Retweets are the new unread books

Last weekend I talked to a friend and referenced an anecdote I had read. He looked confused, so I told him I read it in an article he tweeted earlier that day. His reply “Oh yeah, I retweeted it because I thought it would be an interesting article, but I didn’t click through.”

I was surprised for a moment but then realized I often do the same. I’ll see a title for a page and think ‘That must be interesting for some of my followers’ and then I will retweet it unseen. Somehow that feels weird though. Usually I just assume that people will have read an article before they retweet it. But I also know this isn’t true as I’ve seen posts in the past on this blog that for a short while had more retweets than unique visitors.

In a way this practice reminds me of old-fashioned bookshelves with impressive books on them that you haven’t actually read, but which you think make you look smart. Take a look at your bookshelf and tell me you’ve read every book on there. Honestly now!

So tell me, do you ever retweet something, a quote or URL, simply to make yourself look smarter, hipper and more up-to-date than you actually are?

Oh who am I kidding, you aren’t even reading this post. You’ve probably only retweeted it…