Microblogging

It is infinitely easier to post a few sentences than a few pages when it comes to blogging. I think this is why I enjoy using Twitter so much. I’m limited to 140 characters in getting my point across. On the one hand, it can be a ridiculously hard challenge fitting a coherent thought into so few letters and spaces, but on the other hand it can lead to artful and satisfying compromises in style, like writing a haiku. Either way, I’m still able to tweet and record my thoughts rather easily.

When it comes to blogging however (and this is not a problem unique to me I’m sure) I find it difficult to churn out something thoughtful, deep, and worth reading on a regular basis. With my professional background in writing it can lead to a bit of self loathing if I put out a piece that doesn’t feel like an article or complete articulation of a topic. The format itself can be intimidating, I’m given an entirely infinite blank page to get my ideas out there, and creating in a void is hard sometimes.

One other great thing about Twitter is that it’s completely ubiquitous. I can use Twitter on the web, from an instant messaging client, from my phone, I can even draft my tweets in the middle of nowhere and post them once I find a reliable wifi signal. With a blogging platform like Wordpress you’re more or less restricted to sitting at your desk in your home and banging out an entire post in one or more sittings.

Writing a blog post should be, or would ideally be, a similar experience. I should be able to sit on the beach in Santa Monica, grab my Blackberry, jot down a few notes and only include whatever exposition is necessary, and then send it off for publishing to my website at my chosen date and time. A workflow like this would not only encourage me to write more, but it would help prevent me from falling into the endless revision trap I tend to find myself mired in. Plus who has time these days to read more than 5 paragraphs?