Looking back, I've found that the things that really move people show up as Twitter Trends first. This is the place where I learn about the latest natural disaster, an active shooting or more often than not, the birthday of a K-Pop idol.

Twitter is not a Silicon Valley giant. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are tremendously attractive to the average person; Twitter never was and never will be. But it loomed large in the lives of journalists and was over-represented in activist circles as well. Images, videos, and stories about unrest, protests, riots, and police crackdowns reached... See more