Twitter is a
social media tool use for expressing a user’s message in a form of
micro-blogging called tweets. Tweets can be seen publically and be forwarded
which is known as re-tweeting, it can also be linked to various applications
and social networking sites like Facebook
and Pikchur . This ability enables an acceleration of the spread of
information concerning environmental and geographic issues. Many smart-phones
are Twitter compatible, with this ability; users can transmit crucial data to a
global audience within minutes of an environmental disaster or updates of
ongoing issues. Although the current user base in approximately 175 million
many mainstream media outlets such as Al Jazeera , CBC etc. use Twitter collect and spread
information to an even wider audiences.
An example of how Twitter can spread information about geographic and
environmental issue is the Haitian Earthquake in 2010. British Red Cross aid workers on the ground were able to
provide information to relief workers enroute via Twitter. This information was
used to coordinate relief efforts. While Twitter is limited to a 140-computer
character message Twitter also provides the ability to instantly tag
photographs with GPS coordinates. In the case of the Hungarian Aluminum smelter slag spilling into the Danube
this function allowed for instant damage assessment. The ability to transmit both text and images from any
internet connection including smart-phones makes twitter an important tool in
the arsenal of geographers and environmentalist. For these reasons, it is
likely that the importance of Twitter will increase to the fields of geography
and environmentalism.
Terry Eckmeier
Sean Pollock
Annemarie Petejan
Sarah Penner
Courtney Jones
