Twitter defends itself with #atlgas
April 22, 2009 at 11:18 am by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsIn her New York Times column today, Maureen Dowd asks Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams to defend their invention against the criticism that its merely a tool for self-absorbed yuppies to share mundane details of their lives with other self-absorbed yuppies.
Stone responds by listing examples of Twitter’s utility as an medium for serious, emergency communication.
Included on his short-list: Atlanta blogger Tessa Horehled’s #atlgas, which used Twitter to help Atlantan’s find gasoline during last year’s shortage.
BIZ: If people are passionate about your product, whether it’s because they’re hating or loving it, those are both good scenarios. People can use it to help each other during fuel shortages or revolts or earthquakes or wildfires. That’s the exciting part of it.
Earthquakes! Revolts! Wildfires! Tessa!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:49 am
Jeezus H. Christ… I have never seen emotions so twisted and conflicted and precious as those generated by Twitter and uploaded onto the entire NYT staff.
Last I heard, some other NYT columnist was ranting/raving/spitting/confessing (or all of the above) about the “poverty of connectivity”… all the while Twittering her well-toned ass off.
Their vaguely literary-ish demons remind me more and more of you… with each and every Tweet.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
Thanks Andy! Did you see the TED Talk where Ev mentioned it too?
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/473
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I would love for one of them to look Dowd in the eye and say “So what if it is”.
I wonder what her response would be.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Go Tessa!