Follow the logic. Does this make sense? Fire back if you grok or find a chink.
1. People should lead, follow, or get out of the way.
2. Obama tweets.
3. So does Diane Rehm, but I don’t have to care about everybody just because they tweet. Still, sometimes I find someone interesting just because I tend not agree with them, nor they with me.
4. I like beer. I like to drink, smell, taste, brew, talk about, and stare at it. I like other stuff, too. Sometimes I like to hang out with other people who feel the same way. Some of those people are nearby, and some are not, so hanging out might involve electronics.
5. I want to feel connected. I just don’t need to have a lot of email (or Facebook) traffic from people who might be very interesting but are not my actual friends (Obama, Diane, The Onion, greatdividebrew, newbelgium, hookandladder, ShmaltzBrewing, MoylansBrewing, bells beer, RogueAles, ShinerBeer, GLBC_Cleveland (Great Lakes), dogfish_ale, magichat, flying dog, DepotBrew, YazooBrew, etc.)
6. I did not invent Twitter (or Facebook). So, I should either follow or get out of the way. Or invent a better Twitter (or Facebook). Or make Twitter (or Facebook) better.
7. My kids are 16 and 13. They are typical kids. By that, I mean:
a. They tweet
b. They txt (a lot)
8. Kids these days have peeps like I had friends when I was a kid. Except they have peeps from all around the world strung together through the ether, whereas I was limited to neighborhood kids and we met in the church parking lot for pickup ball games.
a. Kids today collect peeps as if more were always better, as if they were keeping score by quantity.
b. They interact with peeps in short, frequent bursts. Happiness is various and sundry electric jolts throughout the day. Meanwhile, I only saw my friends when I was playing outside.
c. Some of my friends required a good deal more tolerating than others, and that was ok. Now we have Ignore buttons.
9. Social structure is changing. Everything alive changes. Change is not a guarantee of life, because some paths are perilous, but the decision to stop changing is the same as checking out of life.
10. I don’t want to wake up one day and discover that I have become irrelevant to my children’s generation because I failed to keep up with changes. Diane Rehm tweets, and she‘s in her 70s. That doesn’t make tweeting right, but it does mean that one either does, or does not, tweet. So, “Lead, follow, or await your demise.” Tweet! Tweet, damn you! Tweet and live!
Confession: I have only tweeted a few times myself. I am not putting myself out there as the paragon of modernity. What does my lack of contribution to the world via Twitter say about the quality of my life? Is my life too boring? Would a huge volume of tweets and a high number of followers prove anything? I’m not the least bit worried about it. It’s enough to keep my eyes open to the changing world, and my brain engaged in the search for truth and meaning. That, and a really well-brewed pint. And if Twitter helps me help others, great.
ReplyDeleteLOL.. Well done. I have Twitter, but haven't tweeted in ages. Just the fact that I can make that statement with a straight face is about as modern as i can get for now. :)
ReplyDelete~Debby C
Re: "I haven't tweeted in ages." Debby, you are right, to people like us over, say, 30, that phrase sounds other-worldly, or at least comical, as in Tweety Bird. To speak or write such a phrase with a straight face makes you tre moderne!
ReplyDeleteTrue story: I went to a beer tasting and somehow the name of the 6th beer got right by me. I thought to email the host / brewer, but hesitated. "I liked your beer, please tell me the name again?" Weak... Twitter pulled my bacon from the fire. I searched and found tweets of others who had been to the same tasting, were similarly impressed, and mentioned the 6th beer by name. I then confirmed the details on BeerAdvocate and updated my tasting notes. Sweet!
ReplyDeleteI think your logic might flunk both Occam's and Doane's Razor(s) criteria, Dave...
ReplyDeleteI don't tweet; I killed off my account eons ago. Lots of reasons, including that people I did not even know were suddenly "following" me...Being "stalked" by Tweety et al. just didn't work for me.