“Generally, when something big is going on, I’m in the zone and not thinking of much else except capturing what’s happening and figuring out what’s true. I definitely try to add context when it seems appropriate, but it’s really directed at real-time consumption.”

But collectively, tweets tell stories — about media scandals, natural disasters, political speeches and more.

If journalism is the “rough draft of history,” Twitter is the “raw draft of history” — imperfect and less polished, but important nonetheless.

In a phone interview, he said tweets are “not decisive by themselves, but certainly if properly cataloged and researched, they will make a meaningful contribution when someone writes the history of what we’ve sewn together over the years.”

But while consecutive tweets can be helpful in the moment, the need for context becomes greater over time.

“If you look back at the books written on history, among the most valuable contributions are when historians are able to get their hands on a leaders’ diary or a leaders’ letters,” Crowley said. “It helps when you’re able to understand what a historical figure was thinking and seeing and doing at a particular time and then add context.”

We do feel that as a means of communication, tweets become a part of history.”

It would help, Crowley said, if there were a tool that made it easier for people to discern meaning from tweets and other information streams over time.

“Certainly in the context of Twitter there are memorable tweets that reflect the drama of a particular moment, but the dilemma for Twitter, which is to some extent the challenge for all of us in this information revolution, is how do you discern meaning from this overwhelming array of information that we are now exposed to?”

Storify is a great tool for pulling together tweets to tell a story, but it doesn’t let users see trends over time.

When he looks at it, he’s reminded that Twitter has become “both a professional and personal journal.”

In some ways, tweets are like modern-day journal entries that writers choose to share publicly.

“can have particular meaning in the moment, but obviously they evolve. And in order to make sense of tweets, you’ve got to be able to look at them in a broader context.”

Smith’s tweets convey scenes, emotion and dialogue that tell a story about the earthquake

Similarly, Carvin’s tweets tell a powerful story about the turmoil in the Middle East.

“give a perspective of what a development means at a particular moment.”

“It’s a lot of fun to be able to engage in these kinds of debates, and I try to take some time to do it every day

We don’t always know when or if we’re going to make our way into history. We may never invent something revolutionary or find a cure for cancer, but we can contribute to history in our own small ways — 140 characters at a time.