South Africa, Feb. 6 -- A little more than a month ago, I deactivated my Twitter account. Two days ago, I made it permanent. Ten years and nine months of my life, along with 19,300 followers (who knows how many of them fake), gone forever with a couple of clicks.

Personally and professionally, it's a loss. There are parts of Twitter I miss - the friends I made there, the wit, the sense of being instantly in touch with what everyone was talking about. Because I need to know what is happening in the world, and some of my professional relationships were established and maintained primarily via Twitter, there will be a knock-on effect on my ability to earn a living.

Is Twitter worth it?

I'm significantly less influential than I was before ...