Friday, February 8, 2013

On Twitter: An Open Letter to Non-Tweeters

Dear Non-Tweeter,

First of all, I'm not a "twit". And yes, I've heard that about a hundred times since I joined Twitter 4 years ago.
So, thank you.
That horse is dead.
Please stop beating it.

But before you fill me in on why you would never Tweet and how Twitter is so inane, I'd like you to give me two minutes to explain why you are also a Tweep.
Yes, you.
You who have never logged onto Twitter but prefer to stand way over on the other side of cyberspace and judge us Tweeps.
You who claim to have better things to do with your time than come up with random musings and care about those of others.

I ask: do you?

If you have ever said aloud to anyone within earshot any of the following:
  • You have to see/watch this!
  • Ugh, I need a coffee...
  • Man am I hungry...
  • Have you ever tried (store, restaurant, band, movie) before?
  • I got a great deal on these jeans...
...or muttered any other random thing in the presence of other people, sometimes solicited, sometimes sanctioned, sometimes out of context, sometimes relevant, sometimes willfully, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes ignored, sometimes responded to, sometimes acted upon...

You, my friend, have Tweeted.
The only difference is that I wrote it down.

I wrote it down and I shared it with ~4000 people. And they did the same back to me. And among all of those musings and random things we said to each other, we also:
  • exchanged articles and videos that entertained and informed us
  • asked each other questions
  • gave each other advice
  • connected and reconnected 
  • arranged to meet in person
  • shared parts of our lives
  • interviewed or collaborated on new projects
  • exchanged ideas
  • debated
All the same things you have done in person, on the phone and maybe even in letters with your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, maybe even the person at the coffee shop who serves you your morning cup.

The only difference is that I wrote it down.

So the next time you open your mouth to declare that it's cold or that you read something interesting or that you ate such a great meal last night or that I need to try a new wine, please go ahead.
I want to hear all of it.
I want you to share in the same way that I share and am shared with by my Twitter friends.
Tell me your stories and I'll tell you mine.
Online or offline, it's all the same.
The only difference between us is that you said it out loud and I wrote it down.

-spydey

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post! Perphaps proof that the message is more important then the medium?

Annie said...

Yes, absolutely!

Also when people ask how I fit it into my day, I ask how they fit saying hello to a colleague into their day. Or how they manage to find time to ask someone how their weekend was or whether they saw the big game last night.

I wasted much more time being a cubicle dweller who could be dropped in at any time by colleagues who did not know how to be brief than I do checking twitter on my schedule, when I have a momentary pause in my work or my train of thought.

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch! said...

permission to thieve post contents on occasion?

will reward you with Klout points.

apmichel said...

Yeah and what about those phony-phoners telly-ing away on their telly-phones, talking into plastic telly-phony handsets instead of penning letters! What is the world coming to! ;)

Hilary Little said...

Nice one, Tanya. I do disagree with your opening line, though. I'm a total twit.

Have a great weekend!

Sarah said...

Love this, Tanya! Such great points! I'd even call this a Tweeter's Manifest!

Canadian Dad said...

I find it funny sometimes when my buddies make fun of me for going to things like "tweet-ups" and social media conferences. If they only knew that I like a lot of the people I meet online more than I like any of them, lol.

I love my Twitter and I won;t be trading it in anytime soon!

Diane D said...

Great post, thanks!