Bittersweet Twitter
I’ve come to the realization that as liberating as Twitter can be at times, it is exceptionally insidious to “bloggers” like me. I placed quotations around “bloggers” because unlike true bloggers who regularly update their blogs, I only write when I feel like it.
Before I signed up for my very own Twitter account (@enneadlook), the urge to blast a burst of fiery words into the ether would constantly threaten to bubble over into a churning fury until I must sit down and hammer on the keyboard feverishly. Granted, this did not mean I rolled out stacks of blog posts every day back then like I just discovered the thrill of the Industrial Revolution, but there was at least some sort of regularity to the blogging schedule. With the technological marvel of Twitter, however, I do not feel that incessant urge as strongly anymore.
You see, Twitter is like that little safety valve on your pressure cooker. Every day or every other day, an idea pops in my head or I see something that amuses me and I shout it out to the world with only 140 characters at my disposal. Then, I move on – I no longer take the time to mull it over and perhaps expand on it in a blog post. And so, the pressure build-up of my ever-present urge to write has been consistently relieved through that nifty little safety valve feature of Twitter.
This is absolutely not acceptable. I need to find a way to fix this because, in a sense, it feels like cheating. So, I think the time has come when I need to ask whether you have ever found yourself in the same predicament and if so, how did you extricate yourself from it? Any suggestions are welcome, but there is one thing I want to make very clear: I will not give up Twitter. I admit that I am now hopelessly addicted to it and I fear that if I quit it, the effects of my withdrawal may be catastrophic to society.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
My blog, which should also be in quotes, is also a bit on the sporadic input style. Unlike an editorialist or collumnist, I am not compelled to come up with something 5 days a week and an extra long piece for the Saturday edition.
Yes, I also use Twitter and Facebook for the occasional short burst commentary, since I often don’t feel like cranking out 400 words on something that doesn’t deserve it.
Given that, I don’t think I want to extricate myself from that predicament.
Post take your tweets and compile them every week for a blog entry?
Nothing wrong with good (if irregular and infrequent) blog posts – that’s what RSS feeds are for.
Doug – yes, I guess it can get exhausting after awhile if you start feeling obligated to cranking a post.
Michael – that’s an idea I may entertain. Although if that becomes the only kind of posts I write, it may become a cross-redundancy issue. But at least it’ll get me to log on to my blog more often and hopefully inspire me to come up with something new once in awhile. Thanks!