Tweeting: a 4 week retrospective

A few weeks ago, I was with a group of Utah book bloggers, and they dared me to start tweeting. And since I'm easily swayed by peer pressure and have no spine of my own, I said, "OK!" Here are my initial thoughts:

• I've tweeted 23 times. That's not a tremendous amount, and I don't expect to become a superstar of Twitter. But that's all I want to do. I like to tweet when something occurs to me worth sharing, not get in the habit of doing it every few hours.
• I was shocked how quickly I had hundreds of followers. I don't have as many Twitter followers as I have daily blog readers, but it really spreads fast.
• I follow a couple dozen people and it's been interesting to see the different styles. I like the funny tweets best and the brief, informative flashes. I'm not interested in people's daily this-is-what-I'm-doing, and so I don't report that myself. I can see that some people might be interested, but, blah. Not my bag, baby.
• I can see how powerful Twitter can be. Instantaneous info broadcast and so easy to rebroadcast. Wow! You could form an army this way. I'm reminded of how Genghis Khan got information to spread throughout his horde. He would (this is true) form battle instructions into a song, using a tune everyone knew. His commanders would go ride alongside their men and sing the song until everyone learned it, then the horde would sing it over and over on the way to battle, and that way no one would forget. Imagine Twinkle Twinkle: "When we get to China town, do not dismount on the ground. Ride about and shoot your bow, till we've speared each last mean foe..." Hm, probably something a bit catchier... But anyway, with Twitter, you could spread word even faster! The Khan would be pleased.
• I was suspicious of Twitter initially because I'm allergic to contention and didn't want to involve myself in a mudslinging arena. It turns out, it's a really positive place. I don't think I've read a single negative tweet. People want to share funny and cool stuff and praise others for their content and achievements. Nice!
• I read through the tweets maybe once every other day at this point, and it takes me about five minutes, usually when I'm sitting waiting for something anyway. The time commitment hasn't been a burden.

So, all's well. I'm haleshannon because the reverse was taken, I didn't want to mess with hyphens, and I like how it sounds like a command. I'm willing to ride this Twitter beast awhile longer and see what places we can go together. I always like smart, positive communities, and so far, Twitter has been impressive.