Twitter Responsible For Global Community

The fastest growing Social Network for 2008 was Twitter, which grew by 664% according to Nielsen Online. Twitter began in March 2006 as a research and development project and in October 2008 Evan Williams, one of the founders, became the CEO of the company. Even though it has garnered much criticism, we can’t deny the fascination of this crazy service.

Take into consideration the following: In April 2008 a UC Berkeley student was arrested in Egypt for photographing an anti-government protest. He used his mobile phone to send the message “Arrested” to his 48 followers on Twitter on the way to the police station and continued to send updates about his condition to his followers while being detained. They, in turn, contacted UC Berkeley as well as a number of press organizations. The US Embassy in Cairo was contacted and he was released from jail the next day.

During the devastating Victorian bushfires in Australia in February, 2009 the Country Fire Authority (CFA) used Twitter to send out regular alerts and updates. The Prime Minister also used his Twitter account to send out information on the fires, how to donate money and blood, and where to seek emergency help.

As a tragedy unfolded during the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India, eyewitnesses sent an estimated 80 tweets every five seconds . Twitter users on the ground helped in compiling a list of the dead and injured. In addition, users sent out vital information such as emergency phone numbers and the location of hospitals that needed blood donations.

And then there’s the celebrity side of everything. When I checked out Lance Armstrong’s followers last Friday he had 195,000. Today he has close to 234,000. The numbers are growing daily. CNN has 384,000. President Obama has 367,000. Britney Spears has 288,000. And then Shaq, yes the one and only Shaquille O’Neal, has 231,000. Free tickets anyone? He’s got ‘em and he’s a ton of fun to follow!

So why don’t you take a few minutes and watch Evan Williams give a brief presentation at TED. Think about what he says and let me know if you think Twitter might be responsible for a Global Community.