Day5
Since Twitter entered my world, I’ve lost the ability to
prioritise. It is dominating my thoughts. Now I have found my voice – nice, not
bitchy, observational – I feel obliged to use it. Bit it’s so difficult! Why
such a small thing as 140 characters posted online should be so hard, I cannot
explain. My followers are growing, little by little. I still know most of them,
though, so I’m not on the verge of ‘trending’ any day soon. I contemplate
becoming a fantasists and tweeting exciting things about my life that I’ve
invented: “Just eaten three pounds of Cheddar, will I die?” but I haven’t the
energy. I take the weekend off. Apparently Twitter slows at the weekend, so I
tell myself I’m not missing all the fun. And I feel like I’ve hardly seen
my children .
Apparently Twitter
slows at the weekend, so I tell myself I’m not missing all the fun. And I feel
like I’ve hardly seen my children
Day 6
James Cameron, the director of Titanic, is tweeting
from the deepest part of the sea where he is in a submarine, while the TV drama
version of Titanic is on our Sunday-night screens, and the film version
is about to launch in 3D. India Knight, the author and journalist, is tweeting
nonstop about it. India is Twitter head girl, I’ve decide. I watch the cluster
of women who try to engage her in a virtual conversation. Everyone on there
wants to be her friend, whether she’s talking about giant octopuses or tights.
On celebritytweet.com, it says how many times famous tweeters tweet each day
and gives them a score. It also has a category called ‘Change of friendship’.
For some celebrities, it says ‘Dream on’. India should be on it. She is Miss
Popular in the Twitter playground. I want her to follow me so badly.
James Cameron, the
director of Titanic
Day 7
India is not on Twitter yet this morning. I summon up all my
courage and tweet her to ask (I think wittily) about her whereabouts. Will the
door to friendship crack open? I even call her the Queen of Twitter, to try and
oil the hinges… But there is only silence. Perhaps it was too sycophantic.
Twitter is turning into a problem. Not only is it making me
feel like the most unpopular girl at school, it’s also stopping me from getting
on with phoning the builder, pitching a story ta a magazine, buying eggs,
getting thin – and all those other important real-life things. I’m clearly not
up to the hustle around India Knight, nor am I in a submarine seven miles below
the ocean, where tweeting makes total sense. My career doesn’t rely on my
having a ‘public presence’ and sharing my thoughts several times a day. And no
one appears to want to talk to me. I only dipped my toe into Twitter for a
week, assuming I would dive in and submerge myself in it. But I’ve changed my
mind. I’ve decided I’d rather stay warm on the riverbank and watch the flow go
by. And, anyway, I must dash because I’m having a pedicure, which I’m confident
is of no interest to anyone else but me..
The two faces of
Twitter: the writer India Knight is a constant presence in the Twittersphere
and has more than 60,000 followers. Jo, on the other hand, has given up after
18 tweets
Twitter is turning into a problem. Not only is it making me
feel like the most unpopular girl at school, it’s also stopping me from getting
on with phoning the builder, pitching a story ta a magazine, buying eggs,
getting thin – and all those other important real-life things. I’m clearly not
up to the hustle around India Knight, nor am I in a submarine seven miles below
the ocean, where tweeting makes total sense. My career doesn’t rely on my
having a ‘public presence’ and sharing my thoughts several times a day. And no
one appears to want to talk to me. I only dipped my toe into Twitter for a
week, assuming I would dive in and submerge myself in it. But I’ve changed my
mind. I’ve decided I’d rather stay warm on the riverbank and watch the flow go
by. And, anyway, I must dash because I’m having a pedicure, which I’m confident
is of no interest to anyone else but me.
The novice’s guide to twitter
Twitter launched in2006 and now has more than 140 million
users across the globe. It’s fast becoming the number one way to make
connections, publicise things, keep up with the news – even just to vent or
share what you are having for lunch. It’s free and it’s fun, so isn’t time you
joined? Here’s a breakdown of Twitter terminology to get you started.
Your timeline is
your personalised Twitter home page, with the latest tweets from everyone you
follow – try to follow at least 100 people to keep your timeline active.
Your timeline is your personalised Twitter home page, with
the latest tweets from everyone you follow – try to follow at least 100 people
to keep your timeline active.
A hashtag (#) is a clever way of tagging subject or names so
they can be streamed by subject. It’s also a device to indicate a sarcastic or
witty footnote to your tweet.
Follow Friday (#ff) – Twitter convention has decreed that
the last day of the working week is the time to recommend your favourite
tweeters to your followers.
Retweet (RT) is when you repeat someone else’s tweet – a way
of forwarding someone else’s message onto your own followers.
