Interviewer: So Chris, how are you doing tonight?
Chris Chase: Man, I’m good. Nervous but good, you know what I’m saying?
Interviewer: I do, dawg. I really do.
CC: No you don’t but that’s okay (chuckles)
Interviewer: So. Here we are, time for your decision. How did you come to this…decision?
CC: Well, I’ve been thinking on it for some time now. I spoke with my family a lot, got the nod from my lady (points to his wife Rebecca in the crowd and gives her a smile. Rebecca blushes and smiles back), and then I just decided.
Interviewer: So how many people know about your decision?
CC: (Looks at his laptop)…um, about 56 people know right now. Maybe more but 56 for sure. I can’t really worry about who knows and who doesn’t but I guess this public declaration/waste of time will fill the rest in and from there, the decision will be on them. You see what I did there? I turn the topic of the decision-based my decision on everyone else (looks to heaven quite smug, then realizing that he is in front of a crowd changes his face to humble. No one buys it.). What I mean is that I haven’t gone out of my way to make this news public at first. Those who know know and others will know as they know, which I think is cool.
Interviewer: That was a bunch of nonsense. So what was your decision, since you already MADE it beforehand.
CC: I’ve decided or rather, I decided to go back on twitter.
Guy in the Crowd: You mean I skipped work AND plates for that? You’re on twitter? You SUCK, Chase. You could have just tweeted that.
CC: Ummm, technically I did…why did you skip work, man? That’s weird.
Interviewer: Okay…so why did you initially leave twitter?
CC: Well, I had been thinking about it for a while. I really had fun with it when I first found it but a couple of things changed. One, I was spending too much time tweeting. From little things to big things, my phone or iPad was always waiting to say something. Two, which is an extension of one, I was on my phone all the time. Someone once asked my daughter what kind of instrument my wife plays and she responded by saying piano. When the same question was asked about me, her reply? The phone.
Eliana Chase: (from backstage) It’s true, y’all!
CC: When a two-year old says that, you gotta make changes. Three, my esteem was low. I saw a lot of my friends making godly tweets and instead of being inspired or driven by them, I was embarrassed that I either had nothing to say/add OR was convicted that I wasn’t there in my own life. So then I tried to act it which made me feel worse. There’s nothing worse that adding to low esteem by pretending. Nothing.
And fourth, I needed to know how to better use it. I lost that in trying to be like everyone else (book quotes, Bible quotes, leadership lines, etc.). Plus, everyone wants to be retweeted and when you’re not, it’s like a kick to the face, especially when you think it should be!
Interviewer: So, then you left, correct?
CC: No, first I went on a media fast with my young adults from (gets really loud) RESONAAAATE (upon saying that, a group of young adults stand up and cheer. All are wearing yellow skinny jeans.) for our retreat to focus our mind on Jesus. And when we got back, I decided that I didn’t want to be on it anymore. And so I think my last tweet was on Jan 17th.
Interviewer: And how did that feel?
CC: Pretty cool. Liberating, actually. I actually found that because I didn’t see people’s updates, oh yeah I was off Facebook too, I could actually ask people how they were doing and not lie about it. Also, I was on the computer and phone less because there were no messages to respond too. Plus, I was able to recalibrate my brain and heart to remind myself that my esteem should come from God and not from retweets. I know I should know this but humanity is a funny thing.
Interviewer: But now you’re baaaack. How is this time different? What made you make that change?
CC: I made the change because I’m a nerd for social interaction, especially with friends that I rarely get to see. So first I put my old twitter handle to bed because He had a good run. Then I made some rules for myself:
- No twitter on my phone. I can only tweet when I am in front of my computer on wi-fi. So it has to be well thought out before going online.
- Protecting my tweets. With tweets protected, I can’t have anything retweeted. Less things to worry about for my esteem:).
- No overtweeting. Having a good number is good. It’s okay to not have a tweet one day or two. And because I don’t have it on my phone, I really have to remember stuff throughout the day and get the words right to have it nailed. Plus I don’t want to have that overtweeting rep.
- Balanced tweets. It’s okay to mix the sacred and the secular. It’s okay to think and to laugh.
- Know your audience. I don’t have anyone on my tweet-list who doesn’t believe what I believe so I don’t plan to preach at them. My audience is good friends, so I can be more myself than before on my old twit handle.
- Let it happen naturally. No seeking people out and no trying to get sought. If someone finds and follows, awesome. And if they don’t, that’s cool beans too.
- Have fun.
And if I can’t keep those rules, then I’ll again recalibrate and then slowly return. Again.
Interviewer: Well, I am happy that you wasted our telecast with your story (voice dripping with sarcasm)
CC: That was rude. Let me te-
Interviewer: (Cutting CC off) And that’s all the time we have for tonight. Sorry Matt Damon, we’re out of time. I want to thank Chris Chase for this interview and his decision. In the words of Jeff Hackett, all the best. You can find Chris’ new twitter handle by typing in –
(Screen cuts to black.)
FIN
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