How to Compose the Perfect Tweet

At just 140 characters each, the form is limiting. But that’s the point. (So are sonnets.) And a well-aimed tweet can convey your message in a few seconds to the more than 1,000,000 people who hold Twitter accounts. The key to composing the perfect tweet is to:

  • Pay attention to how the words sound. “Poetry is breath, it’s just air. If it’s being tweeted, that’s a representation, that’s the notation. The essence of poetry is what you hear.”
  • Think about what it is you are actually saying. Then make every word count.


Big Think asked Pinsky to read his poem “The City,” then translate it into a tweet.

After brief a pause, this is what he came up with: 

Pinsky actually pulled it off in exactly 100 characters!

I always ponder how Shakespeare and Cervantes would use Twitter.

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.