This is the beginning of a three part series concerning my experience on twitter and the benefits of being on and staying on. Bullet points today of general thoughts and the next post will be concerning #Scriptchat and other good stuff.
1. You can form real lasting friendships with 140 characters as your format and all those who say you can't are either ignorant or just haters. Probably both.
2. Forget watching the news, I realized i check my twitter feed for all the latest updates of things brewing around the globe.
3. You cannot run a successful film and or build an audience without a faithful twitter presence.
4. Twitter is a two way street. You wanna get something out of it, be willing to invest your time, energy and personality and you know, genuinely care about people, their projects and how you can help them succeed.
5. You shouldn't be a screenwriter or filmmaker and not be on twitter. You're cutting your legs out from under you. The bevy of advice, feedback, and all around good times is a steady encouragement to my muse and all its ramblings.
6. The people on twitter are cool. Where else can you carry on a conversation with a producer, photographer, actor, small business owner, screenwriter, and stunt guy all in one false swoop? Film school does not offer this sort of access at all times.
7. Twitter is about giving back. Its a give and take. You make DVDs for me, I send a Mac your way so you can finish coding a nifty pre-production software that will blow minds. You should WANT to give back.
8. Twitter is for people who never want to stop learning. I have an awesome infographic of the History of Science Fiction posted on my wall in my office because some nerd like myself had to share it in his feed. (its AWESOME btw) I've benefited in so many different ways, that being just one of the examples. Be it people like Sheri Candler, Jon Reiss, Edward Burns, Chris Jones, Film Courage Radio, or just any filmmaker/screenwriter I know whose posted something, a helpful link to film budget legal documents, QR code generators, or the newest episode of Script Cops, they're there and they're helping and guiding to greatness. Even if they don't know it :-)
9. Your logline for your screenplay is only short enough when you can post it in one tweet. #Screenwriting and social media working hand and hand, who knew.
10. Twitter has taught me to care more and hate less. Its opened my eyes to how many different cultures operate even within the boundaries of 140 characters and I feel like if you want to learn about the world from the confines of an office, twitter is the way to go.
Next up: #SCRIPTCHAT and other awesomeness.
