Twitter - What are you doing right now

What are you doing right now . . .

Twitter seeks to help you broadcast this answer to anyone who wants to know. It's quite fashionable these days to be in the know. It's also apparently fashionable to have a baby at 16 years old. But not all fashionable trends are a good idea...

Now that I've offended all of the young parents out there (really I was only looking to offend Jamie Lynn Spears) lets talk about Twitter. With all this commotion I decided to check it out, since when is the general public wrong? After several attempts to sign up were thwarted by a whale caught in a fishing net trawled by small birds (tweets) telling me that Twitter was "broken", I finally was able to create my account.

I must say the site is functional. It was obvious how to send updates, invite people to join Twitter, and search for people you know. It's not obvious to me WHY I would do this. It took me several minutes of sending updates to myself to realize that no one who spends time away from their computer will find this useful (unless you have an unlimited texting plan). The site seeks to answer what you're doing now. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?? If a tweet is sent and no one is there to read it, does it make a sound . . . or something like that.

So I update my "status" with what I'm doing RIGHT NOW, it gets broadcast to anyone who wants to know. This whole concept hinges on a) people caring what I'm doing RIGHT NOW [I'd be amazed if anyone does] and b) that people who do care are always connected [many of my friends can just about operate a universal remote].

Additionally this is just another outlet for me to keep updated (I realize this is the point). My life basically becomes a production. Brushing my teeth, getting dressed, having breakfast . . . god forbid I forget to update my "feed". My friends might think that I'm still brushing my teeth (I know my teeth are still wishing I were). This could cause cataclysmic concern for the welfare of my teeth.

All right, all joking aside, I realize Twitter is a big hit. Tons of people use it, and tons of people want to know what others are doing right now. I consider myself a connected individual . . . rarely away from a computer or my iPhone. If I want to know what someone is doing I'll send them an email or give them a call. I just think this Twitter business has made communication less personal while creating more work for everyone. Needless to say I won't be keeping up with my Twitter account.