The Twittersphere

“As of December 2008, 11 percent of online American adults said they used a site like Twitter or another similar vehicle that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others.” (Twitter and Status Updating, Pew Internet & American Life Project)

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a free micro-blogging/social networking site that imposes a 140-character limit on each individual post or “tweet,” as such bite-sized status updates are called. The phenomenon allows you to give “followers” a real-time update, via computer or a mobile device, about what you’re doing at that very moment. So, let’s say you’re at the gym and you just bench-pressed 300 pounds. Now, who wouldn’t want to hear about that? Or, maybe you find it comforting to tweet when you’re having a bad day. You’re certainly not alone. Twitter is staying mum about the number of Twitterers it has snared, but estimates put the figure at between 4 and 5 million – not bad for a site that launched in 2006. And naysayers swore would never make it.

But what if minutia’s not your thing? Well, if you can get past the frivolity, Twitter has potential beyond its stated purpose. Consider fundraising and emergency notification, for instance.

If you blink, you might miss the fact that Twitter is about community-building, and Twestivals really capitalize on this notion. The 100 percent volunteer-run Twestival concept came about in September 2008 after a group of London Twitterers connected and organized a food drive/fundraising event to help a local homeless charity. Word spread quickly, and Twitterers had a hunch that the micro-fundraising concept could be elevated to affect change on a global level. That hunch was recently tested.

On Feb. 12, 2009, 202 international cities hosted a Twestival to unite the Twitter community in support of charity: water, a nonprofit bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. From Asheville, N.C. to Johannesburg, South Africa and beyond, people gathered for an evening of fun and fundraising. Some sold tickets for entry, while others collected $1 or $2 per participant. In the end, the event raised $250,000, which will be used to fund 55 sustainable water projects and provide clean water for over 17,000 people in Ethiopia, Uganda, and India. The first Twestival-funded well will be drilled in Ethiopia at the beginning of April. Imagine how this concept could be used to support causes and projects in North Carolina’s communities.

On the subject of emergency notification, think missing children. @MissingChildren is a Twitter account that was created by web developer Nate Ritter. The account uses data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to tweet about missing, endangered, and recovered children. Twitter is also being used by some cities and colleges as one part of an overall system to make people aware of crisis situations. It’s quick. It’s to the point. And perhaps most importantly in these economic times, there’s little to no impact on the bottom line.