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Over the past few years, millions of us have responded to
Twitter by telling our followers what we're up to. It quickly
became a new way of communication; pushing information out and
receiving comments back. The ability to retweet made the platform
even more appealing as messages, news, information and even calls
to arms spread quickly.
Unexpectedly out of this simple question came the development of
relationships with complete strangers. Twitter has the power to
make you bond with people you have never met before.
One of my closest friends @Dave_Hodgson has terminal cancer. He
tweets to his 2,000 or so followers about his treatment, his fears
and his battle. For him, Twitter has been both a way of raising
awareness of #cancer and a significant support line for him too.
The online community has sent messages of encouragement, friendship
and hope. Complete strangers from across the globe have provided an
unexpected and powerful support mechanism. Dave, always brave and
often witty, admits it would have been harder to go through
treatment without his 'Twitter family'.
Today's communications environment is about much more than just
pushing out news and information. The monologue has become
authentic dialogue. We build relationships and cultivate a virtual
community through our postmodern, social media fuelled world.
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