By Mary Best
Opinion Editor
“OMG the Titanic is sinking…those third class peeps better not steal all the lifeboats #firstclassproblems.”
Ever wonder what it would be like to have Twitter in 1912? Thanks to ambitious U.K. history publisher The History Press, anyone with a Twitter account will be able to find out.
Tweets began publishing March 10, exactly one month before Titanic set sail on its first and only voyage, according to a March 9 History Press blog post.
Once Titanic set sail April 10, the tweets went from bragging about Titanic’s size and anticipation of the voyage to various musings from the officers, crew and passengers from all classes. I’ve only been following for a few days, but the Twitter feed entertains and informs, all while thankfully avoiding the acronym-driven social media vernacular.
While the tweets are all praising the dimensions of the ship and what an extraordinary experience it is to be a part of its maiden voyage, things are bound to change Saturday night, when the phantom Titanic will meet up with a rather nasty iceberg.
When I first heard about the live tweeting, the sinking was the first thing that came to mind. Everyone knows about the tragic death toll of 1517 from that fateful day 100 years ago, but is that really something we should relive?
Then I remembered the cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy in January and the carelessness of the captain, Francesco Schettinno, who has been charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and dereliction of duty, according to a Jan. 18 ibtimes.com article. Even though there was a large difference in the number of lives lost, people still died allegedly because of human error.
We can’t change what happened 100 years ago, but we can definitely learn from it. With a live update of the brief life of the most famous British mail steamer, we’re reminded not only of what happened, but why.
I’m not saying the loss of life isn’t important, but you have to admit seeing some third-class passengers’ opinions on Twitter is a pretty cool idea. Sure, it’s a little unconventional and would be unfathomable to the ship’s architect, Thomas Andrews, but it’s a way to get the technology-obsessed generation interested in history.
The History Press is definitely running a risk once April 14 hits, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what it’s going to publish before the tweets stop all together. While I am following the account, seeing someone’s supposed last thoughts would be more than unsettling on my Twitter feed.
Overall, it’s a neat idea, and I applaud the History Press for executing it in, so far, a tasteful way. With 64,000 followers as of April 11, there’s no doubt more people will be keeping up with Captain Edward J. Smith and his passengers.
I may be a little too sensitive when it comes to the Titanic, a piece of history I’ve been obsessed with since I was young, and I may be too enthusiastic about the History Press’ latest venture.
At least appreciate what this Twitter account will really do — inform those stereotypical teeny boppers the real story of the Titanic has nothing to do with Leonardo DeCaprio drawing Kate Winslet as one of his French girls.
bestmk10@bonaventure.edu
