Star comment: Embracing the digital revolution

Earlier, he'd been standing beneath a large black umbrella, while wearing cream slacks, as he spoke to the security guards on site. He'd also posed for pictures with people pulling pints in the beer tent.

And how, you might ask, do we know all of this? Because Mr Kawczynski was busy tweeting about his day to his 1,919 followers.

In recent weeks, he's not been the only one to hit the social media airwaves. Owen Paterson used Twitter a week ago to encourage people to apply for a post at his new research think tank.

Philip Dunne took to Twitter last week to offer best wishes to those among his 592 followers who were collecting their GCSE results.

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies is a regular Twitter user. Last week, he was re-tweeting photographs of tiger cubs at London Zoo, expressing his enjoyment for Berriew Show and reminding us that: "People with the roughest edges can still hide the softest of hearts".

Twitter has become firmly established in our culture. It is a part of the digital revolution that changes the way we communicate and consume news and information.

The Shropshire Star was at the vanguard of embracing digital technology, just as it was at the cutting edge of print technology all those years ago when it was among the first in the world to introduce daily colour printing.

It is heartening that our MPs have embraced the digital revolution and provided a direct link for their constituents who can now reach them with the click of a mouse.

Twitter is a far easier format for the general population to use: a tweet takes seconds to write and send – unlike an appointment at a constituency surgery, which can take weeks to organise.

So far, our MPs have understood and accepted the responsibilities of using Twitter and been acutely aware not to make any gaffes.

Big issues like the direct rail service between Shrewsbury and London have been debated online with gusto. And Twitter has also given us a window into a once-private world – we now know about the Shrewsbury biscuits of Daniel Kawczynski and the tiger cubs of Glyn Davies.