People change. Times change. And, now and then, it’s best to tell someone you really care about that it’s time to move on. Goodbye, Twitter.

Dear Twitter,

We’ve had some good times over the past couple years, haven’t we? The long, rambling, late night chats. The little in-jokes. The reflexive tendency to address our friends with an @ symbol.

But things have changed. I know you feel it, too. You’ve grown — a lot, really — and so have I. We’ve come to lead very different lives, and I think it’s time we both moved on.

Before you say anything, I want you to know this has nothing to do with your recent problems. I’ve always taken those in stride. After all, I’m not the most consistent person in the world, either. I’ve gone days without saying anything to you, and when I do manage 140 characters or so, it’s usually something trivial. You deserve so much better.

Maybe this is just a midlife crisis. I don’t know. But I’m not getting any younger, and I really only have time to nurture the quality relationships in my life. It’s something I’ll have to work out.

I know you’ve heard I’ve been seen with FriendFeed. It’s true. We started seeing each other about the same time I thought you were no longer there for me, and things took their natural course. That being said, FriendFeed can never be you. And I wouldn’t want it to be.

You’ll be fine. I know you’re seeing some folks who will help you get yourself together, and I’m sure you have a wonderful future ahead.

I’ll think of you as you were right after SXSW 2007: so young and full of promise. We’ll always have our memories of Frozen Pea Fridays, the Color Wars, TweetJeebus, and that silly whale error message. You know, I may miss the whale most of all.