Madeleine Lewis writes:
It seems everyone’s at it. From Barack Obama to Stephen Fry (first and second most-followed users) to a Korean barbeque van that travels around LA, they’re all twittering. In less than 140 characters they’re updating everyone who’s interested with where they’re at and what they’re doing.
The co-founder of Twitter Evan Williams spoke at a recent TED conference about how Twitter grew from an idea by one of his developers at ODEO into the most-talked about social networking application of 2009.
I must admit that when I first heard about Twitter, I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Why on earth would anyone be interested in the fact that I was on the train to work, attending a conference, or going swimming? The ‘twittersphere’ is indeed full of banalities as well as businesses ‘tweeting’ to promote sales.
But for me the usefulness of Twitter is in its potential for social good. As Williams says, “It seems like when you give people easier ways to share information, more good things happen”.
He cites the use of Twitter during the wildfires in San Diego in 2007, with people turning to the application to find out the latest news, including updates from the LA Times and the LA Fire Department.
Environmentalism can sometimes be set at odds with technology, but for me it’s just another tool for change, and it’s how you use it that counts. I think this new blog on Advocating Change will be judged in the same way. As well as keeping our somewhat scattered networked informed, can we use it to reach out and extend our network to those who could join us in making a shift to a more sustainable future?
Whilst a student on the Sustainable Development Advocacy Programme, I advocated for a new website with a blog function. Now that it’s here, I look forward to hearing from all of our community about their news and thoughts as we move forward in these exciting times.
Madeleine Lewis was a student on the 2007-08 Sustainable Development Advocacy programme. She is now a Lifestyle Manager for EcoConcierge and a blogger for the CLEAR Village project .