Apps that changed the world: Twitter

In our series in apps that changed the world, perhaps the most obvious candidates are social media sites and apps such as Facebook and Twitter. Twitter has arguably had more of an impact on the way we use our mobiles, and reporting and influence on world events, so without further ado here’s a brief rundown of how Twitter has changed the world.

Twitter’s influence on society

It’s fair to say that Twitter’s influence on society as a whole has been immense. The way that people use it has had considerable influence on the real world, for good and bad. During the Arab Spring for example, protestors used Twitter as a tool to organise their activities. And increasingly, news stories break first on Twitter as people all over the world share what’s happening before the reporters even arrive – information travels so quickly that information shared on Twitter becomes global instantly.

Twitter however isn’t always a force for good, as it has hit the headlines for cyber bullying and dozens of celebrity breakdowns. In fact, perhaps the so-called Twitterisation of communications is dumbing down the world’s media (in Japan, Twitter is called a baka hakkenki (バカ発見器), or an idiot detector)?

What isn’t in question though, is that the world certainly is a different place thanks to Twitter.