While I welcome modern interpretations of Shakespeare’s work I do wonder whether Twitter is a good form of medium to do this on.

For me when i think of Twitter as a social media tool I think of it as in a sense a insight into other peoples lives you read what other people are doing, you converse in what seems like a tiny community but in reality is on a rather large scale. We use it to also have a stream of news whether it be general, music, technology etc

So for Twitter streams fronm individual charaters that you already know is clearly fictional will it really have the same effect? I think once there is awareness that what you are reading is not real, the sense of immersion that you get when something is (or at least appears to be real)

While studying at University I did a case study on Online Caroline (URL is www.onlinecaroline.com but it doesnt seem to be active anymore) if you are not familiar with it, the idea is that you log on to a site daily to view webcam feed by caroline, which pans out as an intereactive story where you choose clothing, gifts and other such items which have an impact on the story, you also recieve personal emails from Caroline. When this was first launched it was made to believe that this person was real and you were conversing with her, with that you felt immersed in the story that was playing out this article by Jill Walker really does highlight this point.

So for a story to pan out that is fragmented (as twitter posts are) in its making and you are already aware its a story…I feel there is some distance created to the story already, even with a book at least you can feel like you are are there as a third person and the story flows as slowly or as quickly as you like….i am currently following 354 people on Twitter i lose track of most of their stories let alone trying to follow fictional characters stories as well

will certainly keep an eye on the project though to see how it pans out…

So im about mid way through the Creative Utopia book and i have to say it is actually pretty interesting stuff it, it basically describes methods and activities in which to spark the creativity in you which had the usual aromatherapy rituals but one that regularly comes up but i have not really appreciated until now is Feng Shui…

ok i wont go as far to say i will be rearranging my whole house to fit the Feng Shui way but what did strike me about the concept of the feeling of restlessness when things are disorganised and messy, I remember when I was studying for my Marketing exam in June the washing up or any kind of mess that was going on in the kitchen would burn into the back or my neck until i finally got up and did it, there was almost a sense of lack of control and anxiety which in itself is a bit odd.

But the main thing about the book which struck a cord (must admit i did joke about it in my last post to start) was about disconnecting yourself from technology to give yourself some time to think and be productive, so that means no internet no mobile phone just you, the world around you and your thoughts…

What what i have found sad about today’s society is the inability for some people to think for themselves yes the internet is a valuable tool and if used appropriately can enhance your learning and your performance, for example i never claim to know everything no person ever can, but i always know where to look if i want to find the answer and then extract what i need from the resource and apply it to the task at hand. But the internet is not the only tool for such education, I am a big fan of sitting down and reading a good book, not only to find my answers but I actually find my mind works a lot better if i have sat and read a good fiction book.

But anyway, enough with the rant and on with the creative side of things. The concept of distancing yourself from technology to be inspired by the surrounding that you are in as sometimes we do numb our brains to whatever is put to us, whether its the latest album feeding us music and lyrics, TV, text on the internet, the lastest text message on your phone…they all tend to feed information directly to us without any given effort on our part….apart from the odd bit of text on the internet of course.

So to extract myself from that to read this book to sit and digest the information without glancing at my phone every 2 seconds to see if i got another tweet, left me feeling inspired and creative. I had an impulse to do some drawing and some watercolour painting which i havent touched since secondary school. I ended up crawling into my loft like a mad person (I was actually told by my partner i was acting insane too) so i could find my reference mannekin to draw figures with…i even drew a sketch as to what i wanted to achieve:

My drawing plus the notes i wrote after to write this blog with

I even vowed that i would take the advice from the book and buy myself a little A5 sketchbook so i can write and draw ideas when i feel inspired….from now on I will take more of this time out to myself as my senses never feel so awake as they do when im away from technology and my mind is free to think and be inspired.

I do miss the times i used to sit by the lake near where is used to live, lost in my thoughts, perhaps i should take up meditation?

What I am Reading: “Creative Utopia: 12 Ways to Realise total creativity” by Theo Stephen Williams – very inspring book i must say

What am I listening to: “Scream” by Michael Jackson – I can always imagine myself dancing to this when i hear it, its a shame im usually in the middle of a street so to burst into a dance routine may be a bit insane