‘Forbes’ contributor argues Twitter ‘can make you a better writer’
Forbes is a deservedly respected magazine that was established in 1917. An article it published this week written by Victor Lipman, however, makes a mockery of this otherwise fine title. In the feature, the Harvard graduate and former marketing executive argued that Twitter “is an exceptional tool that can make you a better writer”.
Lipman’s belief is that the discipline of 140 characters makes users “practice selection and compression”. He cites an example “favourite” tweet by his daughter in which she says:
“coffee coffee #coffee, so nice i [sic] said it thrice”
His summary of what makes this missive “good writing” is as follows:
“I hope it’s not a minor lapse of integrity that I included a daughter’s tweet here. But I do like coffee and the way she described it”.
“And I do like Twitter. For all these reasons and then some”.
If that is an example of written genius, God help us all. If Shakespeare, Wordsworth or Dickens were presented with it, what would they say? Subsequently, for that very reason, Victor Lipman just had to be our wally of the week.
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