Today, my Twitter account, @MikeWaterhouse, turns five (shall we call it a twitterversary?). Yes, Sept. 19 is marked on my calendar — and I intend to celebrate it.

In the half decade I’ve been connected to this social network, my life has been better. On a scale from 1 to 10, I’d say Twitter contributed to at least a two-point surge in the positive direction since that 2007 date. It wasn’t down in the dumps before — it was great, but perhaps “enhance” is a better word.

Why? Twitter has in so many ways made a me a smarter person, distributor of content and consumer.

In looking back at the impact it’s had on my life, I’ve identified my five personal great gains because of Twitter (in no particular order):

1. New awesome friends. No other tool has made it so easy to open up a public dialogue with random people who share common interests — and then connect in-person at an event like a “tweetup.” Although there is still that awkwardness of first meeting someone in real life after connecting via a series of 140-character statements, most have paid off for the better. Since moving to Cleveland a little more than 2 1/2 years ago, I’ve met so many outstanding people via Twitter whom I now consider great friends. After all, we don’t usually “follow” people we don’t think we’d like in person, right?

2. Exponential connection growth. I’m certainly not a well-traveled person, but I feel like I know people everywhere now. Every day, I am connecting with new people across the country who may or may not be connected to others in my circle of Twitter contacts. When they’re not, it’s usually the start of a whole new extension of connections. Twitter just brings people together.

Side note: I am usually in more awe over seeing in-person someone I’d consider a “Twitter celebrity” (a well-known local person who has A LOT of followers) than I am an actual celebrity.

3. Social media-focused job. Fortunately, my job at a news content provider (AKA television station turned multi-platform focused organization) has granted me a tremendous opportunity to work with Twitter daily. It’s one of the few jobs where social media not only encouraged, it’s practically mandated. I am privileged to be on the social media front lines, where my team is constantly crafting strategies and best practices for our news organization, and getting first-hand feedback from users.

4. Information source. There is no question that Twitter is the best and fastest way to get information in a breaking news scenario — or really any information, for that matter. The rawness of the content and speed at which it’s delivered is unmatchable. Even news professionals count on Twitter to find out what’s happening (me included). The search feature is powerful and serves as a conduit for digging into what’s really happening at a given event.

5. Smarter consumer & distributor of information. Twitter’s attention deficit disorder-causing quality of constantly feeding information to users trains us to better filter our content intake. I am able to pick out the stuff that is most interesting to me, not being afraid to offer feedback or unfollow when I feel like someone is abusing my time or news feed. But on the other hand, I’ve had to become more strategic in my posts by always considering my audience, wagering how each tweet will benefit or turn off my followers. Will they be informed, entertained, moved emotionally, etc. The power is in striking some kind of chord in 140 charaters or less, which is no easy task. One mastered, though, that skill carries over in so many other facets of life.

So, there you have it. That’s how Twitter has changed my life in the last 1,827 days. But it’s also changed many of your lives, too. I posed this question to my followers on the eve of this anniversary:

Planning to write blog later about my 5-year Twitter anniversary tomorrow. How has the service impacted your life?

— Mike Waterhouse (@MikeWaterhouse) September 18, 2012

And got some great responses, like these two about how couples met via Twitter and are currently dating:

@mikewaterhouse I met @tonymazur. So that’s a big impact ;)

— Danielle Capriato (@DCapriato) September 18, 2012

via: Megan Vera Stefan ‏@MeganVStefan

@MikeWaterhouse I met some of my closest friends and my boyfriend through twitter. Can’t imagine life without them. Thanks twitter!

And how it’s changed the way information is consumed:

@mikewaterhouse Not surprisingly, it’s become my number one source for breaking news deets. Customer service complaints resolved faster too.

— Frank Gumola (@FrankGumola) September 18, 2012

And so on.

I do have to give credit to some former co-workers who helped inspire me to embrace a medium I once thought was solely dedicated to silly “I am eating a turkey sandwich for lunch” status updates. Please give a warm Twitter follow to @ScottSaxton, @KariAnnAlysis and @OUsqueak110.

If I could add one feature to Twitter, it would be better integration with the “RT” method of retweeting others’ posts. If the service allowed users to enter a 140-character comment as an attachment to an unabridged tweet reposted in its original form, I think better context and thought could give greater virality possibilites to exceptional tweets. But what do I know?

When is your Twitterversary? Check out http://twbirthday.com to check your anniversary date and chime in via the comment box below.

About six months ago, I embarked on a journey that could have taken me down a lonely path. It was one had I had been down before, but struggled to do permanently. I made a life-changing decision — and I’m now certain it was the right one.

On Feb. 18, 2012, I cut the cord. I canceled my cable television subscription. Why? The simple answer is that I was paying far too much for something of which I was consuming very little.

It pained me to look at my cable bill every month. With both TV and Internet service, my bill exceeded $120 — and that included zero premium channels. And I probably watched less than two or three hours a week.

I had it “just in case.” I work in the television news industry and thought that if something major were to happen, I’d want immediate access to the cable news networks. But as mobile technology has evolved and the idea of social media being a news source (namely Twitter) is a reality, that need for immediate access is fulfulled through various other means.

Now — just to be clear — I cut the cord from cable, but not television altogether. Using an indoor UHF/VHF directional antenna, I am picking up most local stations in the Cleveland market with little effort. That’s nearly 20 channels at the best price possible — free.

And the quality is better, too. There’s no middleman to compress the signal, so it’s as genuine as it’s going to get (I’ll save the technical details for another blog).

I think my quality of life is better now, too. Instead of mindlessly turning on the TV after a long day to programming I would rather not watch, I now find myself being creative in how I approach my free time.

It just felt so good to walk up to the counter and turn in my box, knowing my next month’s payment would be considerably less (I kept the Internet service — can’t go without that).

What would it take for me to go back and tether my television to the wall via coaxial cable? Perhaps an a la carte system, in which each individual channel could be picked without being lumped into a giant, expensive package. There are some great shows on cable, I just don’t want to pay for all of the bundled channels to go with them.

Perhaps someday the service providers will cater to people like me. I am willing to pay to watch terrific shows like “The Newsroom,” but give me another option. I would gladly give up a chunk of change to make such programs accessible outside the traditional cable/satellite realm.

For now — left with no other choice — I find workarounds to these contraints. But I’d rather provide some support to help keep the great shows going.

Have you cut the cord? Or thinking about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Chime in via the comment box below.