Millions of people clicking feverishly on their Iphones. The panic, the frustration, the rock-bottom realization that they were all disconnected. That’s an exi-twitter-stential moment, folks. Lives hung in the balance as the masses frantically clicked and reclicked.
I learned about the TwitterCaust on CNN this morning. Breaking News! Twitter. Is. Down!
So I sat there with my coffee and tried very hard to hear the collective wailing and gnashing of teeth. I imagined all sorts of world-wide panic and and falling stock prices and declarations of war. Seriously, how long would Twitter be down before we began hearing the thundering hooves of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Then I made another cup of coffee.
Look, I’m not a complete geezer. I’ve got a Twitter account and I post to it when I remember. Sometimes I forget, although it doesn’t really matter. My tweets are unremarkable and I don’t post via cell phone because it’s too much trouble. I do realize Twitter’s important to many people. Yadda, yadda.
The thing is, I signed on after the scare was over and found that all anyone wanted to tweet about was…well, that Twitter was down this morning. Twittering about Twitter seems a little pointless. I’m thinking maybe it’s time we all rediscovered our walking-around lives, our priorities, our inner monologues. Something.
(Note: I’m tweeting a link to this. Full circle, darlin’, full circle.)
No Telling 
I was about to go BUT YOU JUST TWITTERED THE LINK–! then you beat me to it.
although i did run around flailing till it was fixed, and when it came back my first tweet was OMG TWITTER YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY or something like that. i swear i am not addicted.
Why Twitter when there is facebook?
Gotcha, Julia. When you're ready there's a twelve-step program…
I heard Facebook took a punch or two as well today. I wouldn't know, though, because I forgot my password a couple of months ago and am too unmotivated to reset it. Imagine all the potted plants or whatever I'll have to delete when I get back on.
Love your blog so far, Ima. Color me subscribed.
I didn't know it was down until I heard it on CNN, either. I don't understand Twitter although I do occasionally post (tweet?) things? What the hell is a Tweetdeck? What does RT mean? I know not. It frustrates me to no end.
Tweetdeck is some sort of way to organize tweets, I think. I could be wrong. RT means “re-tweet” which means you just copied and pasted someone else's tweet and you're “citing” them. That one really cracks me up.
Twitter has developed its own vernacular and etiquette. What's more, folks talk about it in earnest and with straight faces.
My favorite person to follow is Christopher Walken. He doesn't tweet often, but you have to love crazy people.
I heard that in NYC someone hung a banner from a window that read, “@cliffbot: twitter is down”.
I want a picture of that.
Just checked and “#when twitterwasdown” is still a trending topic. Three days later, it's getting more tweets than “#iranelection”.
We are a pathetic people.
Heyya!
Well first of all I'd like to congratulate you on being the Blog of Note. I'm really new to blogging but I've read a few comments and it seems to be a REALLY big deal so congratulations. =D
Now on the Twitter post… I don't really have a Twitter account because I honestly believe it's just an amazing way of losing your privacy. As a joke I tell my friends that eventually we'll get to post this on Twitter: “In the bathroom… gimme 15-20 minutes, I had spicy food today…”
so yeah… I don't believe much in Twitter…
Just as a last comment… You obviously have a lot more experience on blogging than I do and since I just started if you could find some time to check my blog out I'd really appreciate it. All and any hints, tips or simply comments are more than welcome =D
Bless ya
simplewritingsimplereading.blogspot.com
Nice blog:)
I heard about this the other day, apparently someone was being “victimised” on there or something so they had to shut it down whilst they dealt with the problem.
Thanks! and thanks for stopping by!
That Twitter explanation is much more dramatic than “somebody hacked us.” Wow.
isnt twitter just status updates? i mean i guess for people to know wat celebs are doing on a day 2 day basis is fun but for normal people to twitter? theres jus no point
I've got a friend with a daughter away at college. She says her daughter leaves tweets rather than calling home, so I guess Twitter's the new email/phone call home? I don't know, Ryan. My life's just not interesting enough for constant tweeting.
hey,
im really new to blogging! but i like you twitters if you want you could read some of my blogs
It basically boils down to a human emotion. On the internet, you can be whoever you want to be. You can express what you always desired to be. You can lie about how good looking you are, and you can act tough behind a keyboard. It's exactly the same as blogging. Now, I've never seen Twitter myself, so I don't know what exactly you do on it, but as a teenager and on Facebook, you can see everyone being who they're not.
And that's the sad part, that's why they're 'twittering' (or whatever it's called) about twitter being down. Their story book had been lost, and their need to retreat from a mundane life into something, well, more appealing was no more.
Thanks for stopping in, Emogirl and Rah~Skill! I think Rah says it. Internet anonymity can make anyone be someone else. I hear my students talk all the time about how “someone is living a fake life online.”
And as far as Twitter? When you said “Their story book had been lost” that was it – bingo. Brilliantly said.
This post made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that.
😉
Twitter sucks monkey balls. I don't know why monkey balls suck but they sounds like they would. Boooo twitter. I have an account too. Sucks.
Anytime, Manda, and thanks right back at you.
Cindy, that's some kind of visual. Doesn't change the fact that Twitter still sucks…something.
Good to see both of you – ya'll come back soon!
i've been observing folks wandering through perfect blossom filled spring mornings, ears plugged to a small white box to keep out the birdsong
thumbs frantically working the batfone
desperately twitting or texting away
cocooned against the whirled around.
bad enough playing on this time-vampire, but at least it's raining and i'm not doing it out on the street…
India, you've got a killer blog AND you're a poet. Now, let's talk wool…
Someone who doesn't have a twitter addiction? Can it be true? Lovely assesment – I refuse to use twitter, it all seems pointless whether it's twittering about twitter or twittering about the cat sleeping on the windowsill: mundane details about an unimportant life rather than doing something important and worthwhile.
Fahrenheit, the girls and I were just talking about this today at lunch. I've honestly tried to twitter, but it seems I require more than 140 characters to be even remotely interesting. And you're right – there's always something better to do.