This week a lull in my freelance work has meant I’ve been paying extra special attention to my household duties.

Have I heck? That’s what I should have been doing – the reality was I succumbed to something I’ve been resisting for a long time: joining the Twitterati.

It was so easy – so seductive. Names such as @Bubblesdxb, @the_hedonista, @HeelsAndDeals. How can you resist sneaking a peek at what they’re up to. It was bound to be more interesting than chasing freelance payments (yet again!)

I promised myself I’d be quick and joining took no time at all. But as I scrolled down the list of suggested people to follow – from Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed’s “official tweets” to Queen Rania of Jordan (“a mum and a wife with a really cool day job”), it dawned on me I could be there a while.

By midday, I felt positively giddy. I’d found nearly all my favourite bloggers, my fave DJs Catboy and Geordiebird from Dubai 92, and several relatives and best friends from real life. How could I have not known about this whole new world of micro-blogging Tweeters?

And as I realised that friends who I thought didn’t even know each other had become pals, I was encouraged to go all out with my first ever tweet.

“Just be yourself,” advised my friend @Linda_FB. “There will always be smarter, wittier and prettier people out there.

“If people follow you, just follow them back, unless they’re naked!” she signed off with.

So after a couple of attempts at getting my post under 140 characters (Twitter tells you to “be more clever” if you ramble), I tweeted and can’t even remember what I said now, it was that interesting.

While fun, the twitiquette worries me though. What if you don’t check it for a few hours and come back to a zillion tweets? And if you don’t reply, is that dreadfully rude? These kind of social media pressures could easily turn me into a twittering wreck.

According to my guru Linda (who founded @glutenfreeuae), the mentions button will be my best friend – and she says it can take days to see the point of Twitter. But one thing I have found out is there’s some unique stuff on there.

Like FoodPorn, in which someone from Chicago posts enormous, gorgeous photos of food that make your lunch look utterly disappointing (“because we all have a little fat guy living inside us”) – and shhdonttellsteve, in which someone who lives with a guy named Steve posts what he (Steve) is doing at all times.

I also know that Twitter could be my downfall in terms of never getting anything done, ever again. Now what’s this about Google +?

PHOTO CREDIT: Techie Buzz