Twitter Haikus

Tweeting Poetic: Japan has long been very into Twitter. This only grew in the wake of the national tragedy of the eathquake and tsunami. On a happier note, Japan’s victory in the women’s World Cup also helped things along. These major national events drove more Japanese users to Twitter where they could communicate and find support. This outward and public expression of emotion is not traditionally part of Japanese culture, which tends to encourage stoicism and restraint, especially when it comes to emotional issues. (I should know because my mother is Japanese.) So why all of a sudden is Twitter so popular in Japan, and why are Japanese people willing to express themselves there? One theory, according to Stanford University’s Richard Dasher, an expert in Japanese linguistics, is that a tweet is quite similar to a haiku, the traditional Japanese form of poetry. Both are compositions that are meant to convey a sentiment within a restricted length and format. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries in Japan, the haiku revitalized Japanese poetry and became a way for people to interact and express themselves. Today Twitter seems to be doing just that for the Japanese. SF Gate

Owling is Out: Still out there owling? Yikes, get with the picture, gramps. The latest in online photo shenanigans is “Horsmaning,” as in fake beheading in pictures, which was actually a trick that first appeared in the 1920s. Even cooler, right? A vintage meme. BuzzFeed

Tumblr of the Day: Here is some lovely eye candy of people, places and things. The Steward