Dalai Lama Joins Twitter

One interesting way that Buddhists have adapted to new media is by using social networking sites such as twitter.  The Dalai Lama joined twitter back in 2010 as a way to connect with his followers. There had been a twitter account for the Dalai Lama even before 2010 but it was eventually discovered to be an impostor. The Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism and is also known as His Holiness. Having a twitter is a great way for the Dalai Lama to maintain his authority in the Buddhist community by directly spreading his wisdom to his followers. As of today the Dalai Lama has 722 tweets and over 3.6 million followers.  His tweets mainly consist of words of wisdom such as “We have to put effort into being honest, truthful and compassionate towards others,” but he also uses twitter to post pictures of his recent endeavors and to post reminders of events he will be attending. In using social media, the Dalai Lama is able to reach far more people and in a more personal manner. People can receive tweets anywhere they go on their computer and their phones and in having a twitter account the Dalai Lama can connect with Buddhists all over the world at any time. By participating in new media, the Dalai Lama affords people who have never had the before had the opportunity to be able to connect with His Holiness.

Link to the Dalai Lama's twitter account:

http://twitter.com/#!/DalaiLama

Link to news article:

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7364852/Dalai-Lama-joins-Twitter-to-spread-the-word-of-peace.html