Monday, May 11, 2009

Feeling Like a Twit—Learning Twitter and the Art of Brevity

blog39 I’ve been learning Twitter this week, and I feel a little like the bald guy in “The Scream.”

Folks who read my blog know that when it comes to reflecting on a topic, I tend to write on the more exhaustive side. Hopefully not the exhausting side.  Oddly enough, I’m not long-winded at all with manuscripts. I’m a big fan of The Elements of Style and its reminder to “omit needless words.”

Twitter certainly doesn’t allow for verbosity.

In fact, Twitter doesn’t allow you to put much of anything in context, either.  I love putting things in context.  ‘Having a rough day’ can mean you spilt your coffee, bit your tongue, and forgot the milk at the store.  Or ‘having a rough day’ could mean you lost your job, your dog, or your good health.

I just need to get used to Twitter, I think.  Facebook I like and get. For some reason, the interactions seem a little more personal.  This could be because I only have friends on Facebook and Twitter incorporates many other people—many of whom I don’t know.

Another problem with me and Twitter is that I feel a little like a Twit when I send a tweet. Oh, I’m fine when I’m forwarding cool links.  But my own personal observations and interactions don’t seem blather-worthy. 

If you’d like to follow my fledgling tweets, I’m: @elizabethscraig.

So these are my ideas for incorporating Twitter into my life. I’d love to hear anyone else’s, if they’re so inclined. 

Tweeting on mystery releases I’m excited about.

Tweeting on or retweeting interesting links and posts for writers.

Tweeting my writing progress each day (especially as a tool to keep myself on track.)

Some personal tweets, but not a lot. Not yet.  Maybe more once I warm up to the medium.