And no birds do sing

Someone asked me the other day why I was not on Twitter? I mumbled something about the fact that the last thing a fox needs is more sources of distraction.

But sitting in the Japanese takeaway waiting for my order I have had time to reflect.

As an outsider Twitter seems to do 4 things – it helps reduce the essential loneliness of existence and connects us with the rest of our species (which reminds me of Italo Calvino and Mr Palomar but that’s a fox distraction); it is a quick and easy way of broadcasting news and status to friends, assuming we have either news or friends; related to that it helps us socialise by allowing us to tell people which bar we are in; finally it acts as a web of connections, hares sit up and dart hither and thither and sometimes it’s a hare worth following.

All good things but again, as a fox, is the upside greater than the risk of vastly more shiny baubles cluttering my view and distracting me still further?

Hmm perhaps I should join but just go for a 140 character name?