Twitter.com didn’t work for me just a minute ago. Here’s how it told me:

As far as I can Google, Joshua Porter coined the term microcopy* to describe super tiny web web copy that succinctly informs the user of something contextually important. How to pay for your order, what to do next, and, perhaps most importantly, system errors, are some good examples of microcopy you’d typically want to give thoughtful attention to.

In 71 characters, Twitter’s error notification tells me:

• “Its not you, its me!” — “Sorry! We did something wrong.” immediately informs the user that their actions were indeed correct. This eliminates all doubt in my mind that I need to figure out another way to use the tool. I don’t.
• How to fix it — Simply, wait a minute and try again.

If I follow their instrucitons, I ought to come out on top. If I don’t, I’m 100% positive there’s nothing more I can do right now, which sucks, but at least I’m not fumbling in the dark trying to find a way to make it work, potentially getting fed up, and never coming back to the service again.

* If I’m wrong, plz LMK!