Addicted to Twitter? Follow me

Lame advertisement? Of course it is. But since this is the shortest shortcut that I can think of, you have to forgive me. After all, if you have read this far, or if this isn't the first time you've read my articles, I guess I stand a chance.

 Come on, everyone is following someone these days, and better still, I'm not just "someone". I'm a confused journalist stuck in the middle of an information hurricane in a politically divided country. If this can't sell, I don't know what can. Sometimes it's boring, all right, but most of the time it's exciting, and it will be fun to share some of the experiences with you.

 What you'll get is a taste of what goes on in our newsroom, day in day out: The gossip, the rumours, the questions, the decision-making. If you think the news business thrives on speculation, you probably still have no idea. Follow me and you may get a glimpse into how some rumours are discarded professionally, and how others get the better of us and sneak into print. And who knows, follow me and one day you might be able to say to your friends, "Hey, look at that Nation headline. It was my idea!"

 We are human. And this is the important part. If you decide to follow my "Wild Newsroom" (let me know if you can think of a better name) tweets, the first thing to know is they will be mostly behind-the-scenes stuff. You re-tweet them discreetly, or it will be at our common peril.

 Yes, I'm well aware of the dilemma. If people like me do this too well, we may just accelerate our own professional demise. Who would want to subscribe to an SMS breaking news service when we are giving it to you for free and with extreme passion and intensity? But you know what they say - if we don't do it, somebody else surely will.

 I'll be honest with you about what I think of Twitter. It's a great, God-given tool that, taking Haiti into account, can make the world a better place. And where the news media is concerned, there's no faster and more effective way to get information out, get back responses, seek opinions, check facts and exchange thoughts.

 In this brave new world, everything that is fast is fun. First the emails, then web boards, then the SMS and real-time chats. Twitter is an MSN with multiple chat partners, so it's more fun. If one day you have to tweet for a living, though, the question concerning a sustainable business model comes into play.

 That's our problem, anyway, and we'll worry about it later. Yours is making a few clicks and waiting to see how this relationship goes. Good thing is, if you get bored or feel information overload, you can just "unfriend" me. There, nothing to lose. And I'll be just fine.

 And of course, I'm aware of the addiction warning. You can get hooked to the point where you tweet in your sleep, and where the whole world except the ones beside you know that you are suffering a sore throat or lusting after Michelle Rodriguez. Don't worry. Most studies show twitter addiction is in direct proportion to the scale of the following. So, if I become too obssessed, it can only mean I'm popular enough to sell books or issue a music album.

 I will end this shameless promotion with a promise to try my best to make it as two-way as it can be. Your opinions will be sought more often than not, and they will stand a good chance of making it to print (as long as they don't contain too much venom, of course). Why tweet yourself to sleep when you can tweet yourself to The Nation's front page?

 Well, this should do it. Feel free to give me a try. This is entirely up to you, but, remember, my fragile ego is at stake here.

Note: Big thanks to some of you who have already requested to follow my long-registered but dormant Twitter account. Your names will always be held in high regard, meaning you will be the first to know if I decide to write a book.