In Praise of the 140 Character Form Restriction

With a Nod to Taylor Mali

Verse, rhyme and meter have been among my favorite companions since as far back as I can remember. One might attribute my open-mindedness to verse, rhyme and meter. I always get such a rush when I play by rules of rhyme, form and meter with the unadulterated liberation of language. 

For me, twitter’s je ne sais quoi lies magically in this tension. It’s why I get such a head rush when I dive the endless possibilities that lie in 140 characters or less. 140 characters demand clarity and conviction. They expect a point of view from you. They force you to make choices.

From the fall of 2010 when I followed my mom-blogger sister’s lead and got into twitter in earnest, it’s taken me all this time to figure this out. At the heart of my twitter conviction is a bit of smugness. It’s that part of me that says, "I can be articulate and speak with conviction in 140 characters or less. What have you got for me?"

As the twittersphere expands and the tweeting becomes mainstream, know this: Just because you are tweeting doesn’t mean you are actually saying anything. So whether you’re planning to tweet, shit talk and engage in the space remember this: Speak with conviction, take a stand and enjoy the ride.