I stopped using Facebook and Twitter at least 5 years ago. There was value when I began those channels maybe 10 years ago, but I quit when it became a charade (for me). It takes real skill to use those channels wisely, especially for business. I felt that I was better off reading books and building relationships the old-fashioned way. I don’t regret taking things slowly and certainly won’t capitulate in 2019.

If you took the top 100 influencers on Twitter and aggregated their financial worth, they would far exceed the worth of all authors from all time. What a shame! I’ve heard that it’s really hard to make a living as an author these days, even for those who’ve had NYT bestsellers. Nonetheless, the real money is in building communications technology and wiring the world. However, real personal value comes from developing writing skills.

The nonsense of social media continues in 2019 with a Japanese billionaire becoming the tweeter of the most retweeted tweet of all time. By not spending significant time on social media, I might finish reading the top books of all time:

Top 100 books according to Time

More importantly, I grow wiser and become a better thinker, a better family person, a better writer and a more conscientious citizen. There will come a time when books will become an endangered species.

Let’s support book reading and the writing community before technology eclipses our ability to do so.