Wednesday, November 15, 2017

I Finally Found a Use for Twitter by Alison Henderson

I've never been a fan of Twitter. I joined when I became a published author because I had to and only used it to promote other authors' books as part of a promo group. I've just never gotten it. The brief format didn't appeal to me--I could never understand how people claimed to have developed useful relationships with strangers in 140 characters--and doubling it doesn't make much difference. Too many posts in my feed are brief, cryptic messages with some unidentifiable link attached. I'm not about to open something like that from someone I don't know! And then there's the fact that some of the worst behavior in modern times seems to occur on or because of Twitter. It hasn't been a place I've really wanted to be.

However, I think I've finally found a use for it.

I'm normally a Facebook person. I like the format, the longer posts, and the ability to  converse with friends. And because I try to keep my presence upbeat and positive, I avoid  posting anything political on my page. I have strong feelings, but arguments--especially with strangers--give me hives, and these days I'm working hard to keep myself as calm as possible. At any rate, a few weeks ago, I felt an urgent need to say something political. I didn't need or want to have a conversation with anyone--I just needed to put my thoughts out in the universe. The words appeared in my brain and screamed to be set free. All writers will understand. If I didn't write them down and send them somewhere, they would continue to pester me.

The question was, where?

As I've said, I didn't want to put them on Facebook, although many would have. I considered my blog. I rarely post there and could safely assume no one would read anything I wrote there if I didn't draw attention to it. Then I remembered Twitter. It would be perfect. I may have 1,500 followers, but they don't actually follow me because there's nothing to follow. Most have no idea who I am and would skim past anything I posted. If they did happen to read the tweet and liked or retweeted it, great! I would never know. If they hated my statement and made ugly comments, the same would apply. I could get the idea out of my head and move on. What did I have to lose?

My tweet turned out to have fewer than 140 characters so off it went. Guess what happened. As predicted, almost nothing. One like and two retweets. Except now the thought is no longer munching around in my brain. Now I know what to do with those unimportant little bits of brilliance that pop into my head from time to time. I can post them on Twitter and send them off into the ether like a note inside a balloon. If they reach someone, fine, but that's not important. I'm free of them, and that's what matters.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com 

16 comments:

Leah St. James said...

I have many the same sentiments about Twitter as you do, Alison. I follow one young woman's poetry, and that's mostly what draws me there. Twitter has almost no use for an author in terms of sales tools. And there are so many authors posting about their books, I think most people just glaze over them, like the ads on the side of a web page. I do think Twitter is a good tool for sharing news, especially a book sale or new cover (because everyone loves a sale, and everyone loves looking at pictures). It's also good for jumping into a conversation during a live event (like sports, debates). But you intrigued me so I had to check out your post. You made me smile and "like"!

Brenda whiteside said...

I feel much the same. I am active but I doubt it does much for me. I had to check out your tweet and you got another like! I've done the same thing. Some days I'll just burst if I don't say something, so I post it to Twitter. No one ever interacts with me and that is fine. I just need to spew. While I was at your page, I shared one of your book tweets.

Jannine Gallant said...

I agree Twitter is worthless. Every day I follow back people who follow me (unless they're pathetic men looking for love) and tweet our ROP post and anything else one of my group people asks for. I tweet my own sale stuff on rare occasions (why, I have no idea). I have thousands of followers who mostly just want to promote their stuff. I never read my twitter feed. I, too, went in and gave you a like. I must say your post was pretty mild for venting. LOL If I let myself get started ranting, I'd probably never stop.

Rolynn Anderson said...

I like the alliteration of 'p's in your tweet, Alison. Spew away...because of gerrymandering, spewing is all we may be able to do. Alas, unless we blue staters move to red states to vote, this playground mentality is what we're stuck with for awhile. Crossing my fingers Mueller's got something!

Alison Henderson said...

Leah, at least you found a couple of positive things about Twitter, and I'm glad I made you smile!

Alison Henderson said...

Brenda, I'm glad I'm not alone in my need to just put a thought out there sometimes. And thanks for the share. I appreciate the gesture, although we all know what's likely to come from it. LOL

Alison Henderson said...

Jannine, I'm much more colorful when I rant in person. Besides, Twitter was still 140 characters when I wrote that. LOL

Alison Henderson said...

Rolynn, I can't think of any power on Earth that would induce me to move to a red state at this point. At least we have some buffer from the political nastiness here. When Minnesota was considered a "swing" state a number of years ago, I almost lost my mind from the barrage of ugly advertising. In California, it would be a waste of money.

Diane Burton said...

You go, Alison. I love your tweet. I don't have a lot of use for Twitter unless it's to promote other authors. It's easy to do. But, does anyone read them? When I write tweets for a post, the 140 character length has forced me to be succinct, something I'm not naturally. As far as anything of substance, I go to Facebook.

Alison Henderson said...

We all seem to be on the same page, Diane.

Margo Hoornstra said...

I posted a comment first thing this morning but it didn’t take. Go you, Alison in finding a place to channel your political self. I agree, social media can be brutal. Glad you could put one of them to good use.

Alison Henderson said...

Margo, as writers, sometimes we just have to express ourselves, whether anyone's listening, or not.

Vonnie Davis said...

Google keeps eating my responses. It claims I don't exist. Am I fading away???
Twitter has it's advantages. Not for me. I mean I have someone write tweets and post for me, but I don't know it sells any books. So why not use it to blow off steam? A little rant here or there is not a bad thing. Hugs.

Alicia Dean said...

Ha, I'm so glad you found a good use for Twitter. Unlike everyone else, I kind of enjoy Twitter. And, I DO get interaction sometimes. Not all of the time, because you know, there are so many tweets. I have my fair share of replies and retweets with comments. It's kind of fun. I also often skim through my twitter feed and also check the trending hashtags, because I find some interesting things and quality content and funny stuff from time to time. And, didn't you all hear, twitter has doubled their character limit to 280, so now we can say twice as much of nothing! :D

Alison Henderson said...

Vonnie, how dare Google try to ignore you? What's the matter with them? I'll have tweet my outrage! LOL

Alison Henderson said...

Alicia, I know other people who really like Twitter. Indie author and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Joanna Penn, swears she's make all kinds of friends and useful business contacts on Twitter. I don't understand it, but there it is.