Inkpunks

Almost two years ago John Remy wrote this post about community building and twitter. It’s one of those “where it all started”  posts, nostalgic and wonderful to read. Small connections becoming powerful friendships,  twitter jokes becoming full blown book projects. Creative lives intersecting and growing.

My own relationship with twitter has been a shifting, morphing thing. In the spring of 2010 I was trying to get back into art making by drawing every day. I happened to discover an active twitter community of artists doing the same thing and sharing via the hashtag #draw365. I am absolutely certain I would not be where I am now if it was not for that online creative community being a place to get my my feet under me again as an artist.

It took me a while to learn to be *social* however. Tweeted hugs, good morning pounces, long conversations late at night about cheese and whiskey and pets and current events took some growing into, but oh it did grow. Last summer I collaborated with fellow Inkpunk and Functional Nerd, Andy Romine, to throw a twitter Drink and Draw party. By that time twitter had become a natural habit, a place I would go several times a day (or several times an hour) to check in with friends, to cheer and support and commiserate and get encouragement (and get drunk).

But sometimes *stuff* happens. Life. Work. Drama. Whatever it is. Reasons. There are many reasons an individual may take a break from social media. I’ve found myself taking a few here and there. Then found myself on the other side of *stuff* but out of the habit and wondering how to brush off the dust and pick up where I left off. There’s no right answer to that.  Amy Sundberg wrote a great piece about Priorities and Social Media with considerations in crafting your own personal strategy as a creative person. Jim C. Hines questioned Do I Have To Have a Facetwibblogger+ page (so as to not ‘plummet into obscurity, a forgotten FAILURE forever and ever!’… ) John Scalzi generated great discussion with a one-liner (almost) about blogs vs twitter. Me? I just think it’s time to stop being a stranger. Catch up with a few friends. It’s been a while.

How about you? What’s your relationship with social media?

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social media, twitter