You've got a Tweet.

Q: If fear of long words is hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, what is fear of long sentences? A: Twitter!
There was a time I'd rummage the internet looking for interesting articles. Everything is information. Never know when it would become knowledge. I came across some very inane websites/blogs while doing that. But soon enough, I learnt the trick of improving my search terms and thus began a journey. I think my imagination powers must have peaked around that time, as the number of blog posts I could conjure with original ideas seem baffling now. The hunger for information made the search all the more delightful. So what has changed from then and now?
When I use the word, peak, I do imply that such passions are like waveforms. Spikes hit both upper and lower limits. I hit a low on the blog. Moved on to Flickr. Started writing Poetry along with my photographs. The viewers of my photos out-numbered the blog and like every greedy person I moved on to Flickr. But then along came Twitter.

Time - it is of essence.
Recession's upon us, no pretense.
Be Frugal - even with words! #Haiku.
You like to write. Correction: You think writing is your only forte. What do you do if you are given just 140 characters to write what you feel? Break up everything you feel like writing into small sentences and start flooding ideas. Nobody reads it. Not even you. U h8 2 use SMS lang!. You are left with no choice but to improvise.

It is a thrill to see how you scrutinise the effectiveness of each and every word when you try to fit it in 140 characters.

• Change tenses, choose shorter adjectives, choose better words to convey a message - be judicious. The idea behind the message never changes.


• If you thought that was easy, try using URLs in your message. Ofcourse there are plenty of URL Shortening services now like TinyURL, tr.im, bit.ly or is.gd to make life easier.


• Even then 140 characters is very limiting. If you wish to classify the message for easy retrieval, you might need a hashtag like #Haiku, #Quote, #Photography. Some more characters gone.


• Try pointing to a person by quoting his/her handle starting with '@' and there goes a few more characters.

There are many other constraints when you come to think of it. But does that stop people from using this service? Quite the contrary. I think everyone loves the challenge. It is no wonder that the number of Twitter users are growing by the thousands each day.
The most important (pertinent?) question everyone asks me is "What do you write about?". All I tell them is that you have 140 characters with you. Use it as you please.

• Twitter could be a group chat tool. Gather like-minded people. Discuss issues. Come up with consensus. All in 140 characters.


• Twitter is an instant news portal because news spreads at the rate of RTs! People catch on to a new and important event. Soon they become trending topics.


• It is an idea pool. You need loads of information to be able to generate an Idea. Twitter is the source. Plenty of people voicing their problems. Others shouting out solutions by the dozens.


• It is an excellent place to find like minded people. Looking for people with interest in Photography, Astronomy, advertising, coding, graphics or anything else. Just search on Twitter Search for certain words and you'll find people actively writing about those topics.


• Twitter is a (virtual) friend! Feeling down? Just shout out on Twitter, you'll find someone there consoling you... or pulling your leg! Either way, the disappointment is long gone!

The options are limitless. Correction. They are limited to 140 Characters. If you are already on Twitter, follow me. I write as Sudhamshu. If you are not, join in. I would like to know what you have to say.