Life after Twitter

Like so many others who are in the process of jettisoning Twitter, I too am beginning to consider my exit strategy and life without the ubiquitous bird.
 
It’s got something of the feeling of a pub at closing time at the moment - everyone doing their farewells and promising to stay in touch.
 
I suspect, like many things in life, we won’t truly appreciate it until it’s gone.
 
Then again, all good things must come to an end, and maybe this bird has flown?
 
If the truth be told, I’ve been increasingly underwhelmed by my Twitter experience in recent months (my increasingly sluggish android isn’t helping). But I still value the many daily interactions with friends and contacts forged over the last eight years.
 
I joined Twitter in December 2014 looking for a wider audience for my writing. It was a lot harder than I expected to build up a following, but joining a global community, centred around Italian cultural and footballing life, has been an unexpected pleasure.

I’m one of the fortunate ones who can say that the negative experiences I’ve had on Twitter have been negligible, far outweighed by the many, many positive interactions, not least welcoming so many friends and followers to Verona.
 
But like many of you I now spend far too much time scrolling. If Twitter’s current precarious plight allows us to reflect on how we might make better use of our time, then that’s no bad thing.
 
Personally, I’d love my reading to return to its pre-social media / pandemic / Smartphone levels, where it was a cherished daily experience.

I used to carry a book everywhere with me to fill in those moments waiting in line at the post-office or on the bus or at the park.

Now I just carry my phone with me everywhere.

For too long Twitter has occupied those quiet moments in between things and I’d like to claim at least some of that time back!
 
Once a week I’ve started to pick up a print copy of the Financial Times, and that seems like a far more sustainable way to absorb the news. 

I suspect Twitter will stagger on, and me with it! But in the meantime I’m going to shift some of my attention to GoodReads and Notes from Verona.
 
You can follow me on GoodReads here:
 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20491414.Richard_Hough
 
Whatever you do and wherever you go, I hope we stay in touch.
 
You could even write a guest blog here for me on Notes from Verona!