David Pogue (‘81) gave a presentation titled “The Twitter Evolution” Oct. 2 at Shaker Heights High School with proceeds benefiting the Shaker Schools Foundation.
Pogue, also a former Shakerite member, is best known for his weekly technology column in the The New York Times, as the author of several books including “The Missing Manual” book series and as a technology correspondent for CBS.
Following the preview, Pogue explained the purpose of popular social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter and how they are used on a daily basis. What fascinated Pogue the most about Twitter, was how quickly he could get information by posting tweets and having his followers respond. “I started exploiting Twitter and I started thinking, ‘Well wait a minute, the people listening to my utterances are people who signed up to get them,’” Pogue said, “so I can use them.”
He noted a time when he posted on Twitter the night before that he needed actors and actresses for a weekly video for CNBC. “I would just go on Twitter and say, ‘Hey, I need someone who looks like a teen actress, tomorrow at 11 in Connecticut.’ ”
In addition to jobs and information, Pogue used Twitter for even ideas for upcoming presentations and shows. “It was amazing. Sometimes I would need a joke or an example of a well known artsy movie that a teenager wouldn’t like.”
He uses Twitter for funny things, such as asking what sounds like an ancient Chinese proverb.
His favorite response was, “The pit is always smaller than the plum.”
Pogue concluded his presentation by playing the piano and singing his hit song on Youtube, “I want an iPhone,” which has almost 590,000 views.
The presentation also featured a new season preview of the TV show “NOVA scienceNOW.” The show’s sixth season begins Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS and will feature Pogue as the host for the first time.
