Molly Murray-Threipland paints an interesting picture of Twitter and its potential for use in political and issue advocacy in this piece in today’s Times.

Don’t laugh. Twitter can be serious. It can be used in cities where the emergency services are not on the same wavelength. It was in use to gather aid for Italian earthquake victims as the disaster struck. Stranded journalists have been able to rustle up tech widgets in Kuala Lumpur within minutes. E-mail is a local train now. Twitter is the express, unless, of course, there’s an obstruction on the line.