Two recent blog posts have really brought a couple things to my attention.
- I don’t need to be as connected to the whole social networking universe as I think I do.
- I’m just this guy, you know? Being connected to all these people who have, at most, a marginal relationship to me does nothing for me.
I admit, I have learned a few things about higher-ed trends through my interactions on Twitter, but I have had remarkably few insights, connections, or any actual “networking” as a result of my Twitter adventures.
Ok, so this blog that I’ve started and stopped, ad nauseum, over the years is just another vain attempt at internet fame. Unlike Paul Carr from TechCrunch, I don’t make money from sharing my personal experiences. Honestly, I don’t have any real reason for updating this website (and, as is quite obvious, I suck at it, anyway).
I looked back at my various twitter posts, and, let’s face it, I haven’t said anything of real interest in the over 2000 posts I’ve written. And really, how much can someone really say in 140 characters? I think that when Twitter started, the idea that 140 characters would force people to say what they needed to say succinctly, and not draw it out into a lengthy blog post. However, more often than not, it’s turned into a variation of some of the following scenarios:
- Confusing, out-of-context posts that have no meaning, and are completely self-serving. What was once a narrative blog entry about someone’s terrible day that gives you context, and a connection to the author, has now become a single tweet: “Worst. Day. Ever.“
- Attempts to sound philosophical and deep by making profound 140-character statements. Thanks for the advice, Steve, but you’re really not sharing anything new or groundbreaking, here.
- Auto-tweets that advertise a new blog post. These aren’t so bad, really. If that’s all you do, though, I think you’re missing the point of Twitter.
- Real, meaningful networking. Asking questions, answering questions, making announcements, and creating a true network of like-minded (or at least similarly interested) individuals.
- Spam.
Other social networking endeavors produce much of the same result. Checking-in with Foursquare or Gowalla: what’s the point? Ok, so I’m checking-in at this amazing bar in St. Louis. Awesome. 98% of my Twitter followers are not from St. Louis, and of those that are, they’re not going to see my check-in and say, “Shit! Erik’s at The Royale! Let’s go!” At most, it produces a response of, “Oh, I like that place.”
Personally, I’d like to see what my friends and family are up to and hear the stories about it. You went to the Royale? Awesome. Who else was there? Did they have a good drink special? Band playing? Take any pictures? These are the kinds of things that just can’t be squeezed into a micro-blogging format.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dropping Twitter. I’m still going to post random crap that probably falls into the above-listed scenarios, although I am going to try to cut back a bit and make more thoughtful contributions (or random crap that makes me look like a hypocrite when put into the perspective of this post). I did drop the location-based stuff, because it just didn’t make any sense to me. I’ve made the decision to update my blog more often. Partially to let friends and family know what’s going on. Partially for me to keep a record for myself. And, partially because I know that some day I’m going to come up with some profound philosophical idea that I absolutely must share with the world to create my internet fame.
Last week, Pam and I visited took a couple days off to visit a B&B in August, MO. After doing a little research, we decided the Augusta area looked very nice, and the B&B seemed like a quaint little place to relax for a couple days. We made last-minute reservations at