In writing, two forces oppose each other: the desire to be authentic, and the desire to gain readership so that authenticity can be valued.<p>It's really hard to achieve both goals. One can be really authentic, writing what you care about without regard to your readership, but your work may go unappreciated. Good writing alone doesn't gain followers, unfortunately.<p>So people try to walk the line (or just cross it) of what tactics can be considered appropriate. Those who don't employ tactics to gain followers and readers often go unnoticed. It's unfortunate, and at times frustrating.<p>HN at least offers an outlet for tech-related posts where it's acceptable to post your own writing. It lets authors express viewpoints, ideas, and feedback in a neutral, yet effective way. You don't have to spam posts to every social news site to get your writing noticed here. The small target audience makes all the difference.<p>I don't know what exists for other writing niches. Reddit and Digg don't really cater to good writing as well as HN does.<p>But I digress, this was about twitter. It's nice to have followers, but when all is said and done, twitter messages are short-lived. They will fade into obscurity soon after they're posted. Blog posts and decent essays, when written well, can often last for many years without losing their value. So I'd suggest to authors: Push twitter less, and focus more on your content. If you're going to advocate anything, advocate that people follow your RSS feed.