The Self-Made Twitter

Consider for a moment the self-made man. A man who is given little in terms of concrete opportunities but is introspective about his actions and the paths he chooses to take. He extends himself in ways that germinate results and through positive and negative reinforcement, in turn discovers his own best practices.

I equate Twitter to the self-made man. When Twitter was hatched 3 years ago, like the self-made man, it came into the world without any formal guidance or immediate opportunities. Instead, it was set on its way with the mere question of "what are you doing?" Like the self-made man, Twitter quickly figured out that it would not do particularly well, simply answering the question of "what am I am doing." In other words, Twitter quickly discovered that answering "I am toasting a poptart" wouldn't make the cut. Instead, Twitter evolved with its best practices spurred by its own race for survival of the fittest.

Twitter's platform is nothing more than a couple of rounded edges. Yet because of this, it is constantly churning out do-s and don't-s, chiseling away at its being, defining its features and visualizing its success. Its motivation? Knowing that this is its only hope for success.