I’m not going to try and hide it anymore: I’ve been in the thrall of a torrid love affair for the past year, and it has been consuming every moment of my day, every single inch of my personal fabric. I’ve been so wrapped up in this new affair that my first love of my life—this blog here—has suffered and has even gone through periods of long neglect.

So today, I’m doing the morally correct thing and coming out with the details of my more-than-year-long affair with Twitter, with hopes of making amends with all the other web properties (Flickr, Upcoming, Squandrous, Last.fm, blogTO, and Eloquation to name a few) that I have been ignoring over the past several months.

I’ve spoken about Twitter before here on Eloquation, but was afraid to profess my undying love out of fear of repercussions. At that time, the world wasn’t yet ready to embrace my love of Twitter, but I now feel like the time is right to introduce my web mistress

Twitter has succeeded in bringing me pleasure unlike any other web application has before because of the low barrier to entry, the high value of return for time spent, and its ability to sit in the background until I really need to get some tweet lovin’. Unlike the other web applications I have been involved with, Twitter doesn’t keep me chained to my browser, but instead gives me my freedom to explore by staying with me through SMS messages on my mobile phone. With the help of Twitter, I have been able to express myself in a more lucid, concise manner, and Twitter has also helped me increase the quality of my conversations with some of the people around me.

I’m not the only person that has been caught up in a love affair with Twitter, but I don’t get jealous when I learn of other people involved with the application. In fact, I encourage other people to tryst with Twitter so that I can learn from their experiences and share in their thoughts.

Other lovers on the web have written odes to Twitter: some say that an affair with Twitter can make you smarter and more productive, while others claim that Twitter will drastically improve your life. They’re both true. Here’s a short list of what Twitter has brought me in the past year alone:

• Web application help;
• A confession booth;
• Political opinion;
• Social drinks;
• A web developer;
• Cheap stuff;
• A few dates (no link for those);
• Design inspiration;
• Breaking news;
• A good laugh;
• More blog visitors;
• Time management;
• Happiness.

As much as Twitter has given me, it has taken some things away as well, as any mistress is wont to do. After all, I know spend much less time doing other things on the web: I could argue that Twitter is ruining my blogging. My mobile vibrates with Twitter updates dozens of times an hour, sometimes disturbing social engagements. There are times where Twitter is so smothering that I think “I love Twitter, but I have to quit it.”

Those thoughts pass quickly. Any good relationship is able to realize its faults and work through them, and Twitter and I have a lasting, fulfilling relationship that can persevere through absences and adversity.

So I’ve come clean and professed my love for Twitter. There is no reason for it to hide in the corner of my web life anymore, and I’m letting Twitter come center-stage. I’ll keep blogging, linking, opining, and taking photos, but if you’re really looking for me, I’ll be with Twitter.

Are you a fellow lover of Twitter? We adorers must stick together: let me know and I’ll follow you on Twitter as well.