It’s true that not everyone quite gets Twitter and the social networking phenomenon. While some people, such as Stephen Fry, understand the power of Twitter and use it regularly to their advantage, others like Darren Bent have only just realised the power of Twitter, and what it can do.
Then there are those who just don’t get it, nor do they want to. David Cameron for example doesn’t understand Twitter, and his ignorance to the social networking website landed him in trouble last week with radio listeners, and his own aides.
Cameron was being interviewed on Absolute Radio where he was attempting to portray a more informal side of his personality, however his ‘informality’ came over a little too well when he was asked about Twitter, and responded with:
The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it – too many twits might make a twat.
This caused much hilarity in the radio studio and just as much panic among Cameron’s aides that he just sworn on national radio. Things were about to get worse though as Cameron went on to swear some more.
Cameron was asked about the recent scandal with MP’s expenses, and he exclaimed:
The public are rightly, I think, pissed off.
This time he realised his mistake and apologised for it:
Sorry, I can’t say that in the morning – angry with politicians.
Where Cameron derided the instant nature of social networking, and Twitter in particular, he has missed the point somewhat. It is this very feature that makes Twitter so powerful. You can make an announcement on Twitter and have literally thousands of users reading your comments within minutes, all for free. There is no other form of marketing that can offer you that level of audience reach so quickly.
