Ten Ways Twitter Is Like Star Trek

As I recently watched the new Star Trek movie, the familiar one-liners and actors’ mannerisms instantly catapulted me back into my childhood days. I remembered racing home from school so I could view the current episodes along with Batman, Dark Shadows and Gilligan’s Island. I would watch the Star Trek reruns fervently as a devoted fan.

As I watched the current movie, it dawned on me that Gene Roddenberry’s fictional universe and story, first pitched as a Western in outer space, has a lot in common with Twitter.

1. Both Star Trek and Twitter contain thriving quasi-utopian societies with central roles of sharing knowledge, exploration and building community.
   In Star Trek, humanity unites with other galaxy species to create the United Federation of Planets, which values universal liberty, equality, justice, peace and cooperation. In Twitter, like-minded individuals unite with others to create communities and tribes around common causes and values.

2. The central characters are seen as mavericks, pioneers and early adopters.
   In Star Trek, the Enterprise’s crew is “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” These characters are seen as individualists each with their own purpose and pioneering spirit. Today, mainstream public often denounces Twitter users and sees its early adopters as one of a kind or the “odd ones out.”

3. Connecting at warp drive.
   Both Twitter and Star Trek made communications with others something that happened at faster-than light speeds. Today, a Tweep can send one tweet into the Twittersphere and an unknown being from the other side of the globe may suddenly start following and connecting with them. In Star Trek humans developed warp drive, a form of propulsion to travel at light-speeds across galaxies.

4. The protagonists of both are primarily altruistic.
   In Twitter, the well-known influencers are generally seen as selfless and promoting the deliberate pursuit of the interests or welfare of others. The Golden Rule and laws of reciprocity are promoted and encouraged. In Star Trek, the central characters promote ideals, similar to those on Twitter, that are sometimes only imperfectly applied to the dilemmas presented .

5. The primary issues discussed represent their respective eras.
   Star Trek’s episodes and movies depict human and alien adventures often in the form of allegories reflecting the conflicts and political dimensions of contemporary cultural realities. The messages sent in Twitter reflect everything from pop culture to the issues of authoritarianism, class warfare, imperialism, economics, human rights, politics, racism, religion, sexism and feminism, and the role of technology.

6. The ability to lock on target with precision and hit a bulls-eye.
   In Twitter, listening, engaging and communicating with others provides organizations and brands an opportunity to adapt their campaigns, communications and services to the right audiences, at the right time, at the right place, with the right message. Ships in Star Trek had the unique ability to lock on to their specific targets and fire a phaser of energy with laser-precision.

7. Deflector shields on full intensity.
   In Star Trek, Captain Kirk often asks Mr. Chekov to put deflector shields on full intensity to deflect unwanted, unnecessary and unfavorable firings. Similarly, many Twitter users will unfollow, block and deflect unwanted, unnecessary and unfavorable tweets aimed at getting them to buy a product or service, or those firings that seem self-promotional. In Twitter, launch a few selfish tweets and an entire community may engage you in public warfare.

8. A black hole can cause problems.
   When Twitter goes down, the communications stop and the silence seems to swallow everything. In Star Trek, black holes gravitational forces pull everything into it and nothing including light can escape it.

9. The empire continues to evolve.
   The Star Trek franchise is a legacy that continually reinvents and recasts itself with fresh approaches. With six television series, eleven feature films, dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels, a themed attraction in Las Vegas and Star Trek conventions of Trekkies the franchise has created a cult phenomenon that has spawned many pop culture references. Twitter is still in its infancy stage that continues to evolve yet has already spawned an internet cartoon series, hundreds of spin-off computer applications and how-to products, the Twitteratti and Twitter conventions.

10. Both have strong cultural influence.
    The Twitter language and culture has influenced all aspects of today’s life including the design and integration of many current technologies. Both Twitter and Star Trek have phrases that have entered the public vernacular such as “Tweet me l8r” and “Beam me up Scotty.” People continue to create parodies, copies and imitations of both the Star Trek and Twitter phenomenons.

These are only a few ways that Twitter and Star Trek are alike. I’m sure you can think of more and feel free to add them. In conclusion, “Live Long and Tweet.”