Twitter is So Cool! Here’s Why!

Posted by TheZimp on Feb 12, 2009 in Blog | 1 comment

WAIT! Don’t go! I know there’s a MYRIAD of blog posts about there on why Twitter is seemingly the Internet equivalent of the 2nd coming of Christ but, please, listen to my humble opinion on why I think Twitter is so cool.

According to my tweets, I joined Twitter about a year ago on January 28th. Apparently I was animating a bear.

Animating a bear.2:33 PM Jan 28th, 2008 from web

See! There it is. My first tweet. Isn’t it cute? If you’re wondering about the bear, he’s fine.

Apparently, I didn’t get twitter at first (like so many people) because a whole year had almost elapsed until I posted my 2nd tweet.

uploading my videos to youtubes! yays!8:53 PM Sep 17th, 2008 from web

Apparently I was uploading a video. I’m not even sure how many followers I had back then. All I have to say is that I’m glad I gave Twitter a 2nd shot because it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Now I know I’m making it look like this social network is the holy grail but, in a way, it’s exactly what you want it to be. Your perception of Twitter is exactly what you’ll derive from Twitter. See it as a waste of time and, voila!, Twitter is a waste of time. See it as a classroom and Twitter is a classroom. Whatever you believe Twitter is, you’re right. That’s what I think a lot of people fail to realize.

What have I experienced from Twitter that prompted me to write this blog post? Well, in a way, I used Twitter to rediscover myself. Through following people and engaging them in conversation, I found the best way to get the most out of twitter is to be authentic. Be your true genuine self. I asked myself, “what can I offer these Tweeps (twitter people) that is authentically me?” Through this I found my answer. I had always loved drawing but hadn’t picked up a pencil (or wacom tablet pen) in a long time. Especially not to draw something for myself. That’s when the TWITDrawing was born. I decided I would draw humourous pictures for my Twitter followers. Then, almost daily, I was drawing a new TWITDrawing for a different follower. The response was overwhelming but, most importantly, I was having fun. I had rediscovered my love for drawing and felt I could share them with the 6 million people who use Twitter. From that set of actions, I developped lasting relationships on Twitter. I met people with the same like mindedness as me. People who like the same movies, tv shows, music. People who laugh at the same stuff I do and people who are inspired by the same stuff I’m inspired by. With all these awesome people I’ve been meeting on Twitter I got more and more inspired to actually put into action some ideas I had on the backburner for the longest time. I was motivated. I wanted to create and make art and share it with everyone. This is what I got out of Twitter.

I saw Twitter as a place to share my art and I did just that. However, this wasn’t incessant self-promotion or anything like that. I always remained authentic first. Besides, I draw FOR my Twitter friends, not AT them. Through this experience, I’ve met a load of awesome people. Some people even more awesome than me (weird, I know!).

Now I’m consistently drawing and making videos with the possibility of even collaborating on some projects with some of my Twitter friends. I don’t see this possibility available anywhere. Twitter has connected me to the resources and people that can help me accomplish stuff I’ve always wanted to accomplish. So, if you’re on Twitter (but not finding it useful) or thinking about joining Twitter, remember to be authentic. Don’t try to take from Twitter but add to Twitter, the rest will work itself out.

Finally, where else can you get someone to write your nickname in the sand on a sunny beach in California?

Anything that brings me closer to California is a winner in my books!

Thank you Sarah for that awesome photograph! Follow Sarah on Twitter.

And if you’d like to win a TWITdrawing or engage in some sort of conversation with me, simply follow me on Twitter!

Also, check out the famous TWITdrawings.