TWITTER FOUNDER JACK Dorsey’s first tweet seven years ago wasn’t exactly earth shattering .
He wrote:
just setting up my twttr
My how things have changed.
Twitter has become a force for change in the world, the means by which breaking news spreads, a business tool, a way to make friends, a dating site, and so much more.
So what are some of the things we love and loathe about Twitter, seven years on?
We love… the part it plays in disseminating information, gathering opinions and acting an agent for change.
The Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Iran’s Twitter revolution, news of the Japanese Tsunami, the Anders Bering Breivik attacks.
The cinema shootings in Aurora, the US presidential election, along with more localised opinions on the likes of #Budget2013 and #PromNight make Twitter an essential information source.
A Syrian man uses his mobile phone to capture a child using a megaphone to lead others in chanting Free Syrian Army slogans (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)
We loathe… racism and hatred
In January a man was arrested after racist abuse was directed at a Newcastle United Player, also in January a French court ruled that Twitter must identify the authors of racist and anti-Semitic tweets.
When Barack Obama was re-elected the racist tweets went into overdrive, while in July 2012 a teenager was arrested after sending a tweet to British diver Tom Daly, telling him he had let down his late father.
Lewis Stickley/EMPICS Sport
We love… Telly via Twitter
Watching telly with your phone, tablet or laptop by your side has almost become secondary activity after the tweets themselves.
#LoveHate became a national obsession, while you can pretty much follow #VinB without having to watch the programme itself.
#Oscars2013 were watched and tweeted around the world, and will we every forget the grief that f0llowed THAT episode of #DowntonAbbey?
We loathe… #JustSaying
Putting the #JustSaying hashtag on the end of a tweet doesn’t mean you can say whatever nonsense you want
Similarly #EndOf and #FACT.
So beautiful
Charmer
Mindblowing
We love… very Irish Twitter accounts
We loathe… pitchfork mobs
Take the case of Irish footballer Darren Gibson who left Twitter after just two hours following a stream of abuse.
We love… pictures of puppies, kittens and other squee-tastic animals
We loathe.. selfies. Unless they also feature a kitten/puppy/pet of some description
This is ok:
This is not ok:
We love… trending topics
Like this week’s St. Patrick’s Day inspired #TractorPorn:
We loathe… the Bieber/One Direction vigilantes
We love…. celebs on Twitter
Like William Shatner:
We Loathe… those cryptic tweets about “some people” with the #Can’tSayMuchMoreHere hastags
This one incorporates being cryptic AND #JustSaying
There’s even a parody account devoted to it:
What do you love or loathe about Twitter? Let us know in the comments section below…
