Tweeter Street is a photo project that photographs Twitter users; where they tweeted, with what they tweeted, created by Michael Hughes, left. (Photo courtesy of Michael Hughes)
Only a decade ago, the word “Twitter” most likely didn’t ring any bells for most people. Today, however, the social networking and micro-blogging service is as much mainstream and part of contemporary, popular culture as Doc Martens shoes and flannel shirts in the early 1990s era of grunge.
Millions and millions of users share their thoughts on Twitter in 140 characters or less — be it about the latest movie they watched, what they had for lunch or the political situation in the Ukraine, often complete with images, links or videos.
Photographer Michael Hughes, who works with editorial and corporate clients specializing in portraiture and reportage, was just one among those many Twitter users. But when he began looking at the “nearby tweets” application on his phone — showing the tweets of other users close to your own location — the idea for a project formed in his head.
“I wondered where these people were and about the context in which they tweeted,” Hughes, whose photographs have been published and exhibited worldwide, explained. “I was fascinated by the fact that I could see these people who were tweeting near me, but felt there was something missing. Instead of just seeing their location and profile picture, I wanted the essence of the ‘tweet context’ captured.”
This is when Tweeter Street was born — a photo project that depicts Twitter users, where they tweet, with what they tweet.
“Tweeter Street aims to capture, record and document this exciting period in our time, where the social media phenomenon, which is still in its infancy, has become a significant medium of interaction and communication in our world,” Hughes, who kicked off the project in March 2011, said. “It will look to humanize social media, by visually replicating people’s tweets.”
Among the photos he took for Tweeter Streets are humorous shots including Twitter user @stevekennedyuk, who stands in the entrance hall of his home, staring somewhat baffled at a card in his hand. The accompanying tweet reads: “Really weird, just re read date on card delivered by neighbor, 1997, he’s had it for 14 YEARS!!!”
Another one depicts @Troy__Munns lounging in his bathtub after tweeting: “Important announcement: My bathroom refurb has been completed. I’m now going to sit in the bath until spring. Laters!”
(Photo courtesy of Michael Hughes)
According to Hughes, “the phenomenon of social media has broken down barriers and transformed the ways in which human beings communicate with each other.”
As Twitter has taken off all around the world, Tweeter Street has grown from a small UK online venture into a global project and Hughes will be in Jakarta from Feb. 26 to March 2 to continue his work with Indonesian Twitter users.
“Tweeter Street is very excited to come to Indonesia,” Hughes said. “We chose Indonesia because it is one of the top tweeting countries in the world and around half of the geo-tagged tweets sent from the Asian region are from Indonesia. Jakarta will be the place where we will be photographing tweeters to represent Asia.”
“My time here will be spent photographing Jakarta tweeters in the environments in which they tweeted to visualize the moment that they tweeted,” he added. “We will also be trying hard not to spend too long in the Jakarta traffic, which is heavily tweeted about.”
Hughes is looking for Indonesian Twitter enthusiasts who would like to become a resident of his Tweeter Street. Those interested in being photographed can drop him an e-mail at tweeterstreet@gmail.com or send him a message via Twitter @tweeterstreets. Once he receives a message, he will check out the potential candidates.
“I’ll follow their tweets and if they tweet something that I think would work I’ll contact them and arrange a shoot,” he explained. “I look for tweets that open up a moment in the tweeters’ lives and something that can be translated into an image. ”
One of the main goals of Tweeter Street is to show the connectivity that social media has brought forth.
“With the project now going to showcase tweets from different parts of the world, I hope that it can show that we as people have similarities and uniqueness no matter what part of the world you are from,” Hughes said. “The rise of social media and in particular Twitter, enables us to break down barriers in how people communicate and engage with each other. In addition to this, seeking out international tweeters from around the world will truly represent the boundary-less nature of Twitter.”
Although there are many other networks and platforms that have made a splash in the world of social media following in the footsteps of Twitter, Hughes still believes that Twitter remains an important tool in people’s lives.
“Due to the simplicity and speed through which information can be spread through this medium I think Twitter is very relevant and will continue to play a significant role for some time to come,” he said.
Hughes has a Twitter account himself, which he uses for keeping up-to-date with the world and staying tuned on what his friends and colleagues are doing.
“I usually tweet about the wonderful, interesting, and outrageous things that I come across,” he said.
After his one-week stint in Jakarta, Hughes will move on to the next city to find more interesting Twitter users for his project. “Having photographed tweeters from London and Jakarta to help represent Europe and Asia, the next place for Tweeter Street will be New York to represent North America,” he said.
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