Twitter, I Think I Love You

I joined Twitter kicking and screaming.

There was a time when I wanted no parts of the 140-character, nonstop stream of consciousness phenomenon that has taken over the internets. Mostly because I just didn’t get it. At the time, it didn’t make any sense.

I was just fine in Facebook Land where pieces of flair, Farmville and party promotion wall posts run rampant. By the way, I've never played Farmville, I hate flair and despise party promotion junk mail. Please stop sending me that crap. Kthx.

But in March of last year, on a whim, I buckled and joined Twitter - and it changed my life.

Last weekend, I attended the Blogging While Brown (BWB) Conference in Washington, DC. The yearly event gives bloggers of color a platform to ask/raise questions, network, and learn new ways to tighten up their blog game.

The conference included a trip to the White House Executive Office Building to interact with some heavy-hitters (Corey A. Ealons, Director of African-American Media and Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council.)

I even got the chance to take a picture with the president.

The point I’m trying to make:

Had I not been on Twitter following the right people at the right time, I would have never learned about this event or benefitted from the incredibly rich experience it provided.

I also got to “tweet-up” with some of my favorite people on Twitter.

I finally got to meet Luvvie, a laugh-out-loud funny, cute blogger from Chicago who has made raising HIV/Aids awareness in women her life work. I swear, when I hugged her at the convention center, it was like I’d known her for years.

I also met one of DC’s own, CaShawn, who is like the big sister I never had. We hung out, shared margaritas and some incredibly private aspects of our lives. We clicked instantly. She is Good People.

Then there was Karsh, the veteren blogger and techie from Atlanta whom I exchanged tweets with about our mother’s questionable marrying habits. It was great to put a real face to his animated avatar. Good energy.

Oh, and I can't forget Anjuan, whom I started following after he wrote a dope guest blogger post on Kirantina's travel blog called "A Black Man's Love Affair With Travel." I met him face-to-face at the security check point on our BWB field trip.

And these are just some of the people I met who I was already following prior to the conference. This doesn’t include the dozens of other bonds I formed while in DC that continue to live on in the social media microcosm that is Twitter.

Twitter even helped me get to know my fabulous editor, Kym, on a whole new level. Before finding her on Twitter, Kym was merely a really nice woman who sent emails, assigning me stories and deadlines. Now, because of Twitter, I know that we share a quirky, eyebrow raising obsession with the smurfs, enjoy chewing sugary gum and live for True Blood on Sunday nights. Love. Her.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter does have its drawbacks - the hood servers, the unnecessary I-Can-Tell-This-Subject-Was-Created-By-A-Black-Person trending topics, the folks that follow you, and never, ever tweet you back – among other things. But the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

And to all of you folks out there who say, “Ugh. I don’t like Twitter. I don’t want to know what people are doing every second of the day. That’s stupid.” I say this in return:

Facebook is for reconnecting with old friends. Twitter is for making connections with new ones.

And besides, most of you Twitter haters update your Facebook status every five minutes anyway. Hate to be the one to break this to you but you’re tweeting, homie and just don’t know it.

So, come on over to the dark side and join Twitter. And you can start by following some of the people I highlighted here. They'll make you laugh, think and broaden your horizons.

Now, if only I could get into this Foursquare thing...