I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say that I have only been on Twitter (@zomigi) for two days. That’s right: two days.
I’m not an early adopter of technology unless it is really going to make my life easier or happier. I’m also not one to give up on something old, if it’s working for me, just because there is something newer and trendier out there. And, I’m not a fan of clutter—virtual kinds as well as physical. I have ADD tendencies, so I have to be careful to not overwhelm myself with too much “stuff.”
I started hearing about Twitter in 2007. At the time, I didn’t see any need to be on there. There weren’t that many people on there that I would have wanted to keep up with. I didn’t and don’t have the time to get caught up in people’s personal, day-to-day lives—just give me my practical articles and tutorials and I’ll be on my way. Blogs could do this for me (and still can), and they kept me plenty busy/overwhelmed as it was. Also, I was working as an in-house designer, so I didn’t need to be marketing myself very heavily either. (Plus, Twitter wasn’t this totally essential marketing tool back then.)
Now, 2008 would have been a good time for me to get on Twitter and network, since I was working on Flexible Web Design and needed to get my name out there more. But, 2008 was seriously the busiest year of my life. I was working a full-time job, writing a book, renovating my kitchen, setting up a nursery, moving/re-setting up my home office, preparing to become a first-time mom, and being pregnant and tired. Twitter would not have helped me accomplish any of these important tasks I had going on last year. So I didn’t do it. It’s as simple as that.
Now that the book is done and I’m working freelance, I have more time for Twitter as well as more need to use it. I’m going to keep my tweets mainly focused on professional things, stuff related to design, as a supplement to this blog. So I hope you’ll follow me. And I hope you’ll forgive me for taking so long to jump on the bandwagon. 🙂
I take it you haven’t had the child, yet — otherwise, I’m sure the phrase “have the time” wouldn’t come up in normal conversation.
Anyway, I had a fun couple of days when I first started using Twitter (getting a desktop client is the only good way to do it). I really had to get used to it sitting there, grabbing my attention. Now, about two months later, I’ll completely ignore it unless I’m not doing anything at that particular moment. And that’s really how it should be used. Don’t bother yourself with reading every single tweet that comes through. (You’ll see what I mean once you’re following a hundred or two people.)
Michael, I have had the baby — that’s how busy 2008 was for me. I actually have a kid but am less busy now. Crazy.
Yes, I am going to have to treat it like email — not open all day, only allowed to check it at specified times.