Happy Birthday! 7 Ways That Twitter Has Changed The World

Can you imagine a world without Twitter? It may only be seven years old today but in those those short few years, it’s become a social media platform that has managed to completely change the world.

It’s brought us closer to the rich and famous, it’s sparked revolutions, it’s become a major player in the global arena of the media and best of all? It helps us to keep in touch with each other and everyone else on our little planet.

Today marks Twitter’s seventh birthday and to celebrate, we thought it’d be a bit of craic to look at seven ways in which it has changed our lives.

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On average we check Twitter at least five times a day

1. We’re tagging machines: Whether it’s physically writing the hashtag symbol (‘#’) or actually saying “hashtag OMG!” in the middle of a conversation, Twitter has shown us the beauty of adding random words and symbols to speech. The hashtag is so popular it appears on books, film posters and television shows. The act of tagging has evolved from a game you used to play in the school yard to a global phenomenon. It starts conversations, it brings us together and who doesn’t love adding it in front of random words?

2. We think celebs are our BFFs: Before, if you wanted to have a chat with Kim Kardashian you’d have to fly all the way to California, locate her house and dodge about six security guards. Now, you can just head over to her Twitter page and start an auld pow-wow. There’s a 99.9 per cent chance that she won’t respond, but just knowing that you can chat to her makes you feel closer to her somehow. Without Twitter, we wouldn’t be able to chat to the A-List.

3. You can’t ignore the news: If there’s one thing that Twitter is good for, it’s helping you to become aware of the world around you. When some massive, news-worthy event happens you know about it instantly. You can’t avoid major world issues and events. The more people talk and tweet about them, the more connected we become with what’s happening on a global scale.

Twitter helps us to keep in touch with the world around us

4. We’ve become more concise: The fact that we’re limited to using 140 characters or less on Twitter means that we get to the point quicker, whether it’s online or during some face-to-face conversation. We know what we want to say, so we just get it out in as few words as possible.

5. Distance is no longer an obstacle: Through the medium of Twitter we can have the banter with people in Australia, folks in Argentina and friends who are travelling around Asia. If something happens on the other side of the world, we can find out about it immediately. If we want to chat to someone we can log on and leave them a message instantly. It’s all good.

6. Lost something? Twitter will help you find it: Have you lost your keys? The best thing you can do is take to Twitter, post your problem and ask for a few RTs. Chances are you’ll eventually manage to locate the person who found them. Time and time again we’ve seen the power of Twitter when it comes to finding lost items. Whether it’s your dog, your bike or your purse – put Twitter on the case and you’re almost guaranteed some results.

7. It’s become a platform for annoucements: When it comes to annoucing major news, Facebook is so a few years ago. Nowadays it’s all about Twitter. Want to tell everyone you’re engaged? Send a Tweet. Want to let people know about your new job? Put it on Twitter. Not only will all your friends know about it but don’t be surprised if you get a few congratulations from some strangers as well.