When the people I know find out I Twitter, I get one of four responses, framed by two question marks, a period, and an exclamation point.
1. “What’s Twitter?”
2. “Whatever for?”
3. “You can’t be serious.”
4. “Look at you, on the leading edge of technology!”
What’s Twitter? An online social media tool. A mouthful, I know. Suffice it to say that in its early days, the internet was all about access to information. Not today. Today the internet is about access to people for mutual sharing of information. That distinction is crucial. Twitter is text-messaging on steroids, but more than that. For a fantastic explanation, watch this:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&hl=en&fs=1]
I live in Calgary, Alberta—by all counts a growing, entrepreneurial city with lots of money to throw around. And I think maybe 5 people I know use Twitter. And so rarely that it doesn’t even really count. So why do I do it?
I blame Andy Merrick. Andy led a great night owl workshop at the Mount Hermon writer’s conference this past Spring. He convinced me it was something I had to do. Rolling my eyes at myself, I dove right in—and I haven’t regretted it. Here’s why:
1. It’s been a phenomenal source of interesting quotes that I can use in my sermons. People find the neatest quotations and post them for all to read. Or people say quirky or memorable things. It’s a treasure trove! A sample from this week:
“There is nothing more soul destroying than respectable selfishness” — Stan Almendro
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”— Plato
2. It’s increased my blog traffic significantly. I blog to impact lives, so the more the merrier.
3. I love interacting with new and unique people. So many awesome believers out there with a heart for God!
4. It’s helped me market my book by connecting me with bloggers willing to do reviews for me. So far about 15 people have done it and I’m overwhelmed at the responses.
5. It takes very little time to keep up. Maybe twenty minutes or half an hour a day, max.
6. Facebook=Find my friends from my past life. Twitter=meet the world in this life. It’s building a wider kingdom mentality in me.
7. It’s another opportunity to encourage people in their spiritual journey. Every day I try to bless a few people out of the blue.
Now, I’m not saying everyone should do this. Not at all. I’d even say that a narcissistic teenager could lose their soul to this thing and get addicted in a big hurry. But I tweet, and I’m proud of it.
Peace.