A Day Without Twitter

May 14, 2008 · Comments

birds Yesterday, I took the day off from Twitter. I’ve been using it fairly solidly since the early days, and wanted to get a feel for what I was counting on Twitter to do for me. The results were interesting:

  • I count on Twitter for group answers. A LOT. For instance, I needed to know who from the social media scene was in Detroit. I ended up using LinkedIn, but I know that means I missed a bunch of folks.
  • I count on Twitter as a way to express quick, random thoughts, or to mention references to cultural items to which I know people will respond. (For instance, I like tweeting parts of song lyrics, because it’s fun when people pick the song up as a reply).
  • I use Twitter to promote other people. While I was dark, I got no less than 14 requests to promote fundraising causes, and 12 general promotion requests.
  • I use Twitter to promote myself, my blog, things I’m doing.

A day without Twitter didn’t give me more time to write. It gave me fewer distractions, but I don’t sit around and LABOR on Twitter when I write something. Often times, I can just jot something from my mobile in between meetings, or I pop the window open, reply to a few folks, and then go back to my work. Meaning, I don’t find Twitter to be a time suck to me.

I’m wondering if I should try my “a day without” on other services, like email, or my BlackBerry.

Have you tried things like this? What would you lose if you didn’t have Twitter?

Photo Credit, Zed.Cat

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  • I am not sure what I would lose, as I am still learning about what I am gaining. I suspect that I am gaining blog subscribers, and I know that I am gaining collaborators.

    I take big chunks of time off of Twitter while I am handling the day job for BigCorp, but when I am at the computer, cranking widgets, Twitter is a help, not a hindrance.
  • Chris:

    Like you, I don't feel Twitter is a time sucker for me - so far. I had been reluctant to sign up because of that potential but I've kept potential distractions to a minimum.

    It's still too early to tell what Twitter can do for me but thanks to fellow Twitterers like yourself and others, I've begun to see the light (i.e. traffic) directed to an article or two. That's encouraging as well as interesting to watch. It's a different animal compared to say, StumbleUpon. Very different.

    Like you, I check in occasionally throughout the day, esp if I have an idea I want to share and then I go back to what I was doing before.

    Great article. Good tips/ideas. Thanks for sharing. You're new favorite blogger. :)
  • My favorite things about Twitter are sharing and discovery. I can't always Tweet every day, but it is fast becoming a habit. It has been a great way to get quick feedback casually from book editors, swap tips with other techies, and get to know others better. I've discovered a lot of new blogs, widgets, and people because of Twitter. I'm working on implementing a corporate twitter account for the company I work for. They see it as a way to generate leads and search engine ranks, I see it as a way to reveal the human side of our company.
  • I recently started turning my computer off at 7 PM, and devoting the rest of the evening to non-computer activities. I don't turn it back on until the next morning when I wake up, and I've found that I'm more productive in everything I do as a result - on *and* off the computer. For example: I've been intending to put together an essay that involves quite a bit of actual book (remember, those things made of paper) research, and just couldn't talk myself into walking away from the computer while it was on. I'm finally making progress on the essay, after almost a year.
  • Well, let me be the first to say that you were missed on Twitter! I don't find it to be a time suck for me either, primarily because I follow smart, interesting people. Also, I try not to Tweet anything that would be boring or annoying to those who follow me, which keeps my own Tweets down to a reasonable number. I think those two things are the key to having it be a positive addition as opposed to a hindrance to productivity.

    I've tried taking a day off from email and I find it only leaves me feeling grouchy and behind the next day as I'm trying to plow through hundreds of emails. The secret to email seems to be staying on top of it before it grows into an uncontrollable beast.
  • zoe
    okay, i agree. a day without twitter can be...well..trying.

    but you must have learned something! i mean, there was a time before twitter where you got along just fine. While twitter is a great and useful tool, not using it for a day is like not using your car for a day. it's not ONLY an inconvenience. some good could come out of it.

    what I'm trying to say is that from your tweet you said you wanted to learn something. so...stop focusing on what you missed out on and tell us what you learned :)

    z
  • Ted McEnroe
    Nice post! It's good to step back and see what you use any tool for, but this is interesting because I bet there are surprising differences in how we all use Twitter.

    It's easier to live without than e-mail for me anyway, because:

    a) it's still a tool used by the more nimble among us. I'm betting that anyone on this list could easily find you by avenues other than Twitter, but not everyone who e-mails you, like those bosses at BigCorp mentioned above, would know how to communicate you without e-mail.

    b) for me as a comparatively newer user, anyway, while Twitter is valuable, it's not quite in my mental muscle memory in the same way. If I close twhirl so I can focus for a little bit or need the screen space, I still have to actively think to reopen it, even though it's something I use all the time.

    Those two things will change over time, though.

    c) maybe we have all lived through enough Twitter outages to handle a day away better. :-)
  • Not been on twitter long and only a few of us in South Africa.

    Finding it really great - really only follow business. and it doesnt take much time at all versus the value.
  • Man, I went so mad on email a couple of years ago that I gave my laptop away. I tried it for a few weeks, and replaced it with a Palm which meant I could only send about 3 emails a day without getting cramp. I have also gone for long periods without a cellphone, without missing it at all. While I rely on email for business and so on, my fiction writing is all done longhand so that I don't get the internet services distracting me. Horses for courses - there is no point writing a blog on paper first, but writing novels in ink is how the Victorians intended and it works for me!
  • I wondered where you were yesterday!

    Coincidentally, the day you went awol from twitterland happened to be the day that I tweeted how great I thought your newsletter was :) It was a great read — thanks.

    I used to find twitter more of a distraction until I decided I could—to use your metaphor—dip in and out of the stream and not worry about what I might've missed. It's not meant to be mission critical. It's down and dirty; that's what I've come to dig about it.
  • When I first got Twitter I thought it was cool, but then I noticed it was messing up my efficiency at work. Now I set Twitterific to update once an hour and I find that's a great interval for me. When I'm at home, I usually set it for 15 or 30 minutes. Of course, when I really need complete concentration I turn off auto-refresh entirely and just refresh when I need a break.

    I think the point of all these technologies is to make sure that they improve your life. There's nothing wrong with turning off your cell phone, for example, although for many people it would be unthinkable. We always have the option to disconnect whenever we want. We just have to remind ourselves that we have that choice.
  • Chris,
    Great post.
    Really interesting to see how you managed to get around things you were used to doing with twitter.

    I agree with you about Twitter. I think it is a great tool, and not a waste of time at all. In fact, it is even a time saver in making finding information quicker, and interacting a lot easier.

    I think you should definately try a day without your blackberry and email. Have a technology-free day. What do you think?

    Cheers,
    Josh
  • Funny - I actually tried this last week to see what would happen. Although I did Tweet once or twice during the day from my phone (it's a hard habit to break!) I didn't go to the site at all.

    One of the things I noticed right away is that I felt "out of the loop". I went back on the next day and I felt like I had to play catch up, to get reintegrated to the conversation. Just shows how much information is flying around in there.

    I too, don't find Twitter to be labour intensive or a time-sucker. In fact it's a valuable resource to me now and if I really do need to bring my Twitterscope down to focus on something I do it. Chuck Smith above said it - we have the choice of whether we want to be connected or not.

    You are a braver person than me if you try the "no email or Blackberry for a day". I don't know if I have the strength for that :-)
  • Stales
    Chris - I'm a relative newcomer to the twitterverse. In the short period of time that I've been on twitter, I've used it to seek out other cancer survivors. To me, it's become an invaluable resource for connecting and sharing information.
  • I've gone without checking my email for a day. That was a logistical suicide mission. It took my half a week to dig out from under the giga-ton of messages in my Inbox.
  • TWitter has been a HUGE education for me. I have learned things very quickly and people will email you with answers almost immediately.

    I like Linked in but it is slow compared to Twitter. I have days when it seems like I am on all day and days when I might check it once or twice. When you are gone a long time it's like finding out what happened at a really good party that you had to leave early!


    Dr. Wright
    www.twitter.com/drwright1
  • I took a two day Twitter vacation last week. I missed a lot of the same things you did. The biggest being the quick and instant feedback to questions I might had.

    Like you I don't labor over what I Tweet. I pop open the window as a thought hits me, write it, post it and go on about my day. True stream of consciousness for me. I only have to think if I go over the 140.

    Take a weekend and leave everything off. You'd be amazed how good this feels. I keep my phone on for any true emergency, but don't check e-mail, twitter, or anything. Completely unplug. Trust me, it'll feel good and you won't miss as much as you might think you would.
  • I too find it easy to twitter, and does not distract me too much. I did, yesterday, keep twitter at a minimum, and it helped me focus. My favorite part about twitter is that I can do it from my cell phone. I'm out and about alot with my 7 year old, and it's fun to tweet what I'm doing with her.

    I do find email a HUGE distraction, and love the days were I do not turn on email at all.

    Twitter is helping me find solutions to problems I'm having. I got a great one from TechLady that I had been searching for for 8 months!

    Twitter is my favorite social media tool. Hands down!

    -Christina
    "The Shopping Cart Queen"
  • Chris,

    My two favorite things about Twitter are 1) outlet for quick thoughts, and it forces me to keep them to the point; 2) great networking for the tech/media/PR world I inhabit. Without 1 many of my ideas would probably not get out there -- often get too busy to blog -- and losing 1 would also slow 2, which is an important part of my job and personal interests.

    That said, having Twitter linked to my Facebook account has caused a little consternation among friends, but now that "is twittering" is gone I think it's all good. I also like that it links with Britekite, etc.

    Alex
  • I was forced to miss Twitter after that upgrade where tweets weren't showing up. Trapped in an annoying long meeting, I felt (as a newbie) that perhaps I was in the dark about a "movement" or something. I felt a bit lost and like I was shouting into space.

    Twitter doesn't have to be a time suck. I usually check updates to break up the day, it's a tie to the "real world" when traveling or in long training sessions.

    For me, it'd be easier to pass on email - it takes more time to process.
  • Hi Chris,

    I love twitter for its quick and easy access to information and opinions. I find it's as valuable as catching up on my Google Reader and when I miss a day I feel like I've missed out on some great news or links. Yesterday was also sad because a few people I follow, including yourself, were off for the day so it was a pretty quiet day in my twitterfeed... happy to see your tweets back.

    Ellie
  • I'm fairly new to twitter, but became quickly addicted. Found connections there that are more valuable than any Google search would have come up with.

    I use Twitter throughout the day as my little sanity break. Finish this big project, go tweet. Finish sorting all my email, go tweet. I agree with you in that it isn't as much of a distraction because it's so EASY to use. And it's energy efficient. It doesn't force me to think like responding to email does. It's more of an outlet where I can be myself and that's completely acceptable, whereas email requires more of a professional persona.

    I do take days off of email and those sorts of things (usually the weekends). But not from Twitter.
  • I have to say a day without RSS would be difficult (and would likely amp up my twittereading to feed my info-jones). But maybe it would have the effect of helping me to pare down the number of feeds I guzzle. I'll have to give it a shot ... but not today.
  • As soon as my followers got above 20 or so, I quickly learned that it's not life-threatening to miss a day or so of Twitter posts.
    Recently, we traveled with our high school music department to Disney (from Pennsylvania). As a staff member, I had my phone for emergencies, and I tried to Twitter here and there about our trip, but I practically ignored all incoming posts until I got back.
    It's possible!
  • One day a few years ago, I drove out of work and threw my two-way pager, my Palm Pilot, my cell phone, my *actual* Rolodex out the top of my convertible.

    I went one year without any of them.

    Today, we have a rule: no electronic devices between 6-8 p.m. in our house. That helps. :)
  • Zoe wanted to know what I learned without Twitter to the good:

    *I learned that our lives are a big pot, and that we keep that pot full no matter what we take out of it, which taught me the value of focusing on stuffing the pot with what matters most.

    *I learned that I like the people I've come to know through Twitter, and that I am glad that I've met lots of them in person.

    *I learned that it's not AS vital to have Twitter as, say, email or phone. Going without that would be rough, so I'm glad to say I value my other forms of connectivity a bit more.

    There. That's about all I have. It'd take a week to know more.
  • Monica aka RandomGirl
    Great post Chris. I personally feel I would lose some of my daily inspiration. I use it often as a think tank for ideas. More often than not as a ruler in regards to ... everybody has those days. i.e. when EV's laptop bag was caught in the door of his car - laptop demolished and missing along the express way...new cell phone strewn along side of road with missing reports and paperwork... Reading all of that I thought hmmm those days happen to all of us... I find it to be a balanced mix of social and analytical information.
  • Chris,
    I just got back from Thailand and Japan and I went 2 weeks without TV, Twitter, IM, email or my crackberry. It was AMAZING and I feel like a new person back at work today. Too often, as Americans, we take all that crap with us on vacation. After experiencing what I did that will never be the case again. Of course I had 952 emails as well..hehe.
  • I'm finding that Twitter is less a distraction for me than an excuse lately. I too jump in and out, and when really busy kind of ignore it a bit.

    As for other services - I've switched to an email monitoring model of processing my inbox twice a day. I do get email on my phone and will review the subjects to see what's important, but process the bulk morning and afternoon.
  • i often wonder, is there is a world just outside "the noise"?
    we are so engulfed in all the things we think we need that its hard to know what serves us and make use servants.
    we north americans sure like to work.
  • cyndi meador
    O.K. I'm convinced and just became a new "Twitter-er".
    We'll see what happens in all the chirping.
  • If you like song lyrics, my friend developed a twitter service that tells you what the song is based on the lyrics. message @findasong "lyrics of whatever song you want" (without the quotes) and findasong will tell you want song you're looking for. Still has a few bugs but I think it's a cool thing.
  • @david - guaranteed that theres life beyond the glass. : )
  • I tried a day without technology once, that was kind of interesting, like a sabbath. I may try that again. Twitter is something I don't use much as you, but I do use it more than 99% of my friends. My work is hands on, not online, so I do take time away from my core activity. I am still learning how to integrate a lot of these tools into my life in a more whole way, not as a distraction but as a compliment to my activities and my work.
  • Cynthia Coleman
    I've never used Twitter, I use My Blog Log frequently and some other sites. What am I missing? I think a tech free day once in a while is good.
  • I am hesitant to use Twitter, and am reading with interest the comments that have been made about it - good and bad. I find a day away from the computer gives me time to indulge in the other interests I have but actually find it hard to stay away. Knowing that has been insightful and actually has had me be more on purpose about time away from the machine. I like to collage when I am not writing.
  • I'm just back from 10 days in Argentina and I was sad not to be sharing my experience with my twiends. I second your emotions that I really do like the people I have met on twitter and too am happy that I have met a great number of them in person. Great post CB!
  • Sean Blake
    Great post Chris. I have only been using it for a bit but have definitely found it useful. I don't find it distracting (using twhirl) because I think my mind was already so used to being able to scan the pop ups quick for anything of interest or ignore when the time isn't there. I've mainly started using it to explore new blogs and it's easier to see breaking news instead of scanning Reader all the time.
  • Posting or responding on Twitter is not what takes up my time. It's following all the interesting links in everyone's tweets that sends me off on a tangent! But I wouldn't have found so many interesting people otherwise.

    Tracy
  • I’ve tried…yesterday because of last troubles on it. Twitter was off a part of the GMT day. Fortunately, we can find some others “instant” twit apps. I believe, that in life, to appreciate more things, we must sometimes go far from them, then get back in touch. I know how when virus is there, it’s hard but…you seem to find the tip.
    Kind Regards,
    L.
  • One day without twitter, email, blogging, ... altought it will be: less learning, less socialization, less interesting, could be use to learn, socialize and talk to closer people we have.
  • Came to your article via twitter. I am still a newbie considering twitter, but I like it because I am directed to a lot of interesting blog posts. At the moment this is the main advantage for me, but now and then I tweet about new articles in my blog, hoping to get additional traffic this way.
  • Well I have pseudonymous blogs and Facebook in my real name and am not sure I need Twitter. If I got Twitter I do not know whether I should get it in my real name or my pseudonym.
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