ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at usefulness of Twitter as a multi-faceted tool for the public intellectual to disseminate ideas as well as negotiate terms on which these ideas are constructed in the public sphere in this new, virtual arena. There exist new kinds of public intellectuals, who may not describe themselves as such, but who undoubtedly espouse the purposes described by Said. It is crucial too that Twitter users realize that communication mediums in the virtual sphere are not merely empty vessels waiting to be inscribed with the agendas of the user. In light of the subpoena, the comment from the US State Department official quoted earlier in this chapter regarding the use of Twitter by Iranians during their election seems little more than a convenient evocation of the freedom of speech to obfuscate the US government’s compulsion to conduct surveillance. New public intellectuals must negotiate their responsibilities and their purpose carefully, but their very presence as individual users is vital.
