I have really struggled with Twitter. Not that it is hard to set up an account - although I don't have one yet. I have set them up for my husband and a friend. I just don't get the idea of posting my thoughts for others to read and then writing about what others are doing.
Maybe it comes from the fact that I am an Introvert (as demonstrated by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator). I draw my energy and enjoy solitary pursuits. For me the perfect vacation to re-energize myself is a beach, a chair and a pile of unread books, or a well stocked Kindle.
From what I have seen on Twitter it is lots of people tweeting about their days, their pursuits, their opinions or what they think about other people. Maybe I have it wrong and there is more to Twitter than that.
Now you can say that I really don't know the importance of Twitter until I try it. Many of my writer friends swear by it to help them stay in touch with readers and fans, as well as other writers. I'm not to the that point in my writing career yet. I'm still trying the master Facebook and a blog, as well as my final steps in a doctoral dissertation.
Having spent some time with young adults it seems that Twitter was designed for their generation. Many of the young adults I know are absolutely sure that the world is just waiting for them to spew words of wisdom, or their opinions about life, relationships and everything else that crosses their minds. They do it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other vehicle they can find to spread their understanding of the world and how they fit into it. This is the generation raised by my generation, children of Baby Boomers who were raised to think that we are all just waiting for them to come along and fix all the problems of the world....or at least have an opinion about it.
I'm not being critical but making an observation from my vantage point. It seems to me that maybe it is better to call the person you are writing about rather than post on Facebook, or Tweet that you love them, miss them or just appreciate them.
Anyway, if someone has any advice for me about Twitter then I would appreciate it. Maybe I just need to set up a an account and try it for a while.
Carolyn, I thought the same thing until recently. I set up an account and I mostly follow public people and news. My follows range from Rachel Maddow to William Shatner (of course Jimmy Fallon and Jon Daily) . Also, CNN, local news etc. I was in a seminar recently put on by the FDNY and they talked about the importance of social media in emergencies. During Superstorm Sandy, with no power and the phone lines down and the ones that were working were at capacity, emergency management relied on Twitter and other social media to get word out to people. That's when I opened my Twitter account. Give it a try, I'm doing baby steps myself.
ReplyDeleteBeth, Thanks for the comment. I had not really thought of it that way although the same thing happened during the tornado outbreak last week in the Midwest. Most of the television stations said they would have Twitter updates in case the power went out. They were also urging people to make sure their phones were fully charged. Good suggestion. I will just sign up and try it.
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