What I would have written
dcurt.is
What I would have written
1–10 of 77 posts
Re: What I would have written
#2I don't do twitter, but I have wondered what it would be to write or read a longer work composed within the limits of 140 character chunks - parceled out over time. It is not so much the size limitation on tweets as it is the disconnect between them that causes the dissolution of bigger ideas.
Re: What I would have written
#3I don't do twitter, but I have wondered what it would be to write or read a longer work composed within the limits of 140 character chunks - parceled out over time. It is not so much the size limitation on tweets as it is the disconnect between them that causes the dissolution of bigger ideas.
It's not exactly 140 character chunks spread out over time, but perhaps this comes close: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittgenstein's_Mistress
Re: What I would have written
#4I don't do twitter, but I have wondered what it would be to write or read a longer work composed within the limits of 140 character chunks - parceled out over time. It is not so much the size limitation on tweets as it is the disconnect between them that causes the dissolution of bigger ideas.
Check out http://twitter-fiction-reader.bugsplat.info. I've collected a few twitter-based fiction stories and arranged them in chronological order for easier reading. DadBoner in particular mostly reads like short paragraphs in daily diary entries.
Re: What I would have written
#5"And yet I see no solution to this problem."
Dustin's problem is similar in some respects to an addiction (which he alludes to), so perhaps the solution is treating it as such; forcing moderation on himself, or even complete detachment (the cold turkey approach). Of course, being involved in technology means Dustin is essentially an alcoholic working at a brewery, so disengagement may be especially difficult. But to throw up your hands and claim there's no way out strikes me as a bit defeatist. If you feel a technology is negatively impacting your thought patterns, perhaps you could find a way to use that technology less.
Re: What I would have written
#6I don't do twitter, but I have wondered what it would be to write or read a longer work composed within the limits of 140 character chunks - parceled out over time. It is not so much the size limitation on tweets as it is the disconnect between them that causes the dissolution of bigger ideas.
Jennifer Egan did a New Yorker story called "Black Box"[1] that was intentionally composed as sub-140 character chunks. It was released on Twitter tweet-by-tweet and collected in a New Yorker science fiction special last year.
She is an impressive and experimental writer (check out her "Visit from the Goon Squad") who does a great job with this form. The thought-sized chunks give the story a lot of space and cleverly invites the reader to imagine a lot of context.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Box_(Jennifer_Egan_story)
Re: What I would have written
#7'and every fucking thing I think about, I also think, “How could I fit that into a tweet that lots of people would favorite or retweet?”'
That, as I see it, is the problem – not twitter or 140char limits or any of the other stuff Dustin raises, it's the desire for external validation (and I can't help but imagine him furiously clicking reload on his own blog post to see how fast his Kudos score is climbing…)
My takeaway/advice is - try to recognise when you're being manipulated by gamification techniques and choose to be aware of them and ignore/resist them when it's in your better interest.
Does anybody _really_ think Picasso would have painted iPad trifles for immediate social media validation, instead of starting and completeing Garçon à la pipe? I _seriously_ doubt that - from Wikipedia: "At the time of his death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he did not need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, with whom he had exchanged works."
Picasso _didn't_ paint for the twitterati - he painted for Picasso. Dustin should write for Dustin - not for Twitter. He's allowing himself to become distracted from achieving what he wants at achieve. That's not Twitters fault. Procrastinators gonna procrastinate (he said hypocritically while wasting time on HN…)
Re: What I would have written
#8I don't do twitter, but I have wondered what it would be to write or read a longer work composed within the limits of 140 character chunks - parceled out over time. It is not so much the size limitation on tweets as it is the disconnect between them that causes the dissolution of bigger ideas.
Jennifer Egan's short story Black Box was written in 140-character chunks and published via both the New Yorker's twitter account and the print magazine. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/05/coming-s...
Re: What I would have written
#9Much like television, smoking, or facebook, it's pretty easy for me to look at these products, look at what the users get out of them, and make the conscious decision not to use them. That isn't to say it's easy to quit smoking, but it's been pretty easy for me to never start smoking because I know what sort of personality I have.
(When writing comments like these I always think of this article: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention... . Sorry if I've done that.)
Re: What I would have written
#10Tweets provide a lot of efficiency. "Tweets aren't great because the compress otherwise complex ideas". A decent summary of your essay and tweet-able. Point made in 5 seconds of reading. Yes you don't get the full emersion but thats exactly why both mediums still exist. The tweet saves time and consequently gets a wider audience.