construction with six guys pounding hammers against steel at 7am is no way to wake up!”
Erykah Badu (fatbellybella) and rapper Jay Electronica (JayElectronica) live-twitter their child’s birth: “I can’t believe it’s over. Home birth, no painkillers, about five hours, she was a little past due date, but I didn’t mind waiting. Breath.”
Stephen Fry (stephenfry) gets trapped in a lift: “OK. This is now mad. I am stuck in a lift on the 26th floor of Centre Point. Hell’s teeth. We could be here for hours. Arse, poo and widdle.”
Spoof celebrities — fans’ parodies
Michael Bay (Michael_bay), director of Armageddon and Pearl Harbor: “Just bronzed my testicles.”
Megan Fox (the_megan_fox), model and actress: “Just spent the past hour in front of the mirror, trying to seduce myself. Admit it, though, you would, too, if you looked like me.”
David Hasselhoff (Hasselhoff), actor: “Deciding which leather jacket to wear.”
Media
Twitizen journalism
The public reporting on events in real-time on twitter (and TwitPic, one of many picture-based sister sites).
Recent scoops include:
Bushfires sweeping through Victoria, Australia
(From overingtonc): “Dawn at Kinglake. Those who survived the fire are coming down the mountain.”See also the pic posted by neilharris: http://twitpic.com/1esri
US Airways flight crash lands in the Hudson River
(Pic posted by jkrums): http://twitpic.com/135xa
Terrorist attacks on Mumbai
(From Dupree): “Mumbai terrorists are asking hotel reception for room #s ofAmerican citizens and holding them hostage on one floor.”
Trend surfing
Sites such as twitturly.com, Retweetist.com and twitscoop.com, which track the buzz topics and most-linked sites, allow journalists, pollsters and marketers to follow emerging trends and opinion on Twitter. Similarly putting a hashtag in front of a tag (such as #bushfire or #davos) lets you follow a thread on any given topic.
Politics
President Obama
Obama’s online presence (combining Twitter, Facebook and MyBarackObama.com) was a linchpin of his campaign. The president now boasts the most popular Twitter account globally with over 250Â 000 followers (compared to Gordon Brown’s 10DowningStreet account at 48Â 618).
MPs
Among the UK politicians on Twitter (listed on tweetminster.co.uk) are Harriet Harman, Tom Watson and Sadiq Khan.
The London Mayor
The Real Boris (MayorOfLondon): “Just been rushed out of City Hall because of a fire alarm! Am told all is fine so the work on my speech continues from a nearby bar.”
The Fake Boris (MayorOfLondoff)
“Considering appointing Lily Allen as my ‘celebrity ambassador’. Dizzee Rascal still in bed.” – guardian.co.uk