"I don't Twitter"

But religious leaders do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/technology/christian-leaders-are-powerhouses-on-twitter.html?ref=technology

Twitter has become a powerhouse for christian evangelical leaders to get their message across.  One example is of Bishop T Jakes' post that generated 2,490 responses, comparable to Katy Perry's 2,491 for a message about jet lag  But the main difference here is the in the vast disparity between the number of followers each person has- Katy Perry has 20 million, and the Bishop only has 450000 followers.  The Twitter researches have contributed this to the :engagement" factor, which has nothing to do with fame, as they initially expected it would.  Subsequently, the company is courting religious leaders to begin using the social networking site and teaching them how to use it.  Apparently "twitter was made for the bible" according to many pastors.  The 140 character limit make succinct bible verses and inspirational words of faith perfect tweets.  However the christian world now has to navigate a whole new world of public verses private when sharing things that should "be pondered in the heart" but not necessarily tweeted with the rest of the world. The distinction between sharing faith and building a platform of popularity blurs with the advent of social networking.


I personally don't do twitter.  It's like texting on the interwebs; not the best form of communication.  But I agree it is perfect for sharing bible verses or inspirational sayings that people like to hear.  I thought it was amusing though that Twitter was exploiting these new form of congregations for business reasons. While it's mutually beneficial for both the religious leaders and the company, I can't help but feel that this is only geed for the company in the long run. The potential for this to backfire comes with any increase in publicity that puts each of these religious leaders at risk.  While I hardly expect them to post things that are inappropriate, Lady Gaga just got burned for making a joke about salad.  Clearly, you can never take people having a sense of humor for granted.