Ugly "Face" but U "Tweet" Well? ...I'll Still Holla

Two months ago I hated Twitter. I also thought MySpace was the sketchiest website I'd heard of since BP (the "right" people will already know what BP was).  I saw Twitter as a silly website devoted to Facebook status updates and thought, "Why?! ... how original." I wasn't buying the news reports saying that it would be the next wave in communication or news dissemination.

And MySpace?  Oh, that site was purely a hookup destination where the loneliest and horniest people gathered under the pretense of networking.  

No, even though I started accounts on both Twitter and MySpace, I was not in any way compelled to use them.  Facebook, was my one-stop destination where I could chat with the people I know (with real birth names), check status updates, wish people Happy Birthday, and look at/post pictures and links.   I was probably near addicted to the site.

...Boy have things changed!  I rarely log in to Facebook these days, and when I do, it's strictly to accomplish task A and B.  Done.  Log out. 

"What?!  What's your problem? ...Oh, Facebook says it's your birthday?  Guess what, I wouldn't know and no longer care."

I'm not going so far as to say I hate Facebook, but since they made the latest major layout change back in April, I just haven't found any appeal to the site.  The layout changes made an already complex site more confusing and harder to maneuver.  Click this link to see photo updates.  Click here to see links posted by friends.  Click here to see notes.  No, I liked having one simple stream of data that updated on the home page.  

Just as my disapproval of Facebook's "clutter" began to grow, I decided to try Twitter out again and promote this blog, The RGC.  In doing so, I finally realized the power and appeal of the site.  Unlike Facebook, where info is restricted to approved friends, everyone has access to info and updates of Twitter.  You can reach out to strangers and bypass all the BS updates and staged photo albums that were consuming your time on Facebook.   Furthermore, the networking power of the site is ridiculous, as people with like interests will post on similar topics and, through Twitter's search feature, are drawn to each other.  

Twitter recently added a feature called "Trending Topics" which is incredible to me.  It lists the top subjects people are tweeting about, and is surprisingly a great news/happening update service.  I found out about Air France, Eminem & Bruno, and the Kobe & Lebron puppet commercials all from clicking on the trending topic links to see what was popular.

Facebook is becoming simply a vanity site.  It's selfish, people trying to make themselves as interesting/awesome as possible and only involves people you already know.  Honestly, I don't know how I got sucked into that mess because acquaintances are acquaintances for a reason.  I don't need to know everything about your life and you don't need to know about mine.  Trust me, I'm more than happy to reconnect with old friends, but my interest in them and sharing my life is dwindling.  As you grow older you realize that too much info is mind clutter and that the past should sometimes remain a pleasant memory.

With Facebook, however, the damage has already been done.  Now every student or recent graduate has a plethora of pictures tagged or untagged circulating on the Internet, waiting to come back to haunt you when you least expect it.  You can only hope friends didn't snap away and post the really bad ones.   

As for MySpace, as a musician, I've come to realize the value of the site - discovering, connecting, and previewing new talent.  I've already made VERY real connections on MySpace (and Twitter) so I'm shedding my initial dark judgement and frequenting the site a bit more.  

Perhaps how I feel will change, but for now I'm rapidly moving forward with Twitter and MySpace and leaving the overflowing mind-dump of Facebook behind...gradually.

Be Well.