Technology / Computers

THE BEST TWEETS

5) You can Twitter from land, you can Twitter from sea—so why not from space? Astronaut Mike Massimino hasn't yet gotten to try tweeting while in orbit, but he is posting details about the last weeks of his training for the fifth and final shuttle million to service the Hubble Telescope, scheduled to launch on May 12, 2009. A veteran space traveler, Massimino has thus far offered tidbits like "getting ready to fly home in a T-38, I feel a need for speed!" and "in a simulator practicing for the first spacewalk on my mission." If he starts tweeting about the cooking in space, then we'll really be impressed.

4) Just as celebrities have jumped on the Twitter train, so have their impostors. And with no clear way of authenticating tweets, Twitterers are often misled into believing the faux Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears. Some celebrities, like Shaquille O'Neal, have taken steps to prove that their Twitter feeds are authentic. But good parodies are thick. One of the most successful frauds thus far is "CWalken," a popular feed that suggested it was (though never formally claimed to be) written by the actor. After it was publicly revealed as a fake, the account was removed by Twitter administrators. But its popularity stemmed from the charming eccentricity of tweets, which fans thought could come right from the idiosyncratic star. For example:

3) While Twitter execs may not have pinned down a way to make money from the site, some of its users certainly have. Gary Vaynerchuk, a 33-year-old Belarusian-born wine retailer from New Jersey who tweets under the name "Garyvee" gained over 160,000 followers with his wine tips and advice for a sea of frustrated entrepreneurs. HarperStudio, a tech-savvy division of HarperCollins, noticed, and offered Vaynerchuk a seven-figure, 10-book deal. Here's an example of a typical Garyvee tweet:

"So you want more ad revenue for your blog? ( after 12 emails in a row) GO AND TAKE IT! cold call, hustle, get in the trenches"

2) Could Twitter be dangerous? The U.S. military has considered the question, with good reason. Just as Google Earth could theoretically be used to plan and carry out attacks, so can Twitter and other social networks provide a means for terrorists to coordinate and communicate during an attack. Last year’s Mumbai attacks made this all too evident, with the hijackers using the Internet to monitor the police response. Of course, it works the other way as well: During an emergency, Twitter can be a valuable source of information for those caught in it. Case in point: Hurricane Gustav, which battered New Orleans last September, provided an opportunity for Twitter to shine. The Red Cross was tweeting up a, er, storm, sending information about evacuation routes and available shelter to around 1,200 followers. Families were also able to contact loved ones and find out if they were safe. Here's one example from a Louisiana resident:

1) In perhaps the biggest mark of Twitters pervasive influence, Democratic candidate-turned-President-Elect-turned-President Obama has maintained a flow of tweets since the presidential race began. Once Obama took office, the presidential feed has offered not-so-regular tweets offering information on the inauguration and soliciting questions about the economy for whitehouse.gov. Perhaps the most momentous tweet ever sent was on November 5th of 2008: