Since November(ish) I’ve been doing something called #5RTs on Twitter. Every Sunday through Thursday night, I retweet five tweets, usually links or pictures, but not always. I will often add a word or two of commentary in front of it, even if it’s just a LOL. Sometimes there’s a theme, sometimes not. They’re numbered too.
Before them, I usually announce that they are coming (although since it’s a needless tweet, I have often made that announcement bombastic or silly). After the tweets, I sometimes add another tweet or two of commentary about them that didn’t fit into the RT.
For I’ve long considered it a work-in-progress. A #5RTs “project.” Because, in many ways, I’m going against the kinds of social media recommendations I make with my Side x Side hat on. For example, the tweets come between 8 and 11 Pacific Time at night (usually) when fewer people are on Twitter. They don’t link to my site. They are often very very random. Such as cats with jetpacks on their backs.
But I think the fact that I’ve kept it going for more than four months suggests it’s bigger than just a project. It’s something that’s hear to stay.
The truth is, I really like it. I like watching for links on my feed throughout the day. I like that I’m speaking to a smaller group of people–people getting ready for bed or checking Twitter while watching TV. I’m not asking for their undivided attention, just putting out a diversion. Here’s some photos, here’s some links, here’s a joke or two, and good night!
I like trying to have a “better” #5RTs than I had the day before. It reminds me of being editor of my high school paper. You’d work hard on an issue, and when the issue was done, you had to re-start on the next one. So there was a cyclical nature to it, but there’s also a cumulative nature as well. In other words, #5RTs is bigger than an individual night, and if you were going to assess it, you would have to consider more than just its “best” or “worst” night.
So consider this the official announcement that I’m pulling #5RTs out of “beta.” I’m on Twitter. And every Sunday through Thursday night, watch for #5RTs.
(Also, if your eye happened to be caught by that cat with a jetpack on its back, here’s the full story).