Speak To Tweet
Encyclopedia
Speak To Tweet or speak2tweet is a communication
s service which allows users to leave a tweet on Twitter
by calling a designated international phone number and leaving a voice message
. The service was developed to help people stay connected when an Internet connection is unavailable, specifically in response to the Internet shutdown during the 2011 Egyptian revolution
.
, the Egyptian government
shut down the Internet throughout that country on January 26, 2011 in the lead up to the 2011 revolution
.
As a way to help the people of Egypt, engineer
s at Google
, Twitter, and voice-messaging startup
SayNow, which had just been acquired by Google, created a speak-to-tweet service over the next weekend in January 2011. The service was publicly announced on January 31 by Google on its official blog, stating the goal of the service was to assist the Egyptian people to stay connected, and that the service was already live.
message; the service instantly tweeted the message with the hashtag #egypt, without the need for an Internet connection. As of February 1, 2011 the service had been updated to try to detect the country of origin of each call, and to use that as the hashtag instead of the default of #egypt.
The messages can be accessed by either dialling one of the same phone numbers, or through the Twitter account twitter.com/speak2tweet. The Twitter feed contains a link to the voice message on Google's SayNow.
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s service which allows users to leave a tweet on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
by calling a designated international phone number and leaving a voice message
Voice message
Voice message refers to a message that could be sent to a destination using voice media. Voice itself could be 'packaged' and sent through the IP backbone so that it reaches its marked 'address'. In a technical sense, the process of sending 'voice packets' is a semi passive way of communication...
. The service was developed to help people stay connected when an Internet connection is unavailable, specifically in response to the Internet shutdown during the 2011 Egyptian revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
.
Egyptian Revolution
As a reaction to protests in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, the Egyptian government
Politics of Egypt
The government of Egypt, as of February 27, 2011, is a republic currently under military rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak stepped down following several days of mass protests. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the...
shut down the Internet throughout that country on January 26, 2011 in the lead up to the 2011 revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
.
As a way to help the people of Egypt, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s at Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Twitter, and voice-messaging startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
SayNow, which had just been acquired by Google, created a speak-to-tweet service over the next weekend in January 2011. The service was publicly announced on January 31 by Google on its official blog, stating the goal of the service was to assist the Egyptian people to stay connected, and that the service was already live.
Operation
Users are able create a tweet by phoning a variety of international phone numbers and leaving a voicemailVoicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
message; the service instantly tweeted the message with the hashtag #egypt, without the need for an Internet connection. As of February 1, 2011 the service had been updated to try to detect the country of origin of each call, and to use that as the hashtag instead of the default of #egypt.
The messages can be accessed by either dialling one of the same phone numbers, or through the Twitter account twitter.com/speak2tweet. The Twitter feed contains a link to the voice message on Google's SayNow.