Officially a Twit

I joined Twitter.

I know, I know, I've been resisting its Twitterific allure for a while now, but yesterday, in a fit of procrastination, I decided I wanted to follow people, dammit. So that's what I'm doing. Giving in to my stalker-ish tendencies. This seems a much healthier outlet for my author-groupie impulses than, say, lurking outside their houses. Gena Showalter will tell me when she has new books coming out! Because she wants me to know. Cuz I'm special like that. Me and all two thousand of the rest of her followers.

I don't know if I will tweet much, as I am a long-winded type person and doubt I will ever have anything worthwhile to say that can be said in 140 characters or less. But I might occasionally tweet some less-than-worthwhile things... so if you wanna follow me here's the link: http://twitter.com/ViviAndrews

What do you think of the various and sundry social media? I have a feeling, now that I've signed up for Twitter, that everyone will suddenly shift over to some other new site. I will still blog (because my Narcissism is hungry and must be fed!) but it's possible facebook will suffer from even worse neglect if I really get into the TweetVerse.

I heard about this study (and now I wish I remembered where I read about it, cuz it would be awesome to cite it here, wouldn't it?) talking about teens and social media. How parents were all worried that their kids weren't socializing "normally" since they were always hooked into their iPhones and whatnot. So, apparently, this study found that kids who were linked up to various sites actually had more developed social skills than those who weren't. I found it really interesting, because you always hear about technology distancing people, rather than bringing them together in meaningful human ways.

Like anything, you get out of it what you put in, and adults may have a very different experience than kids who are raised with that as the norm. I don't know. I think, when it comes to social media, as with most things, the important thing is to not demonize them or blame the technology. It's neutral. Inanimate. It isn't out to destroy our lives, but it will only enrich your life if you use it that way. It's all in what you bring to the table.

And I've devolved into preachy pablum. Ugh.

Moral of the story: I've joined Twitter. Consider this a fact-finding mission. I will report back in a couple months with details as to my success or lack thereof in my quest for domination of the TweetVerse. Rah.

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Too Much Technology

A few weeks ago on the local midday news, the anchorman read a breaking story directly from a Twitter page. The big "this just in!" newsflash? Emergency vehicles had been dispatched in the vicinity of the White House. Which would be news. If I lived in the vicinity of the White House. Seattle? Not so close. It would also be news if we knew why emergency vehicles were being dispatched. Like "President Obama had an aneurysm" or "A little old lady on a White House Tour tripped and broke her hip." One of these: National news. The other: Not so much. But with Twitter at our fingertips, why do we need to discriminate? All news is exciting breaking news! Who cares if it has relevance or even accuracy? Be the first to break that story, even if it isn't a story, because if it is a story, then you'll be the first to break it! And that's what matters in the media. Speed! Popularity! Journalistic integrity can take a hike. (Note: Hiking is a slow way of getting around.)

Something I read recently said the interwebz move at the speed of stupidity, which is pretty damn fast. (I would credit whoever said it, cuz I thought it was both hella funny and brilliant, but I can't remember where I read it, so if you know, please comment!)

What I'm about to say is going to sound curmudgeonly and old fashioned, but I'm a card carrying member of the Internet Generation, so if I can't bitch about it, who can? My complaint is this: We are taking it too far. There is such a thing as too much technology. And yeah, we're there.

Twitter, Text, IM, LinkedIn, Live Journal, Facebook, Myspace, Blogs (yeah, I'm bitching about blogs on a blog, you got a problem with that?), it's all TOO MUCH.

Are we really so much more informed? More connected? Are our lives richer? Or is this the social networking version of a computer solitaire addiction?

I'm not one of those Technology-is-the-Antichrist people. I don't think the convenience provided by the internet is the first sign of the decline of our culture or anything. But I do think we're going through that awkward learning phase when people are so excited about "We can!" that they never stop to think "Should we?" Internet puberty. That's what this is.

I'm ready for us to grow up now.


I must admit I kinda like having a blog (in part because I get to post rants like this one whenever I feel like it), but I feel ridiculously pressured by the need to have a "presence" on Twitter & Facebook & a dozen writing yahoo loops. If you want to know what's going on with me, it's right here. Ta-da. Do you really need more? Do you really need to know how I feel right this instant in 140 characters or less? It feels totally egotistical to live your life as if there is an audience cheering for your every tweet. I'm sure I will give in someday. I already have a Facebook page (which I almost never update), but, for the moment, I will focus all my narcissistic tendencies right here. Where there is no character limit to my moans and groans.