Number 3: Twitter and its hashtags were all the fuss in Charleston (update: we're not crazy)

Update January 1:

Turns out we're not entirely crazy, the City Paper agrees that there was something magical about Twitter in Charleston in 2009; read about it here.

First reporting:

Back in March a group of us media-type folks met to chat about how to evolve the #CHS hashtag further, and from there out everything seemed to Twitter Twitter Twitter in Charleston.

Though TheDigitel had been using twitter fairly actively since mid-2008, in 2009 we saw a new wave of populous input and collaboration on the medium. 

The 140-character has become a very important part in how we watch for would-be stories and the stories folks are enjoying. In fact, it was how word got out that AirTran was leaving town

And while I'm sure there's plenty more examples of Charleston news tips that can be attributed to tweeters, I think the shift in how folks broadcast and consume news as it's happening is far more interesting.

If you're unfamiliar with this topic, jump over to our Charleston hashtag page to get started.

When breaking weathers, traffic, and news happen, those on Twitter are less reliant on what the traditional media say. Instead those monitoring and witnessing the event can pass messages to a specific group of listeners. Instead of traditional media dictating the conversation, they enhance it.

In some ways this shift can be perceived as very trivial, but in other views it's hard to dismiss just how radical, yet organic this shift towards real-time dispatching of information about events a community is interested in. 

Personally I'm not convinced of Twitter's staying power as we head into 2010, but the cultural shift we saw through the citizenry's use of the tool could well signal the start of a very real shift.

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