Why Twitter has improved my "solo" work life

Working on your own at home as a self-employed journo, writer, blogger etc can be a lonely business. I've actually grown to like spending most of my time on my own but there are still times when I long for some friendly office banter or a spontaneous exchange between colleagues. Still, the advantages (such as no commuter travel, wearing any old clothes, having no-one to tell you when you need to be in your office, being at home for Little Miss Outdoors, having coffee making and lunch making facilities just a short trip downstairs etc) mostly outweigh the disadvantages (no regular wage, no sick pay, no paid holidays).

And then along came blogging, Facebook and Twitter. Suddenly there was chatter in my office from people I already know and a growing number of new on-line friends/colleagues. While the chatter is "silent" it does fill the gaps when I need a break from my work (sometimes it takes over my work time to be honest!) and quite often it makes me smile. In particular, I've become a huge fan of Twitter. Quick bites of chat/info from a wide range of people has given a whole new lease of life to my solo worker situation. It does feel like a conversation, the sort I used to have at the school gates when Little Miss Outdoors still allowed me to walk her to school; the kind of chat I used to have over a coffee at work; the quick bites of this and that that make your life so much more fun and informed.

And today I woke up to a tweet from ProScot that really made me smile out loud. It came (unprompted and I believe with sincerity)

Now following @fionaoutdoors who also has a great bloghttp://bit.ly/9DeaXh she is full of energy and inspiration

Because the other thing that is all to often lacking from a life of freelancing is feedback and encouragement. Yes, there are some clients who are really good about praising your work but there are an awful lot of other people who forget that self-employment means doing a lot of hard work for no feedback whatsoever.

Today was also warmed by another tweet from RSKSports:

For expert help follow @WebsitesPerth @Fionaoutdoors@FirstForCopy @thefitwriter @debutmarketing

I've also had a FFs (Follow Fridays). While Twitter is mostly used as a great business tool for marketing etc it still does offer a place for generous and warming tweets. Thanks guys for making this sunny Friday morning even sunnier!