I've finally joined Twitter, yet early signs are not great
IFINALLY succumbed to the draw of social networking and joined Twitter recently. I'm a late developer when it comes to modern technology and only joined facebook last year, having moaned about others becoming addicted to it for months.
just didn't get the whole concept at first. Do I want to know if someone has a bad hangover? Not particularly, unless I helped cause it. Do I care what someone has for their dinner? Absolutely not. Do I really want to know what people think of the latest Eastenders storyline? I don't think so.
And yet six months on, after finally adopting an, 'if you can't beat ' em, join ' em' policy, I am as hooked as anybody that I slated previously. I check FB first thing in the morning to see what's new. I post at least once a day, and not even interesting stuff, I might add. Last week I sunk so low as to post, 'in bed with magnum (icecream not detective) watching Desperate Housewives.' Seriously.... who cares?
And yet, I can't seem to stop. In the evenings, when the kids have gone to bed and we're sitting in front of a roaring fire, Himself sits in one chair playing poker on-line while I facebook. Our marriage is doomed! I'm probably going to regret saying this but in the interest of truth I will, I've even started bringing my phone to the loo with me, in case I miss something. How undignified is that?
Then three weeks ago, I took the major step of joining Twitter. Facebook had started to bore me a little. I had started to bore me a little, feeding people the mundane minutae of my not very exciting life while they fed the same back to me. Twitter was different I was assured. It was more cerebral - the thinking person's social network.
I made Himself and two friends 'follow' me, as I broadcast my first tentative tweets. No response. I tried again. Still no response. Eventually a friend who has almost a thousand followers, gave me a shout out appealing for people to follow me. The sympathy vote worked and I got myself 34 followers.
I'm trying very hard to sound witty, intelligent and incisive without much success. Hardly anyone responds to my tweets and I've only been retweeted once and that was by the same friend who begged people to follow me.
Nobody on Twitter gives a tuppenny damn what you had for your dinner or how many glasses of wine you had last night, but if you can quote Aristotle, or have strong opinions on the economic situation and watch Vincent Browne you can be guaranteed a good following.
And seeing as I'm more a Celebrity Big Brother kind of gal than Vincent Browne, I may sadly have to retire from Twitter, since nobody appreciates my vacuous comments and childish sense of humour.
Now if I was really being sensible I'd ditch the Facebook altogether, get Himself to ditch the Texas Hold 'em and start marriage guidance counselling.
But on a positive note at least we're not arguing anymore about what to watch on the telly.
- Justine O'Mahony
