Hugh quits Twitter
So I just found out that Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid deleted his Twitter account today. There is bound to be talk far and wide on how this is a sign that Twitter’s popularity is waning. I’m going to disagree with those assessments, but I do know one thing - Hugh says that he “found it too easy”. I’d agree with that - it’s too easy to just Twitter the day away.
I can relate. There are days when I think I’ve wasted too many hours, too many creative ideas on Twitter. I’ve even tried staying off Twitter for a week back in December. I finally think I’m finding the right mix of Twitter attention for myself. However, I can easily understand why anyone would simply leave Twitter if they believed it was interfering with their work.
Hugh, we’ll miss you on Twitter, but I’ll be following up at www.gapingvoid.com!
UPDATE: It seems that Hugh couldn’t stay away! He’s back on twitter. You can find his Twitter profile here.
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Comments
Comment by Rick Mahn Hi Greg! Will we see you tomorrow at SMB? I know what you mean about Hugh quitting Twitter. At the same time, I totally understand his reasoning. I’ve thought about a lengthy vacation from Twitter to see if it’d help me focus on blogging again.
I’ve come to terms with the high-pressure spigot that a good Twitter feed can be, so we’ll see what happens. 
Comment by Chris Brogan... Twitter’s a great way to have an even deeper connection with your community. In my estimation, Hugh’s not looking for that right now. He loves people, but probably has quite a full dance card. My guess? He’ll come back at some point, but probably not to Twitter; it’ll be to some new service where we all flock in 10 months.
Comment by Rick Mahn Chris - you’re more correct in that than we know. As much as we all love Twitter, usage patterns, perspectives, and fads change the social media landscape as much as the fashion industry.
Cheers!
Rick
Comment by Connie Bensen I’ve reduced my usage of Twitter considerably. I use it kind of like my cell phone. I only turn it on at my convenience. I’m up to 600 followers and there’s no way I can follow all the threads - so I just gab with those present at the moment. And turning it off is easy (it can be kind of a time sink).
Comment by Rick Mahn Hi Connie, I sure know what you mean. I’m doing something similar, but probably not as often as I should when I need to GTD. 
It’s getting easier to follow larger numbers of people though. I’ve stopped scrolling back through conversations long past.
I’m disappointed because the only reason I met Hugh at SXSW was because of Twitter (http://www.perfectporridge.com/2008/03/08/sxsw-interactive-day-1). Everyone has their limits, though. Something better than Twitter will surely come along and perhaps Hugh will be there. Until then, I still have 500 people to follow.