Twitter. More Than a Time Waster

Nothing sells a product or service better than a personal testimonial the reveals its utility or effectiveness in solving a consumer problem.

I simply took a screen shot from a recent twitter update from one of my peeps in Cairo, Egypt.

JamesBuck is a photojournalist from U of C Berkeley who was recently detained in Mahalla, Egypt while documenting a strike. He was thrown in jail, but was able to keep his cell phone.

Through twitter updates, and support from his Cairo 'followers', he was able to secure a lawyer, thanks to efforts the efforts of UofC Berkeley. This lead to his ultimate release from prison.

Clearly, James attributes his release to Twitter activity.

Regardless of the details of James' (very real) experience, I think this ad makes an interesting, thought-provoking headline for a platform that is often considered merely a frivolous time-suck.