Fulfillment at Any Age

Good advice. I'd add that you can block people you don't want following your tweets, or even limit your updates to only people you follow. A lot of accounts that will follow you are dummy accounts or auto-follows based on keywords in tweets.

Also, I'm a bit old-school, so I'm picky about who I follow and who follows me. I know the younger generation uses Facebook and Twitter like a popularity contest and is fairly undiscriminating about who they add to their "friends" and "followers", which is really unwise in this age of cyber-stalking, identity theft, and other online threats (really, about as unwise as it is anywhere else in life, too).

That said, Twitter is a great way to make new friends. I've found people who share my hobbies through hashtag communities and by the usual networking of meeting people who know people I know.

As the Greeks said, "Everything in moderation."

Another tip for virginal twitterers. Don't feel like you need to read everything or all the time. You can limit your reading to a few minutes a day.

Best,
Irene

Hi Susan,

I loved this post, especially the research and your discussion of contacts you made :) A lot of people are scared of twitter because they don't understand it or see the point. I initially jumped into it, just to publicize my blog posts. Now I;m hooked. I so enjoy getting the latest science and medical news, up to date news on the tsunami or the middle east as events unfold, and following some leaders and people in the know in psychology, journalism, science, and healthcare. I also feel that I have connected with people (like you!) in a warm and supportive way. Maybe people on twitter are those who will be more likely to embrace something new, be it a new person who seems interesting or a new trend.

Hi Melanie, I'm so glad you liked the post. You are certainly a model of someone who knows how to communicate through Twitter as well as through your blogs, which I thoroughly enjoy. Thank you for your kind words! Best, SUsan