Twitter Archived
I downloaded my Twitter archives. Here's what I found out:
I'm pretty much still the same person on there.
In 2008 I had maybe 2 followers. Back then, the ratio of followers to following didn't matter, and people spoke in the third person so that tweets "flowed smoothly." People were still fumbling about, learning about hashtags and RTs and FFs, and there were zero social media gurus and/or companies that tweeted things no one cared about.
Kids, in the time-honored internet tradition of self-absorption and over-sharing, walk through Twitter history with me here.
I first learned about early-adopterism through Twitter when my name was available and I got my handle without having to add numbers or underscores or Xs and Os and the word "sexy". It was its own reward. Some other Nessreen in another part of the world (or maybe in the same city) would find the handle already taken, and she would slam her first down the table in frustration. But not I.
This was my first tweet, and of course, it was in the third person. Just as I do now, back then I thought I was hilarious, even when my jokes didn't sound like jokes, even when they were all inside jokes, and even when they were in fact, severely unfunny.
Way before things were "trending", hashtags were something you made up. This was my first one.
My first "Dear X" tweet. I find these tweets annoying now, but I used to tweet a lot of them.
The following tweet (posted 2009) sounds like something I'd post now. I have not changed one bit.
I'm back on my original Twitter account. I'm comfortable there now, I've learned about privacy settings within the browser and within my own brain, I've learned to filter things, to listen more and speak less, to be discriminate about the people in my timeline. Just as I have IRL.
I don't exactly live on Twitter, but I think it's a fairly accurate window to who I am.
I'm pretty much still the same person on there.
In 2008 I had maybe 2 followers. Back then, the ratio of followers to following didn't matter, and people spoke in the third person so that tweets "flowed smoothly." People were still fumbling about, learning about hashtags and RTs and FFs, and there were zero social media gurus and/or companies that tweeted things no one cared about.
Kids, in the time-honored internet tradition of self-absorption and over-sharing, walk through Twitter history with me here.
I first learned about early-adopterism through Twitter when my name was available and I got my handle without having to add numbers or underscores or Xs and Os and the word "sexy". It was its own reward. Some other Nessreen in another part of the world (or maybe in the same city) would find the handle already taken, and she would slam her first down the table in frustration. But not I.
This was my first tweet, and of course, it was in the third person. Just as I do now, back then I thought I was hilarious, even when my jokes didn't sound like jokes, even when they were all inside jokes, and even when they were in fact, severely unfunny.
Because I didn't yet understand privacy settings, or how big they would get, I posted all kinds of personal things. This tweet - and the relationship - was a mistake. (Yes, you guys, he accepted. Tsk.) I find I can enjoy these cringe-worthy tweets now. It says so much about what got me where I am right now.
In 2009, I got my first wave of followers and felt like I shouldn't be tweeting under the name everyone knew me by, so I abandoned my original handle and started @diana_tweets, where I stayed for 2 years.
(Suhail is still in Japan, has been for 4 years now, and speaks Japanese like a pro.)
(I tweeted from my Sony Xperia on the Opera browser. I also used to tweet via SMS.)
Eventually, I learned what retweeting meant. Here's my first RT, and it makes perfect sense that it involves the handsome-sounding James McAvoy.
The first celebrities I followed were mostly internet personalities, and the very first one was Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing. She was also the first one I established contact with, and the first celebrity to follow me back. It was an achievement I would've liked to have received a medal for.
Here was my first #FF. I quickly got off the #FollowFriday bandwagon as I realized that it was better to re-tweet interesting people and let my followers see a sample of their tweets.
The first picture I posted on Twitter through twitpic was a South African National Day celebration in Jeddah I attended.
My first "Dear X" tweet. I find these tweets annoying now, but I used to tweet a lot of them.
The following tweet (posted 2009) sounds like something I'd post now. I have not changed one bit.
I'm back on my original Twitter account. I'm comfortable there now, I've learned about privacy settings within the browser and within my own brain, I've learned to filter things, to listen more and speak less, to be discriminate about the people in my timeline. Just as I have IRL.
I don't exactly live on Twitter, but I think it's a fairly accurate window to who I am.
That was a fun read! I miss the way people used to tweet in the third person (also in FB statuses). Now, it seems weird. Hehe:)
ReplyDeleteBesides, people get confused with what pronoun to use, so I guess it's safer now. :)