TWITTER, TWITTER EVERYWHERE . . .

When thinking of literacy, wine isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind. The eponymous Twitter begs to differ. In an attempt to boost literacy rates around the world, Twitter has launched a wine label with San Francisco-based winery Crushpad. The label is dubbed Fledgling Wine. In addition to its website, the self-described “social winemaking venture” has a Twitter page too, naturally. “As a company that’s only one percent into its journey, we’re always thinking about our long term impact on the world,” Twitter co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone wrote on Fledgling Wine’s home page. “The Fledgling Initiative embodies two things that are at the core of Twitter’s mission: providing access to information and highlighting the power of open communication to bring about positive change.” Currently, Fledgling Wine is available only as a pre-order – pinot noir or chardonnay. The wine will be bottled in August 2O1O and retail for $2O. According to Stone and Williams, $5 from the proceeds “will be donated to Room to Read, a transformational non-profit that brings books, libraries and ultimately literacy to people in the poorest areas around the world.” Twitter’s co-founders said they believe Fledgling Wine will help Twitter as well. According to them: “If you can’t read, you can’t Tweet!”