This week at work, a conversation went toward “thinking in public” and how writing online helps us refine our thoughts. I’ve definitely fallen into this trap.
I’ve fallen into the trap for a few reasons:
- Laziness. At the end of the time, I’m tired.
- Busy. While at work, I don’t have the bandwidth to write.
- Fear. Will I say something that blows up for the wrong reason? What if I say something and it’s misunderstood?
- Vanity. Remember when we wrote something without optimizing for SEO or making sure we have the perfect featured image for Twitter or Facebook sharing? When we didn’t care about views, in part, because it was annoying to track them (rendering server logs anyone?)
2020 is not even six months old and it’s been an incredibly historic. Between Covid-19 and the civil unrest across the country, I suspect this year will be notable for a long time to come. These situations bring up new questions about public health, restriction of enterprise, the necessity for preparation and science-based planning, and more. They also reopen and expose old wounds around race, the role of police, the freedom of speech, press, and assembly.
This requires us to think harder and to think deeper. We need to have conversations in more than 240 characters. We have to examine evidence, challenge ourselves, and aim to find understanding. We don’t need to knee-jerk retweet things.
I’m guilty of this. Through Twitter, I’ve learned quite a bit, but have I shared unverified information that wasn’t true? Probably. Have I taken all that I have learned and refined it to have a better understanding? Not really.
Maybe I can get back in the habit and learn a bit along the way.
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