On Thursday, Twitter users in Australia were dealt a crushing blow – the popular social media platform was down for much of the day.
Users first reported outages and difficulties logging in around 10 am, with some people saying they were unable to even access the site. By midday, Twitter had acknowledged the problem but could give no explanation as to why it was happening.
The outages were felt not just by everyday users, but by news organisations and businesses which rely on Twitter to communicate with their followers and customers.
While Twitter and its users were still trying to come to terms with the cause of the blackout, many Australians took to other social media platforms to vent their frustrations.
Twitter’s support page on Thursday said the outage affected users across Australia, saying ‘some people may be experiencing issues with Twitter. We’re working to resolve this.’
Tweets from users in other countries such as the US and UK, as well as other parts of Australia, appeared to be unaffected by the outage.
Twitter’s brief statement did not offer any clues as to what caused the problem, though some speculated the issue may have been related to the site’s infrastructure or security.
By the early evening – about 8 pm AEST – Twitter said it had restored service for users in the affected regions and thanked them for their patience.
The cause of the outages is yet to be determined, though it appears that the problem has now been resolved.
Twitter is a cornerstone of the ‘social ecosystem’, with millions logging in to the popular site everyday to check their newsfeeds and keep up with their friends.
For many Australians, the outages were a stark reminder of just how reliant we have become on social media to stay connected.
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