PBSD Insider Blog

   I like Twitter.  There, I said it.  I have a chronic disease and I have found it to be a wonderful way to connect with other people.  Lately, two things have occurred that have gotten me thinking about social media and people in general.  The first is a hash tag that has become the most popular hash tag in Twitter history.  A hash tag is a key word preceded by a # that allows people to search and track a topic on Twitter.  This particular hash tag is composed of the words F*** You Washington.  Of course it is spelled out, all one word, and preceded by a #.  This has been the most used hash tag in Twitter history.  It has been interesting how many people from all political backgrounds have had things to say.  No one is happy.  And some of the tweets have seemed genuinely cathartic.  The second was the death of Amy Winehouse.  The amount of people posting comments as the news broke (and spread on Twitter) was astounding.  Genuine kind remarks as well as completely cruel comments were posted.  Nonstop.  I for one found it to be an easy way to weed out some people I was following.  People who made horrible comments about the death of a troubled human being were immediately unfollowed by me.  A lot of other people did the same thing, and tweeted about it.  How fascinating that we are evolving as an online culture.  With Twitter becoming so embedded in the next version of Apple's iOS, it will only become an even bigger part of our online world.  How will it affect how we communicate in the long run?