17 September 2020

Why I Started Using Twitter

When I came to senses about creating my online presence, I picked Instagram.

Back then, my options were:

  • Facebook,
  • Pinterest,
  • Instagram, and
  • Twitter.

Facebook was a gone case*. Pinterest was good, but I got lazy. Instagram is what I choose. Finally Twitter, let me dive a little deep into this.

* Because of how cheaps it is to run ads are on the platform, I am considering Facebook again. Thinking of using it to test new ideas under budget.


Twitter was too much for me.

I followed people like Pieter Levels, Mubashar Iqbal & Marc. I have immense respect for these people. In my eyes, they:

  • build stuff,
  • are no-bullshit people,
  • shared their project progress,
  • held themselves accountable, and
  • actually improved and shipped projects.

I doubted if I could ever be like these people.

I was a lazy person who was learning web development. I couldn't follow a single tutorial without skipping. How was I supposed to stick to a project and share it with the world?

Then there was the Imposter Syndrome. It made me stay locked inside. All the ideas I had were stupid. Who in their senses would pay to use my websites?

With all that, how was I going to expose myself to the world?


Instagram Was Easy

Stay consistent, post daily, be interactive, share beautiful images. That's the mantra I used to grow my audience to 10k.



It was easier because I adopted the method of posting good looking photos, with a question in the caption. People liked my posts because of how they looked. Some of those people replied to the question I had asked in the caption.

After being consistent for five months, I had growth & engagement.

Jackpot.

I Didn't feel like anything. Even with decent engagement, I thought it was all fake. It was not though. Those were real people following me. I'd get DM from people asking which language they should choose.



I got what I wanted. By posting good looking work setup, I had established myself as a person who has figured it all. What a bunch of pretty lies. As they say about the Instagram life, It's all fake.

In pursue of more engaging posts, the lifestyle slowly turns pretentious. When I was at this point, I announced through stories I will not be sharing photos of my laptop. Instead, my feed will be value-filled content.



Within a weekend, my engagement and growth dropped.

[slow claps]

At that point, I wish I had invested this much time on Twitter. In other words, I think the grass is greener on this side.