How an African Chief Uses Twitter to Keep the Peace

February 18, 2012

http://mashable.com/2012/02/19/african-twitter-peace/

The Ever Evolving Role of Twitter

Twitter was once a form of social media that, for many, represented the mindless cyber over-sharing of our generation.

John Doe is eating the best sandwich ever #nobody cares.

Today, twitter has evolved into a monumentally instrumental tool for sharing and gathering meaningful information. Celebrities, politicians, businesses, and even mainstream media have realized the far-reaching capabilities of twitter.  Let us also not forget the critical role Twitter played in allowing the activists of the Arab Spring to organize and mobilize. In short,  Twitter connects people and opens the channels of communication in a unique and revolutionary way.

In this article, blogger Sam Laird, discusses the unique case of Kenyan village chief, Francis Kariuki. Known to his followers as @Chiefkariuki. Chief Kayruki uses twitter to communicate with the thousands of residents of his village, informing them of various community issues ranging anywhere from incidents of burglary to missing farm animals. Chief Kariuki’s use of twitter is an excellent example of its versatility. He is able to integrate Twitter into his life in a way in which it best serves him and his aims. Twitter allows him the ability to reach his audience in an efficient manner, not otherwise offered by traditional forms of information dispersal (fliers, posters, etc..) or even other forms of social media.

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