I was at a family meal last week and someone was talking about Facebook, when this happens I tense up slightly as (a) I really dislike Facebook and (b) the subject of Twitter is rarely far behind.
Sure enough “What about Twitter? ” was asked, 2 people hadn’t heard of Twitter and my wife’s uncle explained it was a site “where famous people tweet about going to the shops to buy some lunch, and people, they’re called followers, just lap it up”. This provoked the usual responses dismissing it as just another “waste of time.”
A couple of people around the table, aware of my Twitter use, looked at me to see if I had anything to say, but luckily the conversation moved on before I could say anything.
Because I know the other side of Twitter, the side where people make friends, dear ,true friends, where people fall in love and move in together, where people take courage from their online persona and change their lives in ways unimaginable to them previously.
And I know a Twitter where nearly 450 people have donated over £6,000 (using that button over there on the left) to a man they have never met, to a man they probably never will meet, simply because he was mistreated by the legal system and they got angry. http://tumblr.com/xsqa142m2
I know a Twitter where thousands of people have retweeted messages about Paul’s case and have brought it to the attention of non-twitter users, a Twitter where people with vast legal experience offer to work Pro Bono on the case, a Twitter where celebrities, in between telling us where they are buying their panini , are as active as everyone else, donating money and raising awareness about this ridiculous miscarriage of justice.
That’s the Twitter I know, and I’m honoured to be a part of it.
