The sometimes surprising, often humorous story of the forces that came
together to shape the central role Twitter now plays in contemporary
politics and culture
Is Twitter a place for sociability and conversation, a platform for
public broadcasting, or a network for discussion? Digital platforms have
become influential in every sphere of communication, from the intimate
and everyday to the public, professional, and political. Since the
scrappy startup days of social media in the mid-2000s, not only has the
worldwide importance of platforms grown exponentially, but also their
cultures have shifted dramatically, in a variety of directions. These
changes have brought new opportunities for progressive communities to
thrive online, as well as widespread problems with commercial
exploitation, disinformation, and hate speech.
Twitter's growth over the past decade, like that of much social media,
has far surpassed its creators' vision. Twitter charts this trajectory
in the format of a platform biography: a new, streamlined approach to
understanding how platforms change over time. Through the often
surprising, fast-moving story of Twitter, it illuminates the multiple
forces--from politics and business to digital ideologies--that came
together to shape the evolution of this revolutionary platform. Jean
Burgess and Nancy K. Baym build a rich narrative of how Twitter has
evolved as a technology, a company, and a culture, from its origins as a
personal messaging service to its transformation into one of the most
globally influential social media platforms, where history and culture
is not only recorded but written in real time.
