In technology industries, there are many that call themselves experts in fields that are barely decades old; in fields that can move as fast as the speed of thought.

For the expert this is dangerous. The real skill of the technologist is not just in mastering a brief age of technology. You also must remain malleable enough to move with its irresistible motion.

Expertise should be a paddle, but it can be an anchor.

I was showing a relative around Brighton’s North Laines for the gizillionth time, only to see a shadowy lady leaving copies of a freshly printed book on cafe tables like a philanthropic ninja. Within 30 seconds I smelt “marketing campaign” and so picked one up. Guardian Books had correctly earmarked Brighton as a liberal, digital city and so had left copies of How To Leave Twitter by the rather lovely Grace Dent (Charlie Brooker with better breasts and bigger hair if you want a summary) all over the town.

How To Leave Twitter is barely about leaving twitter, so half a point off for that. It is instead a fun afternoon’s worth of musings on cruising the 140 character waves of twitterland and will probably require an enigma machine for the uninitiated to enjoy. If you already tweet like me ( @sessionleopard ), you immediately will recognise Grace’s love of twitter’s human ticker-tape and share with her its joys of live-tweeting TV, the hours wasted on pun-based games and giggle along with her literary smirks and smacks. 

The book is a light, witty read to be enjoyed with a cup of tea and breaks for twitter updates. Occasionally a little wiff of hypocrisy enters the proverbial room, especially when Grace attends to her twitter-hates, but I was happy enough to turn a blind eye to these moments and move to the next funny. What did catch my eye was a seam in the book where Grace explores how twitter is one of the few - perhaps only - places where women can be both funny and smart without being heinously edited, and find many others doing the same. In this strand I felt a little closer to where Grace’s passion really lies, and the book moves a touch beyond the funny vacuum into a more interesting place. I’m sure Grace will write more on this subject in the future, and write about it very well.

7/10

What is the bargaining power of the best experience? This argument is going to roll on and on. 

BBC News - Pressure mounts over Apple’s 30% subscription charge