I was complaining to a friend of mine recently that due to falling visitor stats and fewer comments, I had reached the miserable conclusion that nobody reads my blog anymore.* My friend - who's quite the mad keen "tweeter" (not to mention digital radio enthusiast) - said "Ah, well! It's all about micro-blogging these days - it's all about Twitter!"
Now I've been on Twitter since November 2008. Like most regular users, I adore many aspects of it: I find the brevity of messages fun and challenging; I really dig the news gathering/distribution potential; and it's always enjoyable interacting with people.
But do you know what? I actually think it may be bad for me.
Recently, I've noticed I've been comparing my "tweets" to everybody else's. For someone whose sense of self-esteem resembles a badly-whisked souffle (capable of rising but prone to sudden and catastrophic collapse) - this has me a tad worried.
See, I've always been slightly obsessed with "popularity" and "coolness". I have never really been either of those things, despite my best efforts (hello, designated driver). It's one of those paradoxes of life - the more I CARE about being "popular" or "cool" - the more resolutely I fail at it.
Of course, on Twitter, everybody seems cooler than me.
They're listening to the latest music I have no idea about, they're going to high-falutin' restaurants and galleries, trendy nightspots and uber-urban-chic stores, they're getting about with their WiFis and their iPhones and their on-the-move Twit-Piccing, they know the cool websites and memes long before I've even figured out what a RickRoll actually is.
They're the Twitterati, and they seem to be more interesting, exciting and awesome than me in every way.
It's "Twealousy", sure. "Twenvy", if you will. Even, on some days, full-blown "Twanxiety".
Problem is, stressing about it is POINTLESS. I can't COPY these people, I can't even imitate them. I can't make people like me, or think I'm cool. I'm not Ashton Kutcher; I can't demand people follow me so I can feel popular. That way lies madness (all right, more madness).
I'd take a break from Twitter, but as I said earlier, there are facets of it I really enjoy, and it's a handy tool for work and promotion, if nothing else. So what to do, internet? What to do?
*If you are, in fact, reading this blog - thank you!
