I deactivated my Twitter account two weeks ago.

Apologies to my 192 (last count) followers but it was getting too much for me. I know, crazy. But a Twitter account is the ultimate self-branding tool and I wasn’t finding it much fun anymore.

Here was my thinking: many of the people I follow are successful in their field. I am still trying to make my dreams happen. I felt like I couldn’t keep up.

Second reason: many of the people I follow are clever, funny and witty. I’m funny but having to write funny tweets was a pressure I could do without. It was too competitive and who was I trying to impress?

Third reason: My life is crazy right now. Full of possibilities but even I’m finding it hard to keep up. I write A-lister profiles as my day job (in the last two weeks I’ve met Cameron Diaz, Slash, Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Mike Myers and Antonio Banderas) and that’s fun but I’m also waiting on a book deal and my latest film script is getting interest. I’m meeting agents and producers and finally seem to be transitioning from journalist to scriptwriter/author. But how can I brand myself in 140 characters when my brand is changing so dramatically?

And finally, I’m a private person. I don’t like to lay myself bare but ironically that’s exactly the kind of stuff that people want to hear about. For example, I rarely mention my boyfriend in anything I write. He’s a huge fan of Twitter (you should follow him at http://twitter.com/danforthfrance because he’s funny, political and has a unique take on the world) but I don’t mention us because I’m don’t want to compromise our relationship. So that’s a huge chunk of life I don’t write about. Not very honest is it?

And I’ve thought of something else; my inner thoughts are the basis of my creative writing. Why give the good stuff out for free? Ideas are currency. I don’t want to just give them away.

Oh and another thing, Twitter is a popularity contest. I had under 200 followers. With a thousand tweets and one year of tweeting under my belt I think that’s a lousy headcount. I’m not that popular. OMG I’m 14-years-old again and not being picked for the netball team. Who needs it?!

Being a part of a social network is akin to living with a partner who constantly nags you because you’re not good enough. People want constant attention and they expect you to join in, even when you don’t feel like it. Sometimes I just want everybody to go away. One of those times is now. I’ve gone on Twabbatical, end of.

That’s not to say that I wont go back to Twitter. I think it has merit and boy, was I annoyed at having deactivated my account just before the general election (although after I quit, I went right back in and re-registered my name) because I missed what @glinner and @aiannucci had to say.

Once I feel I have room for Twitter in my life again I’ll be back. But right now, I have a major life change that needs my full attention. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I know who the hell I am. #andthatsthehonesttruth