Twitter Is Old. Really Old.

Twitter is now ten (10) years old. Jack Dorsey sent the first “Twttr” a full decade ago. In internet years, that means the social media site is like … ancient. Once the “cocaine of blogging,” today Twitter is more like Diet Coke sugarless chewing gum.

More:

“Twitter at 10: a people’s history,” Casey Newton, The Verge

“On Its 10th Birthday, a Short History of Twitter in Tweets,” Julia Greenberg, Wired

“Twitter at 10: ‘A Window Into Other Lives,'” Katie Rogers and Daniel Victor, New York Times

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Image (“Tweeting @Lascaux”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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US Backed ‘Cuban Twitter’ to Foment Unrest

The US State Department’s USAID development agency secretly set up an anonymous SMS text messaging network in Cuba, according to an AP story this week. The service, called ZunZuneo after the Cuban Emerald Hummingbird, allowed users to send messages to multiple recipients, and system administrators to data-mine their content and information on subscribers, In its 2-year run in 2010 and 2011, ZunZuneo had as many as 40,000 users.

Turkey Tries to Turn Off Twitter

In a frantic effort to keep a lid on dissent, Turkey’s political leaders are blaming an outside agitator — Twitter — and they’re desperately trying to shut it down. The real problem seems to be insider information on corruption in those tweets, though, and not the micro-blogging platform itself. And work-arounds make a shut-off attempt futile. Twitter can be accessed through other sites and even by SMS text messaging.

More:

“Turkey: Twitter allows ‘character assassination, ‘” Suzan Fraser, AP via Fort Worth Star‑Telegram

“Twitter May Have Exposed Government Corruption, So Turkey Is Banning Twitter,” Sara Morrison, The Wire

“Turkey blocks use of Twitter after prime minister attacks social media site,” Kevin Rawlinson, The Guardian

Purgatory Pass? Tweet the Pope.

“In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering ‘indulgences’ to followers of Pope Francis’ tweets.

The church’s granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.”

More:

“Vatican offers ‘time off purgatory’ to followers of Pope Francis tweets,” Tom Kington, The Guardian

And for His Holiness:

“The Complete Guide to Twitter Lingo,” Amy-Mae Elliot, Mashable

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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The Library of Congress Has All Your Tweets. Now What?

The Library of Congress archives all public messages on Twitter. This was announced two years ago (on Twitter, of course). The Library has the very first tweet, the Twitter equivalent of the Gutenberg Bible. It preserves Barack Obama’s presidential victory tweet as well as George Washington’s diary.

Now that the Library has amassed this huge and growing sea of  social media data, it doesn’t know what to do with it. Meanwhile, the tweets keep gushing in.

The Pope is on Twitter.

Pope Benedict XVI is on Twitter, tweeting encyclicals in 140 CXL letters. Actually, His Holiness was on the Twitter last year, about the same time he went on Facebook, but this is his very own personal account, and his handle is @Pontifex. Twitter Followers: 1,104,394, Following: 0.  That’s your Vatican table of organization right there.

But Twitter works in mysterious ways. The Pope invited questions to the hashtag #askpontifex, unleashing a flood of tweeted inquiries about faith, sex, scandal and lunch. More queries of the curia curious can be found here and here.

More:

“To Tweet the Infallible Tweet,” Steven Mazie, Big Think

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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The Pope Tweets

Pope Benedict XVI is on Twitter. Well, he will be before the end of the year, anyway.

Actually, His Holiness was on the Twitter last year, about the same time he went on Facebook, but this will be his very own account.

We look forward to reading encyclicals written in 140 CXL letters.

More:

“Pope Benedict to guide followers with personal Twitter account,” Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tweet for Your Tea

If you’re strolling through Wembley Square in Cape Town and you’d like a nice cold rooibos iced tea, reach for your iPhone, not a coin. Tweet the hashtag on the front of the Bos brands Iced Tea vending machine and it will give you a can for free.

Twitter Logo Auditions: And the Winner Is …

The Twitter microblogging empire decided to refresh its logo, and the selection was made on an exciting two-hour broadcast of NBC’s “America’s Got Tweets” (above). The winner: an updated version of Twitter’s Larry The Bird.

Twitter McNuggets

The McDonald’s Corporation started 2012 with TV ads personalizing the multinational fast food giant through first-person “McDonald Stories” narrated by its rural, agricultural suppliers. A few days back McDonald’s took the human element a step further, inviting consumers to add their own 140-character #McDStories on Twitter, a recipe for disaster. McDonald’s found the results not to their taste, and 86ed the Twitter campaign.

More:

“#McDStories: When A Hashtag Becomes A Bashtag,” Kashmir Hill, Forbes

“‘McDialysis? I’m Loving it!’: McDonald’s Twitter Promo Fail,” Colleen Curry, ABC News

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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