Twitter

Recently some of the philosophies written on my blog have been picked up on and responded to. It’s been a massive surprise in so many respects. What is written is a stream of my own consciousness, the accumulated detritus from the uninhibited workings of my thoughts.  There is no scientific support to any of it. It is merely my own wish to understand myself and by putting it all on paper it tends to help. To subsequently find that other people can find any value in that, (no matter how small) is astonishing and warming.

The stories which have caused the most response are in fact the ones that I’d least expected people to react to. Carefully crafted business orientated ones that have taken ages to write sit there unseen, but the ‘Philosophies of B’ with their grammatical and other errors are read.  I’ve been pondering on this and realised eventually that there was no need to have.  The people that I engage with on Social Media (which is the only way that my blog gets any sort of publicity) are all exactly the same as those whom are most likely to become friends and associates in real life. Issues which seemed to be only of interest to me are of course not. There may be a nominal element of uniqueness in how they are considered and concluded, but we are all human beings and no matter where in the world we are, or what language we speak. Our interests, concerns and questions are universal. That is the biggest thing learned from my Twitter and blogging activity. Why it was a surprise now seems utterly ridiculous

My Twitter account is carefully, one might say obsessively, cultivated so that it brings me to people that in the reality of my daily life I might never have the opportunity to meet, never mind enjoying the discussions and insights that they frequently provide. Certainly we do not always agree all the time and I can sense the intakes of exasperation with my remarks at times. This sends me scurrying to see has anyone been lost. It’s a bit like Dennis Price in ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ checking the ‘Hatched, Matched and Despatched’ columns in the newspaper as he plots his course to become The Duke of Chalfont, but in my case reversed.

It is tempting to mention a/c names but I’d be here for hours giving those people the eulogistical praise they deserve for my twitter addiction. However, one example is a character that I first encountered after making a hard-line comment on a tweet which he made. It was in hindsight, an aggressive tweet I sent, but raising a genuine question. His courtesy and refinement overcame my roughness and all was explained. It taught me much. Subsequently the conduit formed via that encounter has delivered friends of an exceptional and valued calibre.

There is also a curious and most valued element which allows me to engage with a whole raft of age groups. The segregation from the younger or older members of society or indeed any social group that exists beyond the door of my flat, no matter how much effort is made to push those barriers down, is non existent on my Twitter account and via my blog. There is no conniving or deception required either. My profile and googleability(?) clearly shows me to be who and what I am, age and so forth, whilst a click here and there can reveal where I live and my contact information. The more open and honest about identity it seems ( for me at least), that there are more benefits to be had. The same naturally applies in real life too, albeit slightly differently.