It wasn’t until the end of this post that I determined what the title would be. I joined Twitter on December 21st, 2006 but quickly determined it was a waste of time. It wasn’t until I got back from Macworld and then subsequently was invited by a few friends that I joined as @AdamJackson on March 21st, 2007. My first tweet [TWEET] was naive & a tweet that I’m very happy with.
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One year after joining Twitter, I reached 20 thousand tweets. The day was March 21st, 2008 and I was the top 10 most active (human) Twitter user. It turns out there are millions of bot accounts and some have over 1 million tweets so those don’t count. These days, I sit at around #36 as the most active user. There are a few users, mostly in Japan that have completely dominated and pushed me out of the top 25 but I did some analysis and my assumptions were correct that every single human Twitter user that is ahead of me in rankings sends more replies than original tweets.
With that said, it’s a safe assumption that I am the most active human Twitter user based on unique tweets that simply answer the question, “What are you doing?” This is a dumb thing to feel good about but I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t ecstatic about having this title.
On March 21st, 2009 I once again gained 20K tweets and celebrated my 40K tweets. The science of reaching 20K tweets every 365 days like clockwork is no easy task. To prove just how “scientific” this process is, Today is the 14th of September which is 7 days short of 6 months into my 3rd year on Twitter and check it out – I’m at 50K tweets (half way to my 60K mark). Yeah I’m 7 days off but it’s a very scientific process of always gauging where I am in tweets and ensuring I’ll be at 60K on my 3 year anniversary of using Twitter.
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I’ve been thinking about my 50 thousandth tweet for a long time now. 5K is a big milestone and so is 25K but 50 is a big number and 2nd only to “100”. Naturally, it’s been a personal struggle for me as to what I would do. I had a plan but timing got in the way.
I’m generally very vague about what’s going on and this post is no different. I’m working on two big things. One of these you know about and the other is going to blow everyone away when it’s launched in just a few short months. My goal, upon reaching the 40K mark in March was to announce the completion of my book, which is done but needs heavy editing & restructuring. The text rocks and is very helpful but it just needs organization. The second project is the most challenging thing I’ve ever worked on and when it’s done, you’ll see why. It’s killing me to complete it but it’s so hard that no one wants to help me with it and others scoff because it sounds so impossible. The reality is, they have a reason to respond this way. More details soon.
If those two events aligned as I had planned, tonight would have been my last night as a Twitter user. To be honest, I’d be fine with it. I take 4 weeks off from Twitter every year (spread out of course) and I do it to mathematically make sure I don’t go over my 20K a year mark but also to prove to myself that I don’t need Twitter and can function fine without it. Twitter is a valuable tool and I owe so many of my accomplishments to Twitter but life without Twitter is still life and it’s important to always remember that.
In summary, I wouldn’t be living in San Francisco with a great job, great friends and great business opportunities knocking on my door if it weren’t for Twitter. However, according to my calculations [TWEET], I’ve spent over 34.5 days just tweeting and that doesn’t include reading tweets or sending DMs. That number is amazing when you consider I’ve been using the service just shy of 2.5 years. This statistic is saddening and a testament to the life I’ve created around a service that is just for broadcasting what you’re doing (at the core of it).
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You’ll be happy to hear that I won’t be leaving Twitter at this time. Who knows what the future may hold but for now, I’m going to stick around. I’d like to celebrate my 100 thousandth tweet at the 5 year mark, assuming Twitter is still around then but for now I use it as a tool to improve my life on all levels. The fact that I have over 3,700 people that follow along is a number that I can smile about. Personally, 100 people following me was a good thing and every additional person I gain makes my day.
Every person I follow & interact with on Twitter has taught me something. You’re all friends to me and I hope we can learn more about each other and that I can continue following your inspiring stories. [TWEET]
“It’s about stories,” -@garyvee YES!
Yes it is and that’s the core value. Keep telling stories and I’ll keep reading. Maybe my story interests you enough to follow along. Thanks to all of you for your support.