A grand experiment: What one thing would you tell your younger self?

Leo Widrich -
“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

In the few years I’ve lived, there were countless mistakes I’ve made. Now, I’m not at all a person of regret. I stand up, fall down, get up and fall down again. I’m sure you are the same, that’s what has got you this far in life.

And yet, every so often I get this urge of thinking “if I only knew this a few years ago”.  That one bit of advice to face that challenge, finish that exam, get that job or start that business with a better edge. Looking back at the situation, it all became clear, but looking forward it wasn’t at all.

But wait, there is more. What if you could give that exact piece of advice that you couldn’t give yourself to someone else. And what if that someone else would be the world?

Here at Buffer, we thought that this could work as social experiment never done before. Your most important life lesson learnt, that you would tell your younger self available to the world. Anonymously. On Twitter.

How can you share your one thing with others?

This is a social experiment we are launching today, that has never been done before (I believe). Anyone in the world can add a Tweet to a public Twitter account. The name of the Twitter account is @AYoungerMe.

Yes, so anywhere you are in the world, you’ll be able to add your one lesson that you wish you knew when you were younger. All you have to do is send an email to the address below and anything in the subject line and is under 140 characters will be your Tweet.

Here is an example:

ayoungerme@to.bufferapp.com

 

The way this works, is that it will get added to a queue in a Buffer account specifically created for this experiment with everyone else’s Tweets. From the queue, once every hour a new Tweet from you or anyone who has emailed something in will be posted. The way your email gets added is automatically via Buffer’s email feature. 

We are super excited to see what happens with this. Email your Tweet in and I hope you can help us spread the word and share this post.

Keep up to date with what happens with this account: Follow @AYoungerMe
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Photocredit: Irina Werning

Update: Over 100 Tweets added in the last hour

Wow, it has really been amazing to see how many amazing insights have already been added. Here are some of the top picks from the @AYoungerMe Twitter account:

When will my update get posted?

A lot of people got in touch to ask when their added Tweets will be posted. All updates will get queued up automatically in the Buffer account for @AYoungerMe. This happens via Buffer’s email feature. The timings for when they go out on this account are on the full hour for 24 hours, so 24 Tweets a day.

There is a backlog of around 2-4 days right now, so you will most likely see your Tweets go out in a few days. Just follow @AYoungerMe and you’ll see it.

Keep them coming, this is amazing.