Social Networking
You know what, Tumblr? Google Plus? I refuse. Ever. I won't do it. I will never adopt a new social network again without profound compelling evidence. I am so sick of this cycle of a new network taking over every couple of years and becoming the hot new thing, and the only reason you join is all your friends run off and join and stop posting where you hang out (not that I ever liked MySpace, but LJ is pretty dead now) and before you know it you've got 4 or 5 sites you have to check for messages every day if you ever hope to keep in touch with your friends.
And it's not like anything really important ever happens there! Everyone talks about inane shit and you see your real friends in real life anyway. And then every time you share news with them they say, "Yeah, I saw that on Twitter/Facebook/Whateverthefuck," and then you're just awkwardly like, "Yeah..." and then the conversation has nowhere to go.
I think Facebook is useful. It's great for event planning and keeping up with people who live far away when you hate the telephone, as I do. Also good for sharing photos and internet-stalking attractive friends. I was very late to the Twitter game, but it is a very useful link farm. I get a lot of industry- and topic-specific news there. And LJ provides a public outlet for my ranting needs that I am still on the fence about whether it is healthy or not (I've always had a private journal, as in made of paper, and I still do). But the only reason I'm active on any of them is because my friends are, and if they migrate elsewhere, that's fucking it. I don't feel like setting up a new damn profile every two years and learning some new site just to waste time online.
My life was honestly a lot better before myspace happened. Social Networking is addictive. I mean psychologically, actually addictive. It changes the way our brains work for the worse. I'm far more scatterbrained now than I was then, and I spend a ridiculous amount of my free time refreshing social networking pages to see if anyone posted anything new.
So fine I guess. Go jump ship to Tumblr and bring on Google Plus. I'm not following. I won't be left behind. I'll be set free.
Now I'm going to turn OFF the internet and go back to arting.
And it's not like anything really important ever happens there! Everyone talks about inane shit and you see your real friends in real life anyway. And then every time you share news with them they say, "Yeah, I saw that on Twitter/Facebook/Whateverthefuck," and then you're just awkwardly like, "Yeah..." and then the conversation has nowhere to go.
I think Facebook is useful. It's great for event planning and keeping up with people who live far away when you hate the telephone, as I do. Also good for sharing photos and internet-stalking attractive friends. I was very late to the Twitter game, but it is a very useful link farm. I get a lot of industry- and topic-specific news there. And LJ provides a public outlet for my ranting needs that I am still on the fence about whether it is healthy or not (I've always had a private journal, as in made of paper, and I still do). But the only reason I'm active on any of them is because my friends are, and if they migrate elsewhere, that's fucking it. I don't feel like setting up a new damn profile every two years and learning some new site just to waste time online.
My life was honestly a lot better before myspace happened. Social Networking is addictive. I mean psychologically, actually addictive. It changes the way our brains work for the worse. I'm far more scatterbrained now than I was then, and I spend a ridiculous amount of my free time refreshing social networking pages to see if anyone posted anything new.
So fine I guess. Go jump ship to Tumblr and bring on Google Plus. I'm not following. I won't be left behind. I'll be set free.
Now I'm going to turn OFF the internet and go back to arting.