Why I'm thankful for twitter and who I follow.
There is no lack of information available today whether present or past, global or local, universal or personal.
What draws me to a format like twitter is that it enables me to place a filter on the incoming noise and only allow the bits to pass that are actually helpful. Being 140 characters or less, it forces people (in theory) to process and aim for clarity and portability, not vomit disjointed diatribes.
This is what makes it inherently different than facebook. It allows me to glean from the lives, minds and hearts of some great thinkers, not just give everyone a hand on the steering wheel of my mind because we had science class together 20 years ago.
I don't follow many people and it's not to be an elitist. I don't even follow many of my close friends. The last thing I need is another social network where I'm connected to the same people out of obligation. Think about it, do you only read news articles or tv shows that were created by your friends? Same logic applies to twitter. New medium = new approach.
It's my imperfect attempt at the increasingly difficult task of being a steward of my attention, focus, time and energy. I have a feeling you experience the same struggle.
Few possible reasons why I follow someone:
-They are helpful in a practical way.
-They are positive.
-They are funny.
-They are challenging.
With that, here are a few people I follow and why.
-@natalieiguchi - Do I really need to explain? :)
-@rockfordfirst - My church. I LOVE hearing the stories of life change!
-@BillHybels - He doesn't tweet often, but when he does, I'm challenged.
-@EntreLeadership - Great leadership ideas based on Christian priorities.
-@BioLogosOrg - Thoughtful approach to harmonizing faith and science.
-@danvalentine - I consider Dan a curator of positive tweets. He keeps a steady stream of encouraging tweets and retweets coming. Following him is like following the best of 50 others. :)
I'm not saying that everyone should use twitter this way. This is just the way I use it. Because of this, it's extremely beneficial to me and consumes little time.
How do you use twitter? Similar? Totally different?
I'd love to hear about it!