Twitter Addiction

When I'm not writing, reviewing, blogging, or obsessively checking web stats, it's likely because I'm on Twitter. I never, I mean NEVERthought I admit this, but here goes: My name is Lisa and I'm addicted to Twitter. More than two months after my first official tweet, I'm wondering how in the world this happened to me. The same person who once swore, "I'll never be a twit!" I've now learned that's 'tweeter', thank you very much, and that I am now part of the 'tweeple' in the 'twitterverse'. It's a bit much, I know, but tweeter is fine and definitely much better than the word a cousin of mine used. She's just as sarcastic but slightly less foul-mouthed than I am. Hint: it starts with a 'T' and rhymes with 'what'.

Now, I check Twitter many times a day, too often to count on my computer and phone. I don't need an intervention just yet. Of course not. What addict ever admits that? Still, it's hard to fathom that naturally shy, introverted me has gone this route. I'm not one for talking to random strangers or people I've never met - I try to avoid those kinds of situations at all costs. So, what happened to make me change my mind? Probably the same thing that happened when I decided to start blogging. I discovered a community of writers, many of them whom I admire. I wanted to talk with them and not just about writing. Those writers can be easily categorized into two groups: those who use Twitter to promote themselves and those who don't and have lives beyond writing. I've found something interesting about the latter half: they are the ones I'm most likely to engage and to cheer on if they ever announce something noteworthy about their books. It's great to connect with people whom I probably wouldn't dream of approaching, even if we only exchange 140 characters at a time. I think my Twitter addiction is here to stay.

Are you a Twitter addict too? Tweet me @lisajyarde. Happy tweeting.