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All a-Twitter around the world
Pop star's tour launch opens the floodgates of fans' pleas for updates
Sandra Sperounes, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Saturday, March 28
Hundreds of fans from around the world joined Beyonce and me for an unforgettable night of tunes and Twitter at Rexall Place on Thursday night.
As the pop star sang and strutted across her two stages, I posted updates on my Twitter page (via my MacBook). It was an experiment of sorts. I thought I'd write four or five tweets, if only to let my friends know how and where I was.
Little did I know that Beyonce fans from Australia, Europe and the U.S. were reading my every word on the instantaneous social networking service -- and responding with questions and pleas for pictures.
Thursday's show in Edmonton was the first night of Beyonce's new tour and fans were desperate for information. One of them, RobirobC from California, was even posting my updates on a Beyonce messageboard,
www.bwboard.net.
"U got an army full of Beyonce Fans reading ur twitter. Update often and use vivid description so we can get a feel for the show!" wrote BabyGurlBee. "And we love you for letting us know what's happening!!!!!! it's 3am in Switzerland and we are dying =)," wrote dc3thebest.
Inspired by my new online friends, I posted as many details and answered as many questions as I could -- about Beyonce's songs, her costumes, her choreography, her stage, her late soundcheck.
Whew. At one point in the show, I was cut off from Twitter -- for overtweeting.
It gave me a chance to rest my fingers -- and watch more of the show -- but my new friends started to panic after they didn't hear from me for a few minutes.
"Did you get hit by one of Sashafierce's shoes," asked sweety23. Hee hee. Wink
OK, so Twitter isn't exactly conducive to heady music criticism -- tweets are restricted to 140 characters -- but it offers tantalizing new possibilities.
My favourite part of the night? The camaraderie. As weird as it sounds, reviewing is often a solitary job. You're surrounded by thousands of fans, but you're supposed to be working, so you can't let loose -- and afterwards, you tend to only hear from angry readers.
With Twitter, I felt like I was watching Beyonce's show with my friends -- albeit invisible -- and I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of gratitude.
"Thanks so much for the updates from the show! It made me feel like I was there! *Hugs*," wrote shellabelle81.
"OMG! You are AMAZING! Thank you SOOOO much!!!!! Beyonce brings us all together lol," wrote jojo242.
"You did an EXCELLENT job commentating and should consider a job in media if you aren't in it already! Thank you Sandra!" wrote srpowell.
No, thank YOU. It was one of the most inspiring experiences -- even if it ends up putting another nail in the coffin of traditional newspapers.
Go to my blog, Plugged In, at edmontonjournal.com to link to my Twitter page.
http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjourn...9-9b0aff26508e
Cool Article