by Humza Ghani

When I was first asked to write an article for this website I wanted to discuss a topic that would serve well as an introduction to, whatever it is we’re doing here. Since Twitter acted as a catalyst to this collaboration, I figured it’d be a good place to start.

We live in an era where a large amount of information is shared through a myriad of outlets on the web (such as Twitter), connecting populations from around the globe. The introduction of new technologies, such as smart phones and tablets, allow us to access this information with the simple touch of our fingers. This development in technology can begin to identify and even form the era in which it exists. Something as vast as a nation or as small as an individuals mind can be affected by the technology in its time.

Twitter has established itself as a dominant figure in the social media world today. Like other social media outlets, Twitter has persuaded users that other users on that outlet are extremely interested in what they have to say. Users have developed an almost obligatory feeling towards expressing their thoughts on topics ranging from political issues to everyday occurrences. Each individual piece of information expressed by the user is usually mundane and insignificant on its own. However, over time these small pieces of information coalesce to form an identity for each individual user. As a result, this phenomenon creates an “online community” offering users to connect with each other in ways that distance and time had maybe restricted before.

All of this seems so obvious as I’m writing it, but I feel we take the power of Twitter for granted every day. We’ve been given an amazing tool that allows us to interact with each other almost instantly. I consider it a privilege to be able to read the thoughts of hundreds of brilliant minds every day. I try my best not to take that ability for granted. I think it’s important we use this tool to our benefit and try our best to avoid abusing its power. Whether or not we do, remains to be seen.