Among TwitterSilence Emerges TwitterNoise For Women Who Refuse To Be Silenced After Threats Of Rape And Violence Appear On The Site

Recent reports of abuse against women on the social networking site, Twitter have spawned a globally reported craze known as TwitterSilence, aimed at bringing attention to the abuse.

However, alongside the campaign, which is being championed by Guardian journalist, Caitlin Moran, is a different group, TwitterNoise has emerged, intent on speaking up against the abuse rather than remaining silent.

The most recent high profile figure to join the silence was Mary Beard, a prominent historian and broadcaster from the United Kingdom, who received a bomb threat on Saturday evening.

"Just got 1 of these messages. A bomb has been placed outside your home. It will go off at exactly 10.47pm and destroy everything. Told police," she wrote on her Twitter page

She later wrote: "OK all, it's 11.00pm and we are still here. So unless the trolling bombers timekeeping is rotten.... all is well. But how stupidly nasty."

Prof Beard, 58, told BBC Radio Five Live: "There's something very strangely and awkwardly insidious about it.

"It is is scary and it has got to stop. I didn't actually intellectually feel that I was in danger but I thought I was being harassed, and and I thought I was being harassed in a particularly unpleasant way."

After the campaign began trending across North America and the United Kingdom, it began to provoke debate and Twitternoise began trending, encouraging Twitter users to spend 24 hours from midnight on Sunday tweeting positive and complimentary remarks about women.

Feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who received rape threats that triggered the storm, said she would not be taking part in the silence campaign.

"Sorry, but I won't be silenced by anyone. Please respect how my choices, as I respect those of others," she wrote.

In response to the recent abuse, Tony Wang, general manager of Twitter UK, posted a series of tweets today saying abuse was "simply not acceptable".

He wrote: "I personally apologise to the women who have experienced abuse on Twitter and for what they have gone through.

"The abuse they've received is simply not acceptable. It's not acceptable in the real world, and it's not acceptable on Twitter. There is more we can and will be doing to protect our users against abuse. That is our commitment."