I had a dream a couple years back after getting pretty deep into some Twitter stuff, that the platform was inhabited by evil spirits. I turned the dream into a short story, here. The short story in its written form doesn’t mention that somehow these cruel, violent entities were part of the dark forces which haunt that platform.

While we could take it as metaphorically true, a symbol sprung up from the subconscious to explain the nature of some of the darker experiences one might have on the platform. But I’ve just as often wondered whether it might also literally be true… If insubstantial evil spirits that feed on human cruelty and suffering live anywhere, Twitter might be a compelling host environment for them. I’m not really an expert on evil spirits or anything. It’s just something that’s stuck with me as an image ever since having that dream.

I’ve tried recently to wipe my Twitter history. It never works fully, even with multiple deletion services. The profile breaks, and somehow pieces from the past drudge back up, and pollute the purity of the present moment again. Forcing you to relive past moments of anger, foolishness, or needless victimization. I’m as guilty of anyone of saying dumb things on social media over the last 20 years. I’ve tried to at least clean up after myself, and am relentless at this point about deleting old, unused accounts. Sever ties with the things that don’t serve you anymore, and all that. I’ve never read or watched Marie Kondo, but I think her stuff is about that.

Blogging, anyway, feels to me still after all this time, like one of the purest forms of internet communication. If the evil spirits of Twitter are nothing more than our own tangled, undeletables, then blogging still feels to me different. Somehow better. This is my platform. You can read it if you want. If you don’t, I don’t care. I’m still gonna write it. I’m not gonna chase followers, or follow traffic. Evil spirits can leave their baggage at the door. I’m home here.

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