I’ve been stalled on both the “real” thing and the “let’s pretend this isn’t real” thing because it seems I can no longer turn off my internal editor and everything is hard. This, naturally, means I have even less to say on this benighted blog than usual.  So today’s topic is: how to justify the time you spend on Twitter.  (Some might say there is no justification but we will ignore them.)

It’s true that I spend too much time on Twitter, though I almost never post anything. I set up my Iphone with a 30-minute time limit for social media, which I regularly extend in 15-minute chunks. There is no such regulator on my laptop however.

I follow mostly other writers (and sometimes their cats), vineyard owners (if they happen to be Sam Neill), an account called @hourlyFox that posts a picture of a fox each hour and @unchartedatlas, which uses bots to post maps of imaginary countries. I keep thinking I’ll use that one for writing but so far, no.  Mostly, I follow historians. At least that way, I can claim I’m learning something.

And I have definitely learned things.  I’ve learned about the Civil War, the Southern Strategy, the myth of racial homeogenity in the ancient world, and radicalism in Appalachia.  I’ve followed long threads of discussion and come away curious about parts of history I’ve never considered interesting before.

So you if want to justify your Twitter habit, follow some of the historians below.  (And follow @AuschwitzMuseum, because we should never forget.)

@kevinkruse   

@whoresofyore

@TheTattooedProf

@Sarahchurchwell

@davidwblight

@KevinLevin

@elizabethcatte 

@joannefreeman 

@waitmanb

@SarahEBond 

@womenalsoknowhistory