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| Yoko Ono |
Some weeks ago, I lost my Twitter virginity and since then have assisted others to lose theirs. We have all taken the same path from not really getting it, to wondering how we ever did without it. And it comes without an annoyance factor, unlike the first days of texting when we all got the same bad joke 10 times.
I never got into Facebook or any of its earlier incarnations. I watched the film and that was plenty. I did once dabble very briefly, and set up a trial account with a name that was not mine. To my horror, my computer geek family had it figured out in half an hour and I was getting messages about becoming friends. I do not want electronic friends.
I did the obligatory search for people that I had long lost track of and soon got fed up. It felt intrusive, like opening the drawers in a friend's house, even if they had given you the key. I quickly decided that most of what was going on was boring rubbish if you were not a teenager. Sadly, I am not.
I was horrified to discover, on a rare visit back to my dummy page, a photo of me asleep posted by a relation who will not be getting a birthday present. Recently, I tried to leave Facebook but because I could not remember my password I am still lurking in cyberspace as a ninetysomething-year-old with no friends.
Twitter appeals to me because you are not so much talking to a person as to a community. The group who read what I say bears little overlap with the people I follow. I have a window into the world getting the views of people who would not take my phone calls. If someone bores me, I stop following them. I have ended up with a group who say interesting things and I have never laid eyes on many of them. Some, I do know, and have known for a long time, and it is fascinating to see what they say because in a busy world you often do not get the opportunity to chat. Before Cheltenham, I had no idea how many were closet punters. Or that they watched so much television.
Twitter has completely changed my television viewing. People watch and tweet, without anyone saying "sssshhhh". It is reassuring to see someone else writing exactly what I was thinking. It improved the election beyond measure. And rugby matches. It is a good way to learn that there is something actually worth watching on another channel. People tweet things that they think will interest other people, and apart from the occasional show-offs who are only interested in their own asinine views, you can begin to feel like part of a conversation. I enjoy watching the personalities emerge. I do tend to follow people who take something of a fun outlook to life. There are those seldom tweeters who, when they do, always say something fascinating. There are those who take you through their quirky day. There are those who give you the feeling they are talking directly to you.
I like to begin my day knowing that Yoko Ono has something to say to me. And the days are gone when you watch the golf and wait to see what Rory McIlroysays in the interview. Now you read what he tweets as well.
The icing on the cake is that you do not have anyone requesting to be your "friend".
Sources: http://www.independent.ie
