Reading and Writing in a Digital Age

There are many highlights to Twitter, that buzzing social network where you can let other people know your business whether they want to know or not – as long as it’s under 140 characters. When one usually thinks of Twitter, it’s about how thousands of celebrities use the site to post pictures of them at fancy parties with Gwyneth Paltrow, or send a quick message to all their fans that they’re working on some new project. Depending on the celebrity in question, you may either be reading tweets that have been sent from their publicist, or you may very well be reading exactly what said celebrity wrote.

One of these celebrities is Cher, and she is literally the most perfect thing that’s ever happened to Twitter. There are a few things everyone should know before deciding to follow Cher on Twitter:

1. She usually types in all capital letters.
2. She’ll make between three to five spelling or gramatical errors per tweet.
3. She often tweets between Midnight and 5 AM.

Now, you may be asking what separates Cher from any other celebrity on Twitter, and why I consider her the best thing on the internet… Simply put, she makes herself vulnerable – and thusly more human – through her messages. I could talk for hours about the way she answers questions from her fans on a whole range of topics, but if you want a better look then you should read a few of her tweets yourself. (She just responded to a few accusations about her ex-husband Sonny Bono, and his political affiliations that prove my point about her vulnerability.)

No, what makes Cher the best thing on the internet is how she uses her power as a well-known celebrity to encourage others to become more active in the political aspects of their lives. She’s made no secret of her dislike of Mitt Romney, but she goes beyond the typical “He’s a terrible person, don’t vote for him!” tweet. In an effort to prove herself knowledgeable about his Mormon affiliations and how they’ve influenced his campaign, she tweeted a number of times about how she started to read a series of books about Mormonism and its relations to Christianity. She asked her followers to tweet her information about Romney’s policies that she may not know about. All in all, she’s presenting herself as a model of how we should define ourselves as citizens, and voters. She admits that she doesn’t know all, and she welcomes opposing arguments to things she posts, but the important factor here is that she wishes to learn, and oppose ignorance.

There are countless celebrities who will sign up to make a PSA telling you to vote, and there will be others who voice support for a candidate simply because they know no better, but how many of them take it so passionately that they go on for four of five posts asking people to do research and find a better understanding of what a candidate really stands for?

Politics aside, Cher is still the best thing on the internet. Just look at her tweets, she has no idea how to use Twitter properly, and sometimes you’re surprised that she even knows how to turn on a computer – which is all the more hilarious because she’s conscious of her lack of technological experience. She’s the closest you’d get to having an embarssing aunt on Twitter, without having to actually be embarrassed.

That, and she drops little hints about her upcoming album every not and then. You’d be crazy to not think that’s the best thing on the internet.

Tweets by cher