While reviewing some family history, notably the early death of my Father’s Father, I was struck with how Twitter today was a Telegram yesterday.
Think about it.
With Twitter you are limited to 140 characters. With Telegrams from the bygone era you were essentially limited to 140 characters because anything more would have been super-spendy.
People using Twitter are answering the question of “What are you doing?” People who used Telegrams were answering the question of “What are you thinking?”
Twitter’s interface resembles a Telegram’s interface. Have a look … below is a telegram from friends of my Grandmother expressing their condolences over the passing of her husband, Al Moore. The crux of the message is a mere 100 characters: Have just heard of your great misfortune our heartfelt sympathy is with you = Elizabeth and Luttrell.
