Me & Twitter, celebrating over 2 wonderful years together!
I've been thinking a lot recently about how Twitter has finally permeated the mainstream. It came in waves... starting with the San Francisco tech community and moving through my own beloved social media friends. Chris Brogan was the first to send me an invite to the site, but at that time I was already so busy on social networking sites that I just wasn't interested in bothering with another one. After resisting for months, it was this chat with Clintus McGintus on February 17, 2007, at 11:26pm EST that finally convinced me to join:
me: my twitter life would be boring
Clintus: no way !!! are you kidding you are so ooooo interesting and funny your twitter life would be aweome
me: woke up did some editing went to fridge did more editing watched days of our lives did more editing answered fan mail did more editing went to bed very exciting
Clintus: haha yes but it would be put in a way that would be humorous I know it I mean just look at your flickr photos
me: perhaps thanks man
Clintus: you are amazing. and I truly believe that anything you do will have that amazing feel. I did always wonder why you and rudy or atleast one of you didnt twitter.
me: FINE! i'll do it
Since then, much has happened. SXSW 2007 made (but nearly broke) Twitter - must have been those Twitterdildonics - and Twitter has had pretty steady growth since then.
But it wasn't until the San Diego Comic Con last year that I noticed a whole new group joining the site. All my comic creator contacts finally moved from trashy MySpace profiles to Twitter. And now, with LeVarBurton and Ashton Kutcher paving the path, more and more Hollywood celebrities are signing up too. Fun.
The future of Twitter and online communities is bright, but it depends how these Hollywood n00bs (and you) decide to use it. My advice is to pay attention to what your followers are trying to tell you in their replies to you and block people saying nasty shit, reward random sweet followers with sweet/witty replies, and follow new and interesting people you grow to appreciate. Twitter is your garden, go plant the seeds and architect its' growth.