It seems it wasn’t that long ago when I posted tweet number 1000. In fact, number 100, wasn’t that long ago. I opened my Twitter account (JoeBugBuster) in 2008, on September 11, but I hardy touched it for several years.
Back then I followed very few people on Twitter, and very few followed me, but they were all people I knew personally. I prided myself that all my followers were “real people – no bots.” I’m still particular who I follow, but anyone is welcome to follow me – even bots and other computer programs. I used to just tweet with people I knew IRL (In Real Life), but now I chat with people across the country and around the world.
Twitter and the Social Media Lifestyle
It’s only in the last couple years that I have become active on Twitter. Usually I post just a few tweets a day. Sometimes none. But sometimes it’s dozens if I’m participating in a Twitter Chat. (That’s when dozens or hundreds of people go on Twitter at a specified time and add a specified hashtag to their posts. Anyone who searches on that hashtag will be able to see the discussion.)
Sunday nights are particularly active times for me on Twitter because I usually participate in two chats:
BlogChat, is for people who write blogs or are interested in doing so, and is hosted by Mack Collier. It’s held Sunday nights at 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern – or you can translate that to whichever time zone you prefer.
NostalgiaChat is for anyone who likes discussing the good ol’ days, the things we had, and the things we experienced. I generate a lot of tweets during #NostalgiaChat because it’s hosted by Beki Winchel and myself. That’s Sunday nights at 7 PM Pacific / 10 PM Eastern.
Not surprisingly, tweet number 10,000 landed right as I was transitioning from BlogChat to NostalgiaChat on a Sunday night. I couldn’t resist posting this as number 10,001:
Wow – I just sent tweet number 10,000! Do I get a prize?;-)#BlogChat #NostalgiaChat twitter.com/JoeBugBuster/s…
— Steve Case (@JoeBugBuster) January 28, 2013
So What’s the Big Deal about 10K Tweets?
Have you ever watched the odometer in your car when it’s about to increment more than one digit at once? Your first 100 miles. then your first thousand, the first ten thousand,
and it’s not at all unusual now for cars to last over one hundred thousand miles.
Have you ever watched an odometer roll from 9999 to 10000? That’s not unlike seeing the number of tweets is about to show 10,000, and watching closely until it changes. There’s nothing magical about the number, but it’s a milestone. It’s also an opportunity to think about what’s happened during the time period that your vehicle (or Twitter account), was rolling up to that number.
What’s Next
Rolling to 20,000 probably won’t be such a big deal, but I’ve heard that rolling to 100,000 can be a sign of insanity. Ask me in a few more years. 🙂
Congrats on the 10K tweets!
You know what might be fun? To do a post listing your ‘Top 5 Lessons About Twitter From My First 10K Tweets’, or something like that. Then when you hit 20K tweets you can update and see what has changed for you about Twitter. That’s one of the things I love about Twitter, how as the people in your network changes, your usage of the site changes. Would be interesting to compare! Congrats again and thanks for joining #Blogchat!
I love that idea Mack. Certainly my Twitter usage has changed over the years, and I’d be fascinated to follow-up in a few years with “My Second Ten Thousand Tweets.” No doubt my blogging will be different by then too, thanks to the ideas and positive influence that you and the BlogChat gang bring every Sunday night.
Pretty awesome idea right here 🙂
I really do like Mack’s idea and started writing it. I just need to make sure the blog is finished before I complete my next 20K tweets.
Congrats on passing the 10K mark 🙂 I recently passed 30K myself, and I barely bat an eye after all the chats I’ve been participating in these past few months. But still, it’s a whole lot more than I was at a year ago!
Keep it up 🙂
Thanks Casey. The Twitter chats are definitely a contributor to running up the number, for better or for worse. 😉
I’m a bit to the 10K party, but a belated congrats nonetheless.
I remember when I passed the 1000 mark. I don’t use Twitter all that much, so I was really surprised I could’ve clocked up 1000 tweets.
As for other numbers, I love when the clock strikes midnight 00:00. And I always relish the moment when I see someone turn the lights on (or off) for the day, like in a shop. Something about a mini-milestone, a moment in time.
I share your fascination with numbers Erin.
Not long ago I was enjoying the arrival of 08:09:10 on 11/12/13, a meaningless but fun number. Rolling the tweet odometer is like New Years, when we celebrate both the clock and the calendar rolling over at the same time. They all give us an opportunity to look back at the year – or the tweets – and consider those to come.