On Twitter

There was a time when I used to be on Twitter a lot. I mean really a lot. If I was in a queue in a coffee shop, for example, I'd whip my 'phone out and see what was happening on Twitter. Of course, there were lots of reasons why I was on there so much at the time but one of the less obvious attractions was that I'm fascinated by simple systems with complex but interesting outcomes (as opposed to FaceBook, which is an overcomplicated system with predetermined (and frustrating) outcomes).

And frivolous as Twitter can be, I made a lot of Twitter friends during that period, many of whom I still talk to, two or three years later, and a lovely number who became 'real life' friends, including the Minx. And I still like popping on occasionally for a chat plus a lot of those friends are talking about things that I'm interested in and might otherwise miss.

One of the things that I loved and still like about Twitter is the way that it's a public space, and anyone is welcome to contribute to a conversation (even though people still apologise for "barging in"). But one thing I've never been able to understand and which has always got my goat is people who poke their nose in just to be snotty or rude (or even offensive).

I'll spare you the details but it happened to me, today. I mean it was trivial but it just irritated me. That said, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of our beers and pizza lunch at the office, nor did it stop me enjoying my colleagues' company when we left to walk to the pub at four o'clock, but it was there, just niggling, you know? A low-level annoyance.

And then we arrived at the pub and I saw this sign and I just thought "Yes!".