Dear Laryssa,
Why do people think that Twitter is so complicated? My friends are all like, “I don’t get Twitter”, but there’s nothing to get! I think it’s really simple. I think it’s so simple that people don’t get it because they are convinced it should be complicated.
Sincerely,
Alone on Twitter
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Dear Alone on Twitter,
Before I started using Twitter in 2008, I was also under the impression that “Twitter is hard”. For the most part, human beings like structure and direction. Twitter has neither of those things.
Twitter is complicated because it’s truly the least complicated social networking tool. I don’t really hear anyone my age complaining about the difficulty of Facebook, even though Facebook’s privacy settings are a headache waiting to happen.
Few things are more frightening than a blank page. How do you think painters feel when they step in front of a fresh canvas? How do you think a writer feels when she sits down in front of a blank piece of paper? Where do they begin? Who makes their rules?
Twitter presents a blank box that poses the questions “What’s happening?”. When someone, especially a stranger, asks, “How are you?”, do you ever answer truthfully?
Instead of saying, “Well, I sprained my ankle, I was rear-ended by someone without auto insurance, and my hard drive, which I haven’t backed up in over a year, died.”, you respond, “I’m great – how are you?”.
How much will you share on Twitter, where no one can look you in the eye? Where do the boundaries lie?
Here’s an analogy: for anyone worried that the water in the pool is just too cold, know that diving in headfirst will be less painful than submerging yourself bit by bit. Taking the plunge is much more satisfying than sitting on the deck chair, watching everyone else splash in the water. You can always come out of the water if your fingers get too wrinkly.
Don’t pee in the pool. Stay as long as it makes you happy.
Sincerely,
Laryssa
(Photo by _nickd)
