Green solutions in just 15 tweets

As an editor, I often take up my shears to prune a text of any superfluous words. More often than not, the message comes across more clearly with fewer letters scrambling for space on the page.

I like haikus. I’m a fan of Twitter. I’m always impressed by writers who approach word limits with the ambition of a poet. Of course, the web means you can throw in a link to a longer piece, and pray that it’s written well enough to capture our butterfly minds for more than a minute or two. 

Or, you can make a craft of tight, powerful little messages, and add them together when you want to say something more complex. Yes, you can even clog up your followers’ feeds with a whole string of tweets – a 21st-century take on the serial story or epic verse... 

This is what the Swedish Twitter University (@Svtwuni) has set out to do. It invites thinkers and leaders to present lectures on inspiring topics in just 25 tweets. On Christmas Day, Professor Steve Fuller of the University of Warwick told the Twittersphere ‘How to think like God’. Earlier in December, futurist Jamais Cascio presented his theory of ‘The Foresight Immune System’ – his opening tweet: “The Future is a Virus”.

Now, Green Futures (@GreenFutures) has partnered with the Swedish Twitter University to launch the Department of Green Innovation and Solutions. Every Tuesday at 6pm GMT, we will present a story from the frontline of sustainability in 15 tweets, and open up the topic to discussion. Anyone can join in by using the #gfstu hashtag.

Don’t miss the first one, ‘3D printing: the end of consumerism’, next Tuesday (17 January) at 6pm GMT.