Twitip

Well, TwiTip readers… I’ve got one heckuva treat for you! Crystal N. Woods, from
Conscious Evolution, Success and Self Esteem has SO kindly taken the time to write a series of posts for TwiTip for beginners, that I’m honored to share with you over the next week or so. Take it not only as a series for Twitter newbies though… it’s something we should all read as a reminder of Twitiquette! (Follow Crystal @CrystalsQuest)

Lessons from the Evolution of Blogging Part 1: Journaling

Twitter is called “micro-blogging” because, even though it’s limited to only 140 characters, it’s evolved out of, and is still similar to, blogging.  That’s great, because while Twitter may be new, blogging has developed over time, transforming from early personal journals to where they are now, and every stage has grown it a bit closer to an art form, until it’s now recognised as a fully-fledged profession.

There’s a great post on the early history of web-logs (blogs) by Rebecca Blood here, but it stops around 2000 – just about when blogs started taking off.  This series is going to look at how blogging has developed since then, and show you the lessons to be learnt from each stage it went through – so you can apply these to develop your twitter micro-blogging skills, and avoid the critical newbie mistakes that cost you time and followers.

Back when blogging first went mainstream, blogs were mostly considered a form of online diary.  Bloggers shared the details of their days, so friends and family could catch up with them without actually needing to connect by writing letters, emails or making phone calls.  The internet let these early bloggers create a broadcast of all their exploits that all their friends could read, without having to get in touch with all of them individually and (heaven forbid) spend time offline.  Yes, most early bloggers – myself included – were geeks.

Some blogs died out as their writers lost interest – much like journaling, but others grew as their writing skills expanded to fit this new medium.  The most successful bloggers of this genre were the ones that had the ability to share of themselves, but put it across as a form of storytelling.  Consider the writing of a novel – huge sections of the character’s days and lives are skipped, in favour of condensing the story down to significant points, but with enough detail to keep the reader engaged.

When most of us start using twitter, we use it the same way – as a personal journal.  We struggle to develop the skill to get our thoughts across in only a sentence or two.  It’s only natural to connect the small size of the post with the small details of our lives, and to post as frequently as we think of it.

As you grow in skill, though, you should be working to develop this storyteller’s art.  Narrow your plotline down and edit out anything that would mean your reader could put the book down.  When the novel of your personal life is written, you want it to be full of riveting moments, crucial turning points and momentous decisions or events.

Would your twitter-stream read this way?

Here’s an exercise for you: for the next few days, before you hit that ‘update’ button, take a moment to put on the editor’s hat.  Should this tweet make it into your personal story; can it be given a ‘twist’ to make it more interesting; is there a way to tighten it up further; or is it something better left unsaid?