Blogging
Ah, blogging -- a place where everyone can show you just how funny, insightful, deep or chatty they can be. My biggest crime is not choosing any of those. Well, I guess I'd pick funny if any of them. I figure, if you're going to waste your time reading the things I put on internet paper, you might as well feel like you didn't lose your time.
At the same time, I realize that a person chooses to read whatever I'm spewing out so I have the ability and opportunity to talk about whatever is on my mind...like how I feel about blogging.
Basically - blogging is for the good. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, I don't have to read through droves of unnecessary banter to see or stalk what I want. With a blog, if I don't like what I'm seeing I can just close it out and not feel like I'm missing out on anything. And as for my own blogging likes and dislikes, my only dislike is corporate America's dislike for me blogging while I work.
Yeah, yeah, bad use of company time, but that's where I get so many of my unfiltered thoughts. By the time I'm tired and getting ready for bad they've all become muddled and take too much work to recreate.
For example - have you ever had one of your best ideas while in the shower or going to the bathroom? You have, admit it. I can't tell you how many times I came out of the bathroom, after peeing, in college and said to Aaron or Scott, "oh my god, so I had the greatest idea just now..." Those are the times I need a pad of paper or a tablet computer to just jot down my thoughts. But...it would look funny if I went strolling into the bathroom, computer in hand. Kim would be like, "are...are you going poo...with a computer...I...hmm...wash your hands when you're done please."
I could blog from my phone but that takes too long since I don't have baby dwarf hands. But man, if I did...you wouldn't be able to stop me.
All in all - blogging is for the better. It's a good outlet for people. Just, don't expect to get famous for it or for someone to one day recognize your blogging abilities and offer you some opportunity, like in Julia & Julia. That was a fluke. If you use it for a place to vent it out and you have a friend or two or no one to read it - then blog it out, get your blog on. You're not hurting anyone. Just don't blog with the thought that you're smarter than someone reading it because you're not. Because when it boils down to it, no matter what you're blogging about, you're still...just blogging not changing the world. :)
Hmm - where to begin on this behemoth? I remember when there were 2 Facebooks but man has it evolved over the last 5 years.
I'll cut to the chase on how I'm feeling about Facebook. It bitch slapped MySpace back to a place where only pedophiles play, which is nice since it was always a pain to maneuver through MySpace. But now, Facebook won't slow down. It's a snowball that's just rolling down a hill of bad upgrades, applications, games and privacy mishaps yet I don't know what future program will come along to make me change my loving ways.
What other way is there to so easily stalk those you know, sort of know, met once and love? There is none unless you want a restraining order.
I love how Facebook has eliminated the need for any of us to really have a 10 yr reunion. I don't need to see you face to face to see that you got fat. I have facebook. I don't need to hear that you had 3 kids and a divorce because I have Facebook for that. What's that? You got really tanked last night and took pictures? I don't want to see them in person...I have Facebook for that?
But wait, there's more? You found a horny farmer in your cattle field in Farmville? That...that I don't need to hear or see...ever. Damn - enough with the applications already. Keep them to yourself. I don't care, I don't, if you built a new house, have a new high score in a game...unless you found a program that gives me statistics on how many people do something that involves me. Then...it's ok?
It's a conundrum, it really is.
Facebook, by comparison, is probably what it's like to be addicted to cigarettes. You know the negatives to it but you can't stop. You take the good with the bad. You might get cancer but you can look through all 4,376 photos of your ex boy/girlfriend for 4 hours. A give and take.
I like Facebook for all of the good it's capable of. I like being able to keep in touch with people without any real effort. It makes my life a little easier. It also helps me keep up with the people I wouldn't really want to have that awkward conversation with anyway. Thanks Facebook.
But, on the other hand, I wish it would subdue itself on a couple of things...
1 - updates on Mafia Wars, Farmville or any other interactive FB game
2 - stop status updating passive aggressive or overly vague thoughts...if you want us to care - then say so...don't make it a game. so dumb.
3 - I want a dislike button - you can't just like something...that's impossible. And if you have access to everything else on fb, then I shouldn't have to live by every mother's adage of "if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." Mmm...ut uh. Lemme dislike whatevuuuur I want, please and thank you.
Yeah. Facebook. It has it's ups and down. But since it's my meth, I'll keep on doing it until my Iowa farm lab goes boom.
It's great for my ADD state of mind. I know, surprise, I can be ADD. Shocking!
I love it because it's stuck to its guns. I can always block someone or follow whoever I want. I have the opportunity to be retweeted by people I consider celebrities. I can win things from companies I support and I can keep up with friends' days and maybe even learn some new news. The pros truly outweigh the cons with Twitter.
The people I work with aren't on it which is a plus, which keeps me saying whatever I want (which I also like)
The only thing I don't like is excessive tweeting. I just started to follow Target because it was suggested to me and because I love Target (who will contest that? No one) but they don't tweet twice an hour or 10 times a day...oh no, they do it in bulk. They're the costco of tweeters. I shouldn't have to scroll to find someone elses tweets and thoughts - that defeats the purpose of it all.
Luckily, tweeting hasn't turned into poor text messaging where someone retweets with an, "ok, " "sounds good," "bye," or some other one word lame-o response.
I think my favorite thing about twitter is the ability to connect with people I could never do so with before like Judah Friendlander. When D texted me, "Judah tweeted you back," I honestly was excited. Ocho has written back to friends and there are probably other situations I've forgotten that have happened too. Oh yeah - for example - Jess became Batter Blaster's fan of the week and she hooked up an interview with Rue La La. Seriously, how awesome is that? Very awesome.
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I dunno. I don't think I resolved any feelings towards any of those 3 methods of social media. No matter, I rambled it out. You can't even be forced to pick just 1 because they all have a different purpose.
Blogging is a good place to document out all of your would-be journal entries that is seen by an audience you never have to know or who you choose to see what you think.
Facebook is throwing your life into a giant wading pool of everyone you ever wanted to connect with or who wanted to connect with you. Pictures, thoughts, comments and life happenings are all out there for friends, family and "oh yeah, you" people to see and comment/like as they see fit.
And Twitter is a 140-character beast all its own. It's so restricting yet wide open to be as eclectic as you might want to be. It's great because I wouldn't blog thinking Ryan Stout will read it and I wouldn't add him as a friend on fb or write on his wall because that sounds creepy...but, for whatever reason, retweeting something he said or asking him a question on his tour schedule seems perfectly legit. It's like everyone is on the same level. I don't know, that might just be me.
I think Twitter does have the slight edge. It still feels unique and it hasn't been molested by the masses yet. This is probably because we're not the target demographic, but I'll use that to my advantage until it's overrun and overhauled.
But to the poi
nt of the title is do I really have to choose? Nope. Not at all. If I can take the good with the irritating, I can have all 3 and it's awesome. They're all perfect for a person who is easily distracted by all sorts of...ooh, look, a butterfly...
1 comment:
Love the rambling. How perfect. Your synopsis of blogging, FB and Twitter are awesome.
Looking forward to the next entry.
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