New to Twitter? Can’t understand the attraction? This video should make things clearer.
One of the emerging trends of 2009 is the rise and rise of Twitter, with analysts predicting this is the year it will go mainstream the way Facebook did a couple of years ago. Doubtless the tipping point was when Twitter was featured in our Top 10 Social Networks for Creative People. 🙂
But what are the implications for creativity? Is using Twitter likely to have a positive or negative impact on your creative work?
No self-respecting post about Twitter would be complete without a sprinkling of tweets from the author’s Twitter followers, so here are some of the responses I received yesterday when I asked ‘Is using Twitter good or bad for your creativity?’:
anything that lets a thought out of my mind is good. @Jagdeep_Kaur
Twitter challenges my creativity to be compelling, provocative or enigmatic in only 140 characters. @Graphicgranola
Dunno, Mark. But I can now say most anything in 140 characters or fewer. Is that good? @jqgill
good for creative research across the web, bad for offline productivity. Creativity is many things. @bridgetmck
great for inspiration, research, sharing but addictive – i’m inspired to do more & be more. 140 characters focuses the mind @hannahknowles
To judge from this sample, there are pros and cons for creative people using Twitter:
Positives
Bridget and Hannah describe Twitter as great for research and inspiration — presumably because of the Medici Effect of all the criss-crossing connections between users sharing conversations, questions and links.
Jagdeep suggests that Twitter is great for spontaneous self-expression.
Graphicgranola, jqgill and Hannah identify the 140 character limit as a creative challenge, a great example of thinking inside the box.
Negatives
Bridget says Twitter is bad for productivity and Hannah says it is addictive — implying that Twitter can suck time out of your day that could be spent more productively (and creatively) elsewhere.
If that hasn’t put you off 🙂 you can get bite-sized Lateral Action on Twitter from Brian and me!
EDIT: Check out Chuck Frey’s list of innnovation Twitter users.
How Does Twitter Affect YOUR Creativity?
Twitter users:
Do you think Twitter has a positive or negative impact on your creativity?
Can you add to the list of positives and negatives?
Do you have any tips on using Twitter creatively and/or avoiding the pitfalls?
Non-Twitter users:
Do you think you’re missing out on creative inspiration or better off steering clear of Twitter?
About the Author: Mark McGuinness is a poet and creative coach.
View Comments (22)
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1 2 3 Next »Creativity comes from within, when we are inspired by words it's because that inspiration was building up within us. Things that appear 'outside' to be creative wouldn't look creative to a person who doesn't hold a of light of creativity.
Of course there are pros and cons to everything, but it's in the contrast that we discover more about ourselves, so even the cons are pros.
I use Twitter for everything from pieces of wisdom I have, quotes, important updates with this site, articles I stumble upon that are helpful, changes going on in my personal life, and small chit-chat with people that follow my updates. Mostly it's used to add extra value to my readers, but I have found little gold nuggets of creativity within it with the help of others on twitter.
Nothing is good or bad 'in and of' itself, it's how you perceive it that gives it meaning and you have 100% control on how you choose to perceive something. Knowing this, you can see where peoples perspective is by how they comment to your question. It says a lot more about the individual than Twitter itself.
Nice post, very thought-provoking :)
I think it's a plus, for the influx of new ideas and oddball references, *if* you can make sure you're reserving daily solid non-twitter blocks of time to do real work.
No doubt in my case it's been positive. There's a huge collective consciousness to pool from and in many instances it's opened my eyes to new ideas.
I'm in the positive effect camp. Twitter has opened up a whole network of people to bounce ideas off of and have interesting conversations with (which tend to spark ideas). I agree it can be a time suck, but then what on the internet isn't? Twitter FTW!
My Twitter experience after 3 weeks:
Pros:
Instant, worldwide networking with other people with my interests. I don't even have to get them to talk to me (or even tell them I exist) They are already talking... I just listen.
Massive upswing in learning and inspiration. Constantly viewing great works of NEW art (sometimes minute by minute) that other people are talking about, instantly connecting to tutorials and articles I wasn't aware of, and learning new things I didn't even know I didn't know have made the last three weeks like a free college course.
Con:
Massive drain on productivity. I have to turn it off whenever I really need to get something done. Yesterday I needed to write a bio for my boss before a meeting he was going to, and 45 minutes of web surfing later, he came back and found I had completely forgotten about it after one twitter check-in.
When talking to people in "real life" now, I feel like I'm slowing down. They haven't heard the latest news, concepts, and ideas that were fed to me by my Twitter feed.
Sometimes I feel like I am learning so fast, that I am forgetting just as quickly! There is no time to implement!
I follow mainly creative people at Twitter, including writers, broadcasters and presenters. I follow some very successful bloggers and communicators. I value those tweets that are entertaining, and keep me informed. I'm not a frequent tweeter myself. I need to concentrate on my writing for much of the time, so I just drop in an occasional update.
I recently asked @Jack Dorsey
"Did you have a conscious realization one day: ' that constraint impregnates creativity to breed more meant words'?
Which answered simply "Yes :) "
And I agree.
Not that I always practice it, but Twitter has made me
stop and ponder my message many times over the past
30 months.
While that may seem to be simply editing for brevity,
it has actually forced less lazy language.
And I have observed the same in people I follow.
They learn to cut multi-tweets down to one,
or more clearly relate what they mean, while being more succinct, with the use of more accurate terms.
I like the variety of ideas I come in contact with on Twitter - I try to follow thought leaders for that very reason. It's also a great place to ask questions and get feedback on ideas I'm kicking around!
Conversely, although Twitter confines me to 140 characters it has helped free up my writing style enormously. As a long-time writer I had developed a fairly formal style, but the deluge of word 'bites' and the easy, conversational tone of the social web has now influenced the way I approach new copy. Twitter demands lucidity and promotes collaboration between writer and reader. This is exactly what we want.
Twitter without a doubt screws with my productivity. But their is a sublime sense I get when I can communicate something in 140 characters or less. I like the challenge. And the art. Beautiful tweets are ingratiating. It's like metered rhyme. Notice poetry went to the pot when people started using free verse. [Not all of it, of course.] But to force yourself to say something in a form always builds your writing skills. So, in a nutshell, Twitter in calculated and confined doses is good for creativity. Thanks for the great post.