Twittering

There are some upsides to Twitter.

Yes, it encourages people to be narcissistic and self-important. And waste hours of the their life. But people's tweets, and Facebook statuses, are often a joy to read. They are frequently witty, self-effacing and pleasingly ambiguous. Recently, I went to Bletchley and my Facebook status reflects that. I was excited and wanted to share. I anticipate lots of questions about it in the next few weeks as people who saw my status ask me about it in person. All good.

But another upside of Twitter in particular is that 140 characters really does focus the mind. What can be said in 140 characters - including spaces? I would argue that a brief, intriguing message draws people in more effectively than long exhaustive ones. It is possible to catch people's attention without being crass, untruthful or overly sensational.

Moreover, to say something briefly is not to say nothing. And to say something ambiguously is not always a bad thing. But remember it only takes 140 characters to say: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life – John 3:16”. And ultimately, how could one say more than that?