The fun of Twitter and my own Twitter renaissance

I first signed up to Twitter in March 2008. Like many social media sites, I think I just signed up because I thought I should, long before I knew if it would prove useful or whether I would even enjoy using it. (By the way, you can quickly find out how long you’ve been on Twitter by checking at the How Long Have You Been Tweeting site).

@amandakendle on Twitter – for nearly five years, so far!

Over the past five years, I have had phases where I’ve been obsessive about checking Twitter constantly, and phases where I may have barely looked into it for weeks at a time. Of course since I started working more seriously in social media I spend a lot more time there but it still comes in bursts – and right now, I’m having another Twitter renaissance. (Where does the time come from, you ask? Mostly because I’m not using Instagram quite as much right now.)

There are numerous reasons why I find Twitter so much fun, but I know when you are first thinking of stepping into the tweeting realm – or worse, when someone like me tells you that for the sake of your business you perhaps “should” be on Twitter – it can all seem a bit hard to imagine. The practicalities of how, what and when for Twitter are coming in a future post, but the fun? Well, I want to tell you all about that now.

So let me finish this sentence a few times: I love Twitter because …

1. I’ve “met” people on Twitter who I’ve later met in real life and they’ve become friends. I may not have come across them at all without Twitter; I certainly wouldn’t have been friends with them so easily if I hadn’t already “known” them online.
2. When I really want to know something that’s happening right now, Twitter is the best place to find out about it. I remember finding tweets from people in Korea when tricky North Korean incident wasn’t yet in the news; when a police helicopter circles my suburb I head to Twitter to find out why, and usually do.
3. The best advice comes from Twitter: a while back I asked for local recommendations for web designers for a client and got stacks of excellent info. Twitter users have also given me advice for dealing with a house accidentally emptied of chocolate.
4. I get to talk to and find out about writers I admire. I especially love reading good fiction by Australian women writers and I love the chance to interact with them on Twitter – people like Kylie Ladd, Allison Tait, Sara Foster and Natasha Lester.
5. There are fun and games. Like this:
   
6. It’s quick and easy fun. If I’m waiting for an appointment I can pull out my phone, open up Twitter and quickly read and tweet a little; it’s something I can then put away without feeling like it’s not finished.
7. People are funny on Twitter. Even I can be funny on Twitter. I can’t really explain it – something about writing such short updates, or something about how the culture of Twitter has grown over the years – but so many people are so funny.
8. Last but very definitely not least, I get work via Twitter. People contact me because the see the kind of work I do, and want me to do the same for them. Can’t complain about that!