A Novelist’s Journey into Darkest Twitter

A media-savvy novelist friend recently started Twittering. So far his updates express the confusion a lot of people have at first with this “micro blogging service” that’s like a cross between haiku and Facebook.

Basically, he’s saying: “Okay, I’m here… What is this for? Hello… I’m still Twittering, but still not sure why…”

My own history with Twitter is a geological record of my still-evolving comprehension of this wonderously simple platform.

At first I thought it was personal communication for the chatty nerds who podcast endlessly about techno trivia and all seem to know each other.

Then it seemed to be the cool place where the conversation had moved from Facebook – the latest cyber hangout, like a fashionable new bar in town. (I had experienced this before, when all the wits on my favorite forum deserted it for Facebook.)

Next, I began to resent it. It was a pain in the ass: so much irrelevency: “I’m sitting down to lunch. rice and beans” or “thinking of moving my chair” (the video Twitter Whore captures this hilariously). And along with that, the depressing prospect of having to do the same – be tweeting all day long. What a drag.

One day I overheard a guy in a Starbuck’s trying to explain Twitter to his girlfriend:

“Twitter is…anything you want it to be.”

“But what do you DO…” she said, with her face all red and tensed up.

“Anything you want,” he repeated, like a Zen master. “You have a 140 character canvas. Do anything you want with it.”

So then, Twitter was merely an empty box, saying, “fill me with 140 characters.” Nothing more. Not “what are you doing now….and now….and now?” Not “where are you now?” or “what’s your latest thought?”

Just 140 characters. Period.

Then Bryan Clark launched the first Twitter writing contest on Copyblogger. I’ve enjoyed writing micro fiction over the years, and I love working within extreme limits. And because Twitter is a “social” medium, you’re almost guaranteed at least a small readership. Perfect.

Except I knew that if I let it go at that, I’d be leaving myself out of the loop. When Darren Rouse, a blogger I had followed for years on Problogger, started Twitip, a new blog devoted entirely to Twitter, I knew my quest wasn’t over.

Here’s where I stand at the moment. Having used Twitter for minimalist social communication and as an artistic publication platform, I’m beginning to realize its professional value to me is as an adjunct to my blog. When I have a miscellaneous thought, discover a new blog or site, or something on a web page somewhere, there’s no temptation to clutter up my blog with it. If it’s only one or two sentences plus a link, it’s a tweet, so it goes to Twitter. That’s my plan, as of today.

What about you? What uses have you found for Twitter, assuming you use it? What difficulties do you have with it. Is Twitter the future? Or just another new bar in town?