(Author's warning: This is not a "tweet." It will exceed 140 characters.)
Last spring I caved to the pressure from well-intending friends who wanted to know about my goings-on when we weren't together (freaky), and I hopped on the Twitter bandwagon. Mostly it was the pressure. Mostly it was my willingness to be persuaded by people I really like and trust. There was another motivation - albeit secondary. I had this gnawing notion that as a connections guy, I should check out this online "community shortcut." Yeah, I was skeptical.
I was only a few weeks into honing my Twitter discernment... as in, what in the heck would anyone "out there" actually care about reading in 140 characters or less about my life, restroom breaks, and TV viewing, when I hit the Twit-wall. I went on family vacation with my wife and daughter. On day one of that vacation I picked up my phone (an archaic version with little, tiny buttons to push) to "tweet" our activity. I stopped cold and thought, "I don't care who wants to know what or why. This is our personal vacation (*see footnote) - you don't get to know about every flippin' detail!" A week later I canceled my Twitter account.
Two months later I picked it up again. This time I was more motivated by the desire to explore what I didn't understand. Namely, there's something seemingly real about online community and communication. My daughter texts constantly (over 10,000 texts last month) with multiple friends at a time. She's recently started Twittering. From information sharing to networking to learning details about "friends" you'd never know - Twitter and the short-form Facebook status aren't just attracting the twenty-somethings. Forty-somethings like me are swarming to these cyber-group exchanges.
But is it all about community? Or is it about boasting badges of popularity? Maybe. I admit it. I look at that small, little number of followers on my homepage. And, I've noticed the Twitter Kings and Queens who've attracted thousands of tweet disciples. Yes, I've compared my own numbers to theirs. Sometimes I've even read articles aimed at tuning my pied piper pipe to attract more scampering rats, er, interested and interesting people.
The folks at Relevant are wondering what Twitter is doing to us (read the article here). Is it a real expression of community? Or is it a extortion of our ego? What's the honest revelation of our deepest motives? It's worth a read.
Kem Meyer re-posted Michael Hyatt's (CEO, Thomas Nelson) 12 responses to the questions: Why Twitter? and What is it? You can read them here.
I think I'm over the popularity contest. Tim Stevens will always have more followers. CNN and Larry King just might surpass Ashton Kutcher. It's okay. I'm okay.
I do know this -
- I've read more articles linked from Twitter the past few months than I have followed links from blog posts (like this one).
- I've stayed connected - even a little bit - with people from other churches that I've met at conferences and other venues.
- I've laughed with more of my real friends via Twitter than I could have face to face in any given day. I've just not had proximity to enjoy the lives of so many in one single day.
- I've prayed for people who would never have gotten to me, if not for me seeing their 76 word tweet request.
- I've been more aware of perspectives from the marketplace, entertainment, liberals, conservatives, church, education, and cultural trends than I have been merely watching the news or reading Google links.
I'm going to continue to Twitter. There's a lot you'll never hear about because I don't want you to. But, there's probably some stuff that will surprise you, too. I'm in it for the connection.
You can "follow" me here. If you want to. Stalk. Connect. Whatever you want.
See you online.
* (Mark Beeson posted a brilliant article about discerning personal, private and public - you should read it here.)
