From the recently liberated pages of The New York Times (no need to log in or have a subscription to read the stories), comes a piece on a Twitter user who tweeted his feelings of despair, and how his network of friends responded. Here’s a snippet:

[Nick] Starr, who was driving around near his hometown, wrote in Twitter’s characteristic staccato, stream-of-consciousness style about picking up some chicken wings and getting a new haircut. Then his postings took a darker turn.

At 6:02, he sent out a note about a nearby bridge: “Maybe I should jump from it?”

At 8:17, bemoaning his lack of close friends, he speculated about being the first “Twitter suicide.”

The lengthy piece goes on to discuss how when users at spots like Twitter and Tumblr miniblog the dramatic turns of their day—from the above thoughts of suicide to a breaking up with their partner–”they often take the network along in real time.” Nothing many SMITH readers don’t know, but the Times piece is a good overview of one way miniblogging has changed the way we tell the stories of our lives—one character at a time.