@roadrider57 is OK!

I had an interesting experience on Twitter today.

An interesting news day
As you may all ready be aware, comedian Robin Williams had been hospitalised today complaining of shortness of breath. As I returned to my desk from a break one of my work colleagues mentioned this to me, at the time I didn't think much of it other than, "I hope he's OK".

Then, within a minute, a tweet cam through from Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstong) saying he had spoken to Robin Williams (@roadrider57) and he was well all things considered, in fact as Lance puts it; "He's doing fine and was in good spirits. Guy can't quite (sic) cracking jokes. Killer spirit."

While this tweet wasn't directed just to me, the intimate nature gave me an insight into something which made me feel part of a circle of trust. While your pondering what that really means, just think about exactly how far that insight can really go: Lance has over 230,000 followers on Twitter. I think this highlights not only the amazing speed that Twitter has in communicating recent news, but the intimate nature which this communication can take.

Is it not just celebrity voyeurism?
Does this example finally prove that technology has the power to bring people closer together, or is it just another example of celebrity voyeurism? For me I have found this has been a very real and positive example of technology allowing a more human side of a news story to be told, which in turn allows us all to come closer together.

What do you think?