TWITTER: stories from the underbelly (EDITING)

CHAPTER 2 The Day It All Started

copyright 2019 chris smith  All rights reserved.

"How 2 tweet safely

1. Say ur tweet out loud

2. Pretend ur someone who hates u

3. Attack ur tweet from all angles

4. Wait 10 days"  @JohnMayer

1. Why did you first join Twitter?

@achosenword: I was looking for an outlet, a place to express myself without feeling judged. Most of my family and friends were on facebook so I felt boxed in as to what I could share but none of my family had twitter so I felt I would be freer to share my feelings.

@acousticprint: I joined twitter looking for a quiet spot in a very large abyss. It was a place I could whisper words into a crowd.

A Darker Sunrise: I jumped on ahead of my kids in order to navigate the space properly and keep up to date on what was coming down the line for them.

@angrymemorys: This is actually my 3rd account. I started this one on Halloween in 2013. My previous account was short lived, only 6 months or so, but the one before that I started some time in 2010. I don't even remember that handle. It got up to around 6k followers before I deleted it.

Benjamin: Mostly out of curiosity. I wasn't aware of its existence until 2009.

@darkest__star: I first joined Twitter to follow all of the musicians that I listen to. To be honest, I can't remember why I changed the reason I used Twitter and began writing.

DeadManWalking: I heard "The Cool Kids" would actually interact with the unwashed mass – and it proved to be true. I talked to a variety of well known people! It was fun. (This was before it ever occurred to anyone to be frauds on Twitter)

DusklightMemory: I wanted to explore different social media's other than Facebook.

Entirety: I was following a brand new show called Outlander. I knew a few hard core fans who kept up to date on Twitter about how filming was going. So I opened up a personal account to follow the author of the series and the production company, likewise along with their loyal fans.

@KarinaLawrence: Twitter tells me it was March 2009, which was an odd time for me, as I was graduating from university and going through a tough time with depression. Honestly? I can't remember when I joined or why. But I stayed because of the strong writing community and the great friends I made along the way.

loudcroud: I first joined Twitter back in 2012. I opened up two accounts. One to promote my art, and another to follow the lead up to the 2012 us presidential election. I didn't follow the same people or interact the same way on both accounts.

Maycelle: I first joined with an acquaintance who was gazing at a social spectacle with me, suggesting I use for ideation. I used it then for thought-processing and irony at the start and later became comfortable choosing how to write how I thought in the act of realistic impulses and outward appearance from moments I shape.

Megan Kay: In all honesty, as embarrassing as it is, I joined after the first 50 shades of Grey book had just been released.... I heard Twitter was the kinky place to be.

@pettigrew66: I was going through a divorce & wanted to find an outlet to interact with other likeminded people.

@RantingsOfaGirl: It took me 8 years to figure out the "why".

SierraWhiskey99: I was lonely. My marriage was dissolving. I had two young kids and little social outlet, except for work. I found myself posting commentary and musings to an e-zine, many of the other posters had "@..." (Twitter) in their profiles - I had no idea what "that" was, at the time. A group of "local" posters that were talking about setting up a "tweet-up" (remember those?) and all of the details were being shared on Twitter, it seemed like a light at the end of a tunnel.