To Twitter or Not to Twitter

This post will most certainly be an odd-ball as it has nothing to do with the political economy, at least not directly. Instead, I wish here to make a suggestion to the contributors of the Review. While it may seem small, and some may deem it unworthy of posting here, I would beg to differ. I believe what I am about to suggest to be of relatively significant importance, especially as we are seeing the distributist movement expand by leaps and bound.

My suggestion, dear friends, is that the contributors consider creating an official Distributist Review Twitter account. Alongside this project would be the creation of personal accounts, both for the contributors and followers who may happen to be interested.

I bring this up for a number of reasons.

First, I am seeing many other think-tanks, online forums, and pundits use this network to their advantage. They are able to update their followers with links to articles, blogs, videos, and tidbits of personal or professional information. The updates are limited in character, so it forces the writer to get straight to the point. It also allows those with short attention spans to get nuggets of info without having to peruse a 10 paragraph blog entry.

Second, Twitter is just another extension of the alternative media envisioned and praised by Belloc. While it may be fragmented and peice-meal, two weaknesses to the Free Press that Belloc was more than willing to grant, it provides people with quick and easy to follow information. And it is formatted in a way that takes into account the fact that most people are selective when it comes to reading material on the internet. Sadly, it also accepts the hard-to-swallow truth that people tend to treat the written word like they do television, expecting fast-paced information at the their fingertips.

Speaking of fingertips, this brings me to my third point: cell phones. People who subscribe to an account may wish to have updates sent to them via text message. This enables electronic written word to be treated much like 24-hour news (of which I am not a fan), but without the advertisements.

Fourth, there may be some of us who are rather busy and find posting medium or lengthy blog entries rather hard. This is especially true for those who are forced to live a life characterized by multitasking. Short updates or posting links to things of interest may actually enable some members to become more active, as restraints of time and space are no longer an issue.

Lastly, while we work collectively on this site, we live relatively separate lives. We read different books, magazines, and blogs. We listen to different music, watch different programs, and work in a rather diverse array of fields. Furthermore, we are all at different places in our lives, be it personal, familial, vocational, social, or religious. Having individual Twitter accounts would allow our followers to see us in a way that Blogger cannot.

None of this is to say, or even imply, that we decrease our activities on this particular site. Rather, it would be adding a new dimension to our current activities. These should compliment one another rather than replace one another.

As I stated in the beginning, I admit that this post may seem rather odd. It certainly doesn't fit the mold. But if we wish to see this movement continue to spread like wildfire, then we should have no reservations of embracing an information-sharing trend that has taken the world by storm. But in the end, it is just an idea I figured to be worthy of consideration, both by contributors and followers. Your input, then, is greatly appreciated.

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