Gosh. Two posts about twitter (sort of) in two days. But then before yesterday I'd never posted about it, so I'm hoping I'm due a little slack here. I don't know why I find it so intriguing that the conceptual roots of twitter were in vehicle despatch. But perhaps it's something to do with my longterm fascination with the thought that some of the best ideas can come from taking the model, or principles, or practices from one thing and applying them to something totally unrelated.
Which leads me to the title of the post, a quote from Bill Buxton. It's explaining his belief about the importance of always being a beginner at something, and always being in love with what you are beginning. The former because it keeps you grounded and the latter because it keeps "fire in your heart and soul".
I've been rockclimbing for a couple of years now, and I'm still rubbish at it. But I love it so I keep doing it. One day, when I'm thirty feet up on the wall, maybe I'll be struck by a bolt of inspiration. Maybe not. Maybe it will happen when I'm doing one of the many other things I try my hand at but am equally crap at. Point is it's good to be doing it anyway. And it's good to be fascinated by stuff. For Jack Dorsey, twitter started with a fascination with cities and how they work. And out of that, came a people-focused, highly scalable idea. What I would call a high-leverage idea. The kind of idea that is a real game-changer. The kind that is more possible now than it has ever been. The kind that is increasingly important. The kind that may well not come from the area we spend most of our time trying to become an expert in.
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