In praise of Twitter

I never really got Twitter. Up until six months ago, that is. It seemed like Facebook in hyperdrive, and I hardly ever post on Facebook, so why would I use Twitter? On Facebook I can just slip around finding out how everyone is, admiring their growing-up children and holiday snaps, so again - why Twitter? I joined to find out. Because you never really know if you don't try something. And even then, you have to give it time. For example, when I first tried wine (as a twelve-year-old on New Year's Eve, just a small sip) I thought it was disgusting. Now I feel differently. At first on Twitter there was not much going on. Well obviously - I was following maybe twenty people and about two people were following me. But slowly I began to follow more people - mostly writers, since none of my non-writer friends are on Twitter - and I began to interact a little. After reading an article I enjoyed in The Australian, I tweeted to the journalist, who responded with a comment. I re-tweeted tweets by other writers. I realised there is a whole writing community out there, linked by Twitter on a day-to-day basis. It's supportive. It's informative. And it's fun.*It's also a bit addictive, so I'm trying to be intentional in how I spend my time. But I'm happy to spend some of that time on Twitter, connecting with other writers and hearing about their news. Because writing is a lonely business - the actual bum-on-chair writing - and interaction with other writers who understand the whole hair-pulling joy .... it's a great tonic.If you feel so inclined, I might see you on Twitter :) @FionaRRobertson *This post is not funded by Twitter