What, Me Twitter?

One of the great things about blogging is the stimulating and critical thinking that you come across, those ideas that lodge right into your subconscious, and eventually manifest themselves as full-fledged, real-life action. Usually my attention span doesn’t last very long, and I kind of blip in and out of various blogger friends and sites. But lately I couldn’t help but notice that many of the business bloggers and marketing experts were yapping nonstop about the all-the-rage social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. Every time I went online, it was something new about the importance of using these communication platforms in businesses, churches, and for individuals.

Blah blah blah, I was thinking. Sure, it sounds interesting, but me? Twitter? On top of everything else I’m trying to do? Come on. That would be just one more thing for me to obsess about. No thank you. Plus, I don’t even get it. And even if I were to Twitter, just who would even bother to follow me, anyway?

That’s how it went for a while. I left a few comments on some of these blogs expressing my opinions to that affect. But then one day a couple of weeks ago I heard that Oprah was doing an upcoming show featuring Twitter. That’s right, Oprah was about to Tweet. And everyone knows that once Oprah endorses a product, forget it. Get ready, Mainstream America.

Well, okay, Oprah. But still, what does it mean to me? I have about one one-billionth of the audience that Oprah has.

Then last weekend the dim light bulb in my head suddenly lit up. It clicked.  As everyone here knows by now, I have been working with a colleague on a seminar that is taking place later this month where I will have a little speaking role. The program is called “Leadership and Spirituality, Transforming the Workplace,” and takes place at Princeton Seminary. I don’t usually do this type of thing, with speaking and seminars and such. It’s not like I’m a professional speaker, or that I make a living off of this. However I do care deeply about the content and the experience, spiritual growth and shared learning that will take place among the business community that will be attending. I also know that many other people are interested in this subject, but can’t attend because of distance and time. Over the weekend, it dawned on me like a big clunk on the head. Hey, Brad, you should Twitter! Right from the conference! Someone might actually be interested! Duh.

So, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, on May 31- June 1, I will be sending Twitter messages directly from Princeton Theological Seminary on the seminar “Leadership and Spirituality: Transforming the Workplace.” It will be live, real-time, uncensored commentary from Yours Truly.

I’ve already signed up on Twitter, and you can see my vaguely sensible stream of comments to the right. I’ll leave them up there for a while, so you can see how awesomely useful it is.

If you already have a Twitter account, you can follow my sure-to-be insightful and informative messages by adding @shrinkingcamel to your follow list. If you do not have a Twitter account, you can set one up for free by visiting twitter.com.

Come on, join in the madness. It will be worth it. I’ll make sure of that.