Author(s):

Brian Fountain

In 140 characters:

! is a leading indicator, like RT, at the start of Tweets denoting that the Tweet is urgent or time-sensitive.

Description:

This syntax allows the user to label certain posts as being relevant or actionable for a finite amount of time. Optimally, these urgent messages would be 'pushed' to the user via sms or smartphone application. The message recipient would have the ability to set permissions for which of their connections' messages should be pushed to their device.

Details and Use Cases:

The exclamation mark is already used by Microsoft Outlook to denote that a message is 'urgent.' Having the recipient select from which users they receive urgent messages should shield this functionality from abuse.

Examples:

! Grabbing a burger at Jake's Tavern. Feel free to join me.

! Does anyone know where that large cloud of black smoke is coming from?

! I have an extra ticket for U2 tonight. Hit me back within the hour if you want it.

Alternatives