On blogging and tweeting 2/6/09

Okay, I've just been surprised by several things tonight, and felt like I just could not contain so many thoughts any more, so out they come.

First off, I just learned that the great writer's community site "Thisisby.us" has folded as of February 1st, 2009. I'm so sad! I had just gotten going on the site, tho had admittedly lapsed for about a year when I attempted to return there to write again tonight, and found it no longer running. Instead, there was just a simple and rather sad note from the "owners" announcing its demise, and their shared sadness to say as much. Truly! it was a great writer's community, and I was just about to get back into it. Too bad. Another victim of the economy, I fear. Those who know of which I write will understand. Further, it also had the potential to pay a bit for your writings. (I think I made a whole .06 there in 2 years, but it still left me hopeful that one day I might "score" with the one post that got "reddit"-ed or "diggit" -ed. Ah well. Back to free blogging here.

Secondly, I then went to look up my old blogspot to update, and while I found I could view it, I found I could no longer update it ~! Foiled again, with lots of juicy (to me) thoughts on the whole social phenomenon of twittering racing through my head. (Hold that thought;). Alas, I've been forced to start YAB (Yet Another Blog) here, and thus, The Pensive Android is born. For that is what I consider myself, among you humans;). A very pensive android on this very interesting planet indeed. (No worries, all you mental health professoinals, I'm very secure in my androidality - er, humanity. You don't need to send the little men in white coats after me. You'd be too late;).

Leading me to the third item tonight, and the main reason I wanted to blog - this whole new twitter phenomenon that's arisen. Okay- I'll fess up, I'm a 41 year old single (never married) hetero female human born and raised in Portland, OR, though I fit very few other "normal" molds for such humans beyond that. I read voraciously, everything from Trughout.org, HuffPost, Newsweek and The Oregonian to Reader's Digest and People, watch everything from NBC Nightly News to OPB to ER and Inside Edition. (I mostly listen to NPR all day tho when not at work;). I have worn heels and hose, but also Birkenstocks. Eat mostly locally sourced organic food I cook myself (omnivore, tho light on the critters) but occasionally slip in a fast food meal or (mea "gulpa"), a frozen Stouffer's entree now and then in desperation from low blood sugar, tho as infrequently as possible. I own a 1990 Subaru Loyale, but walk as much as possible, and take the bus downtown. I don't smoke, and hardly drink, but have been known to down my share of margaritas in my day. I like everything from Janis Joplin and Pink Floyd to The Winterpills, Dolly Parton, Norah Jones and Beethoven, though prefer Vivaldi and Gypsy Brass lately. I have used computers since 1984 where they were introduced to me in highschool. But I don't text message and hate Facebook and chatting, yet I love email. That is to say, I'm not easily categorized. I feel like I cross a few generations and genres. All this to say, wherefor Twitter?

I've very reluctantly gotten into both Facebook and Twitter in this past year, "just because". To see what all the fuss was about. As for the former, I've decided it is a giant time-sucking vortex for people who have not much of a life off of the computer. (Just my HO). All this business of keeping up green patches and sending drinks and superpokes back and forth - I could literally spend the entire day at it, and never keep up. Yet, I've connected with folks from long ago I'd assumed to be long lost, so I guess it's had some value there. And people I'd never have thought would do so have gotten on it, and urged me to do so also, whence I have. Friends be forwarned however: I resent the amount of time I have to spend on it, so don't be offended or feel singled out if I ever fail to respond to some kind of small applet request you've sent me of some kind (poke, drink, cute thing, you name it). I just don't have time for them all, tho I randomly dip in and try to respond to some. As for communicating via Facebook - just email me! Really. I'd prefer a "private" (or seemingly private) conversation at my leisure in email than publicly on Facebook.

And now for Twitter, which I reluctantly looked into and joined for the very same reason: to see what all the fuss was about. (You can follow me @jandroid). And, after realizing it was excatly the same thing as just the "What are you doing now?" applet on Facebook, minus all the pix and flash (ahhh, my aching eyes;), it provided its own level of intrigue for me: why in the world would anyone want to tweet, and more interestingly, why in the world would anyone give a rat's patooty what the heck I'm up to at any given time of the day? (Or even half a rat's patooty). Other than my closest (and youngest) friends, that is. Ah, this new technology. How it seduces us. Well, after following a few people for a bit, and posting a few things, I've decided the following.

Which is that, for the most part, I think Twitter attracts mostly narcissists... for who else would want to let everyone know what all they're up to all the time? At least, that was my first impression. Plus, I sure felt like one, continually saying what I was up to at any given time. Which is the question one is posed, after all. But then I came to realize you could also answer "what are you thinking"? And this became a little more interesting. I started by following a couple good friends, and then a couple "famous" people. Plus, realized I could actually respond to Stephanie Stricklen's Live at 7 show questions by replying to @TheSquare - and did, twice:). Then I was truly baffled and a little wierded out when total strangers began to follow me for no apparent reason I could determine, including BurgervilleUSA. (!) Except then I realized that they were following a friend of mine, who mentioned wanting to eat there. So perhaps they're trying to gauge their consumers' interests by our tweets. Boy will that be a warped consumer view;). Surely only a tiny fraction of their consumer base even tweets, and very few will mention them at that. But I suppose it is a way to watch your market.

As well as to promote causes and issues you care about and believe in, which I also started to do more recently - lobbying to close the Boardman coal-fired power plant the other day. (Really, we don't need it any more. We have excess power now every spring, and if we just spent 1/3 as much on conservation as we'll spend "scrubbing" the darn thing's stack, plus another 1/3 on renewables, we could ditch it altogether, easily, IMHO. But I digress;). Along with my friend's concert tomorrow, among other things. (Like responding to questions posed by @TheSquare and @StephanieStricklen). I confess, it's got me thinking, in a new and different way. I feel my brain creaking in its aging case, as new neural connections are formed while I take in this new medium. Again, I find it a little weird, as I don't want to have conversations with friends there - it feels much too "public" to me for that. (Keep emailing me guys, really;).

At this point, my jury's out on Twitter. I do like its simplicity. I'm intrigued and baffled by its attraction. (I just figured out I could try following some more famous people, or people I like). I'm going to keep ruminating on the attraction of both Facebook and Twitter. And bemoan the loss of Thisisby some more, since it engendered conversations more handily in its comments. Ah well. Life, plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme.

I'll confess this blog isn't too well thought out. And was interrupted by several TV shows and the news along the way, thus interrupting my train of thought. (Or trains?) I normally feel much more coherent than I think I do here. However, best to just hit post and get this baby off the ground. I can edit it later, after all. Feedback welcome. Til next time - Jandroid, the Pensive Android