Okay, maybe it wasn’t actually him. Maybe it was whoever operates his Twitter account. But his name is on it, so the blame starts there.
First, the backstory.
Last week, I noticed a Twitter trending topic that said “Justin Deserves Our Love.”
Never one to pass up a chance to make a sociological comment about an otherwise inane trending topic, I tweeted, “Justin Deserves Our Love, you say? So do all humans. Funny how we usually forget that.”
And funnier still was what happened next:
First, let me admit that I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Baltimore since I moved here in 2009. I also haven’t always been thrilled by the live events I’ve attended here, and maybe that’s led me to be a bit of a curmudgeonly misanthrope. (Or, maybe I was just born that way.) But I really do like the city, and I think it has incredible potential.
I just don’t always see evidence that the city of Baltimore loves itself, and that sometimes makes it harder to root for.
So when an event like Create Baltimore 2 comes along, I feel like I owe it to myself to see what the people who really do actively care about this city are trying to accomplish, and how they’re finding ways to work together.
I currently freelance, which means I’m my own boss. I finish as much work in a day as I tell myself to get done, and I earn as much money as I choose to earn.
I also have a long-term goal of becoming a professional writer and media producer with my own profitable production company, which means I’m my own tour guide. I visit all the places between here and there that I choose to visit, and I take as much time in getting from here to there as I choose to spend.
Left to my own devices, I’d never accomplish anything or go anywhere. I’d just sit on the couch playing video games or taking naps. That’s because, without structure and goals, I naturally gravitate toward the activities that pay in pleasure without requiring much effort. You probably do, too.
That’s a bad habit for a self-employed person, who doesn’t have someone else imposing a winning structure on his day.
So here’s how I started doing it all by myself.
No, I’m not talking about getting more “likes” or raising your Klout score, because that doesn’t matter. What matters is what people use.
For example:
When I’m looking for a new place for dinner, I read restaurant reviews.
When I’m booking a trip, I read hotel reviews.
When I need a new book about a certain subject, I read book reviews.
And yet, how often do I leave reviews for the restaurants, hotels, books, films, music and other products and services I’ve loved? Not often enough.
So here’s an easy way to fix that.
This year, I’m trying an experiment: Every weekday, I tweet a new arbitrary question at 10:04 AM EST. The answers I receive may (or may not) be used in — or as inspiration for — a future blog post.
My goal is to get people thinking, sharing, and maybe even sparking some interesting conversations or connections. Feel free to join in, even after 10:04 AM has passed.
The questions are tagged with the #1004question hashtag. (If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, this is how a hashtag works.) Including the #1004question hashtag in your response lets everyone taking part in the conversation see your response, and may generate even further conversation.
NOTE: You don’t need to follow me on Twitter to reply to a question, but you can certainly follow me for the heck of it. I am occasionally witty or vaguely relevant. And I’m certainly on there often enough…
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