followers

Everyone talks about the next Twitter. Not sure what that is going to look like, but of course things do change. For now, though, Twitter is the go-to medium for sending out mini missives about you, your life and what you think. I have to be honest, I'd tweet more if I wasn't in so many meetings. Well, maybe that's not exactly true, and it's not as if I don't have things to say, but tweeting isn't always top of mind.

One of the fun things about Twitter is following celebs, you feel like you're getting the inside scoop, silly ideas, misspelled words and all. Celebs, they're human! But, apparently, some celebs are calling it quits. Let's consider why...

Tweeting, too difficult in between make-up artist sessions and fittings (plus lunch with high roller agents).

Tweeting, gosh what the heck to say?

Tweeting, yikes, now they know what I'm REALLY thinking, will this be bad for my image?

Tweeting, I'm not really doing it myself anyway, so who cares?

Tweeting? Hey, I forgot, why am I doing this again?

And that brings up the point. Why do we tweet? Because we CAN! Rock on Twitter. Give us that place to talk it out. Celebs, do what you do, be famous. Twitter will live, with or without you. Ah, the world is right again.

Source: alloy.com
 

I am making a bold step and “exposing” a little bit of myself in this blog… so here goes.  For the last few months (!!) I have found myself involuntarily thinking and processing my life events in 140 characters or less: “Kelly often wonders why people on the streets of NYC act like people can’t see them when they are picking their nose in public.” “Kelly knows the day is going to be good when the trains on the morning commute are totally in sync.” “Kelly wishes she was outside enjoying the amazing September weather today.” This happens regardless of whether or not I actually post the information in my status.  My internal editor processes the content and then it goes through the “is this interesting enough for an actual update” phase.

I was secretly ashamed that I have been so overtaken by my social media (and a little worried that I might be going a little loopy) and thought I must be the only person that is doing this. The internal pressure to be clever, inventive and “create reaction” was almost overpowering. Then, breakthrough. In a casual conversation with friends the subject naturally came up and my friends admitted that they were doing the exact same thing. I at once let out a big sigh of relief and we all half joked about how Facebook, Twitter and the likes have changed the way we process our life experiences… what is too much to tell your network of 300+ friends? What is funny and are we really becoming “too social” when broadcasting all of our virtual dirty laundry?

It is undeniable the power of social media and for the hundreds of millions of users in the world it has created a platform for not only information sharing but for self-expression and promotion. I am not an anthropologist, philosopher or behavioral scholar, but it seems very clear to me (at least in my own head) that the “status update” mentality will forever change how we think and share information with our friends/followers.

Source: buildamovement.com