Emma Hutchins
Opinions Editor
190 million users. 65 million tweets a day. Five years since its inception in March 2006, Twitter is an international phenomenon, helping ignite revolutions around the world – across the Middle East, and you know, in Charlie Sheen’s Sober Valley Lodge.
But what purpose does Twitter really have in the microcosm that is New Canaan High school? An abyss of inside jokes about the weekend? Jabs at teachers who assign absurd quantities of work, and the occasional embarrassing pic of an unassuming friend (particularly those who do not have a twitter themselves. Read: me)? Not that I’m discrediting that, because let’s face it, I can appreciate a little shame sesh for those teachers who assign too much!
Despite the proliferation of all things Connecticut suburban teen, I see the value of the new ways twitter allows people to connect with each other. In fact, over the summer I actually transcribed an interview with Jack Dorsey, creator of the tweet world. For as lame as some tweets can be, listening to his interview really sold me on the concept of transparency of information and sharing ideas – (disclaimer in light of the Patriot Act: this was pre-wikileaks-controversy!).
It can be mundane. It can be exciting. Twitter is simply a tool – it is what you make of it. Hating it is like hating humanity. Fine that’s an overstatement. #convert.
P.S. And hey! Look at this, even the Courant has a Twitter…you should follow: http://twitter.com/CourantNewsFeed
