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At least 79 people know I Twitter. I know it’s 79 since that’s the number of “followers” I have at this very second (to put that in perspective, Twitterer Darren Rowse has more than 42,000 followers). What’s been interesting as I’ve begun to Twitter, though, isn’t the number of people who’ve chosen to follow me, but the number of characters, with spaces, I’ve been allowed to use when Twittering. 140. While that may initially sound to you like a lot of space Twitterers have to fill while Twittering their life away, consider this: “While that may initially sound to you like a lot of space Twitterers have to fill while Twittering their life away, consider this:” is 130 characters. The word “characters” is 10 characters, not counting the spaces on either side. 140 characters isn’t much.
And yet, for a writer, it’s enough to tell a story. And that’s where the fun and the challenge lie.
When I was a staff writer at People magazine waaaay back in the mid-1990s, an editor used the word “telegraph” as a verb to describe how to approach every sentence. We were supposed to “telegraph,” or squeeze in, as much information as possible. I wrote stories about Michael Jackson (he had gone to Bucharest carrying a “little person” in a blue satin suit on his shoulder), David Hasselhoff (he was attempting to become a pop star in the U.S.), and Kirsten Dunst (she was starring in “Interview with the Vampire”), among others, and each time I was required to squeeze in as many facts and ideas possible into each sentence – to tell a story – that related to them. It’s the same, in a way, with Twitter, and that’s what makes it such a good exercise for anyone who thinks of themselves as a writer.
Some of my recent Tweets:
These take time, but I’ve noticed the payoff has been real – I’m becoming reacquainted with telegraphing information in a tight, focused way to grab readers’ attention and I’m applying the effort to everything I write. I’d forgotten how hard it is to write so few words but express so much. You should try it some time.
[To follow me or anyone else on Twitter, you can sign up for Twitter and do a search – I Twitter as SantowDan – or, if you don’t want to sign up with Twitter, you can just text “follow SantowDan” to 40404.] |
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March 11, 2009
Comments
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Why "Word Wise"?
- When I started to e-mail out a weekly writing tip to my Chicago colleagues at Edelman in 2002, little did I know how quickly how many people outside my office would start to request it. But word spread, as word is wont to do, and in 2006 the e-mail evolved into this blog. The tips, which are about grammar, usage and style, have a dual purpose – to remind my colleagues in PR of the power of the written word and, more generally, to support and perpetuate clear, concise, creative, honest, lively, stylish, compelling writing everywhere. In 2009 I started to add commentary about and links to stories and other blog posts related to the media, marketing, writing and, sometimes, just interesting stuff. For some reason, I also started Twittering (at SantowDan).
Thanks for the "telegraphing" tips. The link for your last tweet doesn't parse, unfortunately. Have another to share? @kawika
Posted by: kawika | March 11, 2009 at 06:25 PM
It's like the old joke, "Sorry this letter is so long, I didn't have time to make it shorter." The tight, concise writing on Twitter is great practice for all of us.
Posted by: Todd Chandler | March 11, 2009 at 07:28 PM
This is my favorite reason people Twitter: Being hilarious in 140 characters or less. (Uh, sorry..."fewer"?)
http://favrd.textism.com/
Posted by: Emily | March 11, 2009 at 11:09 PM
thanks admin
Are you really cool,realy very good blog
Posted by: sikiş izle | December 22, 2009 at 09:14 AM