How Twitter has changed my life

Yesterday morning (Feb 13/08), I attended the Social Media Breakfast 5 (SMB5) where the focus of the event was set by a single statement: “How Twitter has changed my life — and can change yours”.

The event was hosted by Bryan Person and featured presentations by:

Scott Monty @scottmonty
Laura Fitton @pistachio
Doug Haslam @dough
Jim Storer @jstorer

You can view their presentations at:
http://topazpartners.blogspot.com/2008/02/social-media-breakfast-presentaions-how.html

Each speaker was allowed 5 minutes to present his/her story and experience, describing how twitter has changed their life and each presented some really great thoughts. It was very interesting to see how they each made twitter work for them.

In keeping with that theme, I figured I could write a quick post to share my experience with twitter, and how it has changed my life with more of a personal twist. Let me begin by sharing a little something about myself that you are probably not aware of. Simply put, I struggle with social anxiety. I do not do well in crowds or groups where I am unfamiliar with others or in a setting/environment that I am not familiar with.

Now back to the point:

Since I’ve started using twitter regularly, it was pretty obvious how useful and valuable it was. Twitter has provided a way to make connections with other people who shared similar interests and ideas. I also found twitter users that, even though I have not made a two-way connection, I choose to “follow” for the ideas and bits of info and knowledge they share – the ability to virtually “pick their brains”. For me, this is significant because in the “real” world, it is difficult for me to engage others whom I am not already familiar with. Unfortunately, this has given people the impression that I am anti-social, snobbish, and even intimidating (huh?) which couldn’t be further from the truth.


So, how has twitter changed my life?
Twitter has allowed me to make connections, have conversations and get to know people in a way that removes the anxiety. When an opportunity comes about to meet these people in a real world setting, I am more at ease and feel as if I already know them to some degree which helps to reduce the anxiety significantly. I still have a lot of work to do to manage anxiety, but twitter has given me a tool to ease the process and helps to break down the wall that my anxiety creates.

So there you have it.
Has twitter changed your life? Want to leave a comment?
I’d love to hear from you.

One Reply to “How Twitter has changed my life”

Comments are closed.