Twitter.

     So I joined the Twitterverse today.  Twitter fascinates me.  When I first heard about it, I was pretty disgusted.  Who thinks they’re important enough to think other people care what they are doing or thinking ALL OF THE TIME?  But then I started reading Earl’s Twitter updates, and found myself getting hooked on the constant update of information.  It’s like having direct feed into people’s living rooms/kitchens/studios/brains.  The voyeur in me was very intrigued.  Apparently I care what other people, total strangers for the most part, were doing or thinking ALL OF THE TIME.

     The first step to joining Twitter is creating a profile.  When asked to describe oneself in 160 characters, what must one include?  There seem to be five schools of thought on this subject, according to my preliminary research.  The first is to say nothing.  Just go with a name, and the totally ambiguous ‘egg’ avatar provided for those who refuse to include a photo (NOTE: diatribe on Twitter photos to follow).  

     Then there are those (and I must include myself in this category) who choose to go with a list of things – roles, interests, hobbies, type of employment…  I like these the best.  Obviously, as that is the way I opted to describe myself.  It makes you think about what is important to you, what and who you are and stand for, and the way you want others to see you.  Here’s my example: Unemployed English teacher, Earl wrangler, kitty mama, book lover, vinyl enthusiast, wanna-be writer.  

    Thirdly there are those who choose to go with a quotation of some type, whether sublime or ridiculous, from Ghandi to Rachel Ray, Mother Theresa to Snooki.  

     The fourth group are those for whom Twitter is obviously a marketing tool.  Lots of websites and titles being dropped in those descriptions.  

     And the final major category I deduced from my preliminary research today are those who try way too hard.  On-the-make 20(or 40)somethings, hipsters, angsty teens, and those who are too clever for their own good.  These are my second-favourite profiles (and the people I'm embarrassed to say I am most likely to follow).

     And Twitter profile pictures?  A whole other cart of apples.  I suppose this is much like Facebook, but I don’t feel schooled enough to say for sure.  More on why that is later.  Pictures tend to fall into four major categories, which may or may not correspond with the profile description categories above.  I'm not counting business logos as pictures - there's nothing much to say about them.  On to the photos.  

     First is the aforementioned ambiguous egg.  People so afraid of others (or of the judgement of others) that they choose not to provide a photo.  This is stupid.  Choose a photo from one of the following categories - no-one said it had to be of you!

     Second are the real photos of real people really representing themselves.  This breaks down into three sub-categories.  

A) Candids (let's be real - these tend to be flattering, but were still taken for some purpose other than as a Twitter profile pic).

B) Professionals (these tend to have a "school photo" feel to them, and could be used on a business card or business website).

C) Posed and/or artsy (sexy shots of girls, buff photos of guys, or photos obviously taken using an iPhone polaroid app).

     Third are the photos of someone/something the Tweeter loves - a pet or child, a cupcake, nature, the Leafs logo, a glass of beer, a high-heeled shoe, you get the idea.

     The fourth and final category are the cartoon-style images.  It might be a snowman, or the Tasmanian Devil, or one of those "create a South Park avatar of yourself" types.

     I went with the candid, taken at my sister's wedding.

     So now I'm part of the Tweeterverse.  This is exciting for me, and I like how it corresponds with the beginning of a new year.  New blog, new resolutions (including one to write every day... we'll see how I do!), new form of social media.  Now, I should clarify at this point that I am not on Facebook.  I DO believe in the internet, and actually have an only slightly out-of-date iPhone, but according to the social media sphere I only began to exist today.
     It's nice to be here.