Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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June 4, 2008

Why Write When You Can Twitter?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:23 am

Passion Hasn’t Left the Building

The Living Web

Every morning I fire up Twitter. Sometimes I participate. Sometimes I only listen in.

Few messages of importance can’t be delivered in 140 characters.

I’ve heard folks say that they have found Twitter so efficient, that they’ve lost their reason for writing. I thought I might suggest a few reasons to keep writing while we still Twitter.

  1. Writing helps us develop a natural, confident voice in text that communicates and is attuned to readers. My voice on Twitter is different than my voice when I write here. I like them both.

  2. Writing challenges us to organize our thoughts. We get practice at building a meaningful message that goes deeper. Big ideas and new thoughts need room and time to be explored.

  3. Writing gives readers a complete idea with facts and details to consider. A more complex conversation results. Fun and fast happens in 140 characters. Thoughtful takes more.

  4. Writing gives us practice at accessing our deeper thoughts and insights. We get familiar with how we most efficiently work with and filter ideas. We can choose a variety of genre to express a viewpoint.

  5. Writing teaches us not to be frivolous about the ideas we put in text. We take time to edit so that the message we send is the one that is received by a reasonable reader.

Some ideas can’t be explained or supported in a small character set. Twitter works for fast, efficient one liners. But writing about passion or problem solving will always need something longer. A quick conversation on Twitter cannot replace a written piece well-considered.

Twitter can inspire us, provide the research of a crowd, or be the seed of a piece we write. But we cannot tweet a big idea with justice, heart, and in a totally accurate fashion.

How do you use Twitter?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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25 Comments to “Why Write When You Can Twitter?”

  1. June 4th, 2008 at 8:26 am
    Tweeting Is Writing « Wir sprechen Online. said

    [...] Publishing, Twitter, Writing “Why Write When You Can Twitter?”, asks Liz Strauss; http://is.gd/qEs. - But isn’t tweeting extremely focused writing? [...]

  2. June 4th, 2008 at 9:33 am
    Joanna Young said

    Hi Liz

    I like Twitter, some days more than others (some days I’m not in the mood).

    I use it more for mellow conversation with global co-workers than to create content or explore big ideas… which is what I enjoy doing with writing.

    It does help with the writing task though: in warming up, getting your fingers tapping and words flowing, in times when you need a bit of harmless diversion while procrastinating, also to get feed feedback or ask questions

    Also a useful way to share links or talk about things that are slightly off-topic, helping to keep your blog more focused and decluttered.

    Joanna

    PS Also very good for global weather updates! It helps make people 3D for me when I hear about the weather they’re enjoying (or not, as the case may be)

  3. June 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am
    Joe said

    I hear you on twitter teaching users to communicate concisely. It’s a skill few have mastered. But I wonder what in a twitter world is lost? Are our lives just little bites of info, nothing more? And can one tell a story in twitter speak? No but maybe true storytelling is already a lost art.

  4. June 4th, 2008 at 9:49 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Joanna!
    A nice diversion. I use Twitter to show folks that I’m not so serious all of the time and to chat about things that don’t belong on my blog also.

    Twitter does make relationships with people get fuller. But if I had to choose one or the other I’d stick to a world of blogs. Glad I don’t have to choose.

  5. June 4th, 2008 at 9:50 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Joe!
    My hope is that twitter might teach us all how to edit down what we right more finely, just because we’ve had Twitter practice.

    I’m not giving up on the art of storytelling yet. I don’t want to live my life in bits and bytes of info snacks. I’m hungry for real drama and deep conversation.

  6. June 4th, 2008 at 10:08 am
    Patricia said

    We must be on the same wave length. Today, I blogged about the day when we will adopt a language of universal symbols to replace text. I actually like the shorthand of Twitter. But it’s still a learning curve to use it and it just enables more communication in shorter formats. Added together, you’re probably writing as much or more. When do we top out? When is it all just too much output and input?
    Patricia

  7. June 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
    Matthew Murphy said

    Liz, good point on not being able to delve deep into a topic via Twitter. I just began using TwitterMail.com so I can post via email. The neat thing is that I can write as much detail as I want. TwitterMail then posts the first 140 characters with a ‘read more’ link so they can read my full text. It’s a great way to link good writing to Twitter.

  8. June 4th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Matthew!
    I think that TwitterMail is a good thing. Though I would have to TwitterMail to continue the conversation.

    I think there’s so much we’re learning about talking through longer text. I hope we don’t lose it.

  9. June 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
    140 Characters - Think of What You Can Say (Write)! said

    [...] Over at Successful Blog, Liz makes this statement in a post about twitter: Few messages of importance can’t be delivered in 140 characters. [...]

  10. June 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
    Allison said

    Twitter can help with self expression by forcing you to use words wisely due to the 140 character limit. You tend to leave out unimportant words and speak more succinctly. But people do spread thoughts over two or three posts, so… maybe it’s not as helpful for some people!

    I use twitter to connect with people, despite how shallow that connection often is. I find Jaiku easier than Twitter for talking to people you don’t know (seems that twitter folk often don’t know you are talking to them if they aren’t following you). I’ve taken to using Twitter to talk to people interested in a particular topic- we all know each other and have a common interest to ground us. I use jaiku differently: I watch the stream of conversation and jump into the stream once in a while. Sometimes that results in a short exchange, sometimes my thought goes unacknowledged.

  11. June 4th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
    Ivana Taylor said

    One great thing with twitter is that it forces you to be efficient — especially if you’re using twitter as a marketing vehicle. But writing is different from “twittering.” To me it’s sort of like comparing a novel to a short story to a novella to a print ad.

  12. June 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
    Karen Swim said

    Hi Liz, I like Twitter for the conversation and the opportunity to have a little fun. I agree with you that it does not replace writing. I find that all writing activities strengthen that writing muscle. Twitter strengthens my ability to edit longer pieces more effectively. Poetry strengthens my rhythm and pacing. Business writing strengthens my ability to draw out core points without fluff and excess. Of course when Twitter is down it tests my patience and strengthens my commitment to yoga! :-)

  13. June 4th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
    Jannie Sue said

    I initially signed up for Twitter but have decided not to use it, just something else to get in the way of a simple life.

    If I feel like being very succinct, I do a 2 sentence blog that day. In fact, I think I’ll do one later tonight as I haven’t posted yet today.

    Thaks for sharing.

  14. June 5th, 2008 at 4:46 am
    Stephen Hopson said

    Like you, my voice is different there then on my blog - I agree.

    I’m still experimenting with it but I will tell you that it is an efficient tool for keeping in touch with people that you might not otherwise get to know. It’s also a good tool to get in touch with “hard to reach” people who Twitter often and actually respond (as opposed to sending them an email and never hear back).

    And to my surprise, being on Twitter has had some effect on traffic to my blog.

    So while I’m delighted with some of the benefits, I’m still evaluating it.

  15. June 5th, 2008 at 5:30 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Patricia,
    I wonder when we’ll give up typing characters altogether. Will that make a world in which the extrovert voices will have an advantage?

  16. June 5th, 2008 at 5:33 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hu Allison,
    The variations of microblogging all work in different and useful ways. I had a wonderful time talking on Plurk last night.

    My only wonder is whether we’re giving up deeper conversations for short bursts of insight. Maybe those two will evolve into something else that makes this not a worry at all. :)

  17. June 5th, 2008 at 5:34 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Ivana!
    I so agree. I love the idea of a twitpitch to sell an idea or a product. I also love thinking through an idea as I write.

  18. June 5th, 2008 at 5:37 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Karen,
    That’s what I’m hoping — that the Twitter experience will make us better editors and quicker thinkers in the process. What I don’t hope for is that folks leave their blogs to tweet.

  19. June 5th, 2008 at 5:40 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jannie Sue,
    I don’t mean to keep anyone off twitter. I see it’s value for passing on information and for getting to know folks in new ways. I just don’t want it be the only way we communicate our thoughts.

  20. June 5th, 2008 at 5:42 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Stephen,
    Yes Twitter has wonderful positive attributes that we can be enjoying. I think if we find the right balance, it will work for us without stealing our time or draining our writing energy.

  21. June 5th, 2008 at 10:06 am
    Patricia said

    Hi, Liz-
    What a good question. Will extroverts have an advantage in world that communicates more in symbols, less in laguage? Well, first I want to understand what prompted the question. Sounds like you have an insight wrapped in a question. But I got an email from a busy vlogger in Tampa who says she attended a presentation given by a Microsoft VP. All symbols, maybe a tiny smattering of text, most on the intro and closing slides. What does that tell us when the techno-elites, extrovert or introvert, are adopting symbology?
    Interesting times, these.
    Patricia

  22. June 5th, 2008 at 10:46 am
    Could a bot Twitter? « People like to share said

    [...] Why Write When You Can Twitter? [via Zemanta] Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)What Twitter is good forGoing Dark for a little whileMy Employer, Now on Twitter [...]

  23. June 21st, 2008 at 5:54 pm
    Isolde said

    Hi Liz,

    I am new to your site, but this post really struck a chord with me. For me, writing isn’t about being efficient per se, but exploring, challenging, and creating thoughts, feelings, and moments in ways that require more than just one line. It is true that sometimes one line can be more powerful than 1000 lines, but as a writer, the act of writing words out, one after another, with no sense of a need to be brief or efficient, is what makes it so worthwhile. We have an unlimited blank canvas to express ourselves in all of our shades and various hues. Most of the time life is too complex for one line, and as long as that is true I will keep on writing line after line ad nauseum.

    Thanks for the post,

    Isolde

  24. November 10th, 2008 at 9:53 am
    Twitter & Stupid Internet Marketing Gurus said

    [...] Why Write When You Can Twitter? The Beginners Guide To Twitter 10 Best Twitter Tools For Wordpress Blogs Why Twitter Sucks & Some People Shouldn’t Use It [...]

  25. August 12th, 2009 at 6:54 am
    Why We Write | The Life Uncommon said

    [...] see the rest of the Liz’s article, click here AKPC_IDS += “26,”;Popularity: unranked [?] Share and [...]

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