One way of using Twitter is to publish your aphorisms. Jenny Holzer has been doing this. For example,
CONFUSING YOURSELF IS A WAY TO STAY HONEST
AN ELITE IS INEVITABLE
FAKE OR REAL INDIFFERENCE IS A POWERFUL PERSONAL WEAPON
DISORGANIZATION IS A KIND OF ANESTHESIA
A STRONG SENSE OF DUTY IMPRISONS YOU
SELF-AWARENESS CAN BE CRIPPLING
WORDS TEND TO BE INADEQUATE
(all caps in original)
Twitter's tight microcontent restrictions suit it well for aphorisms. Think back to the pithy, condensed provocations of the masters, like Chamfort or Nietzsche, or the Situationists. Wilde's preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) should be tweeted.
(via BoingBoing)
I didn't send this to Boing Boing, but recently I went to the Art Institute of Chicago and saw the Jenny Holzer piece involving blue LED tickers and these aphorisms. I forget the title, that's why I didn't send it in. But nice timing.
Posted by: Cayden | July 21, 2007 at 17:19
Neat, Cayden, and thank you.
Want to Twitter some classic aphorisms?
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | July 21, 2007 at 17:54