TLDR
Q: Is Twitter a distraction?
A: Yes, but that’s ok.
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A while back, a friend promised to take pictures from an event. On the way down, she (safely) texted a few ideas. We went back and forth about what would be suitable. Once she arrived, she sent a few test shots. I said great, but stop thinking about the project. Be in the moment. We’ll talk after.
Should I take my own advice?
When I Tweet from a horse show, part of me is not fully present. Instead of absorbing the sights and sounds and smells, I am analyzing my environment to through the lens of what would make a good Tweet.
It’s mild enough. My Tweet stream idles in the background. When I have a strong thought, or see a cute image, I think, ‘Hey, I’ll Tweet that.’ Unlike photography, I can Tweet and go about my day. I find when I am taking pictures, I am not looking at what is happening in front of me [Lesson Success, Photo Fail 2017].
Plus, I’m Tweeting for my own entertainment. If I miss an opportunity, oh well. If I stop Tweeting for half a day, mox nix. If I were Tweeting for a client (I assume people do this?), I would be more focused on Tweetability at the expense of the experience.
So far, I have tweeted from saddle seat shows and from Greg’s shows with Coach Kate’s horse. In both cases, there is a lot of down time when I am not riding nor in charge of horses. I’m probably missing out on some of the moment, but not enough to make a huge difference. I suspect this will change dramatically when (if) I am showing with my own horse.
Which brings on the bigger question, is blogging itself a distraction? Same answer.
I tried doing without [I’m Baaaaaack 2013]. Didn’t go so well. My situation is similar enough today that if I were to stop blogging I would expect the same result, i.e. “wallow in dark rooms, binge-eating cookie dough.” [Energy Usage 2014].
OTOH, there have been one or two moments lately, as we have been running from pillar to post, that I could see being too busy to blog. Yes, there is sad busy. I don’t know if I would post or not. I might not be able to talk about it. I might find talking a release. I hope I never find out. But I digress.
There is also happy busy. If I had a full, satisfying life in the real world, would I live in the digital world quite so much? Possibly not. This one would be nice to find out.
For now, I blog.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
You blog daily. That’s a lot of blogging. Don’t just blog for the sake of blogging, just do it when you feel like it. I feel that anything that takes you away from being in the moment at a horse show is a distraction. I don’t even understand Twitter, quite likely because I do not have a smart phone and have no intention of getting one.
IMO: Blogging is writing, Tweeting is Turrets. YMMV.
debandtoby: The daily discipline keeps me on task. Otherwise, I’d have good intentions and blank blog posts.
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rontuaru: Did you mean Tourette Syndrome? Damn. Now I’m going to think of that every time I tweet.
Yes. My bad for not paying attention to what my brain was telling my fingers to type! 😉