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The tenties: when racing caught up with the dystopian future

Robin Gibson reruns the digital decade

Richard Hughes: caused the first ever Twitterstorm in 2011
Richard Hughes: caused the first ever Twitterstorm in 2011Credit: Mark Cranham

There goes the decade with no name. They did try though. On January 1, 2010, the Mirror suggested the teens, tens, tenties and tenners. But none of those caught on. Nobody had time to let things catch on, because they were busy watching video clips of cats, liars and Ten Second Tips.

Experts (now outmoded) foresaw synthetic brains, intercontinental bridges, and red pepper and pesto goujons at McDonald’s. But what actually happened? Not all of those.

2010: The early-ish adoption

Racing caught up with Twitter as Twitter started to mutate. Early users, realising no-one cared if they were eating sausages or cutting their toenails, had drifted off, leaving space for breaking news and passing comment and wind. The sport’s rapid action made Twitter a natural platform: enthusiasts could blurt whatever they wanted as soon as runners were past the post. And they did.

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