Twitter Teenager

 

According to Twitter, I posted my first tweet 13 years ago today.

And my life has been all downhill ever since.

Well, OK, no. Maybe not. 

Still, nearly 51,000 items have flown off my account. I dare not think of what percent was truly worthwhile. Most, I guarantee, have not been.

Including this post, which will get tweeted upon its conclusion.

Admittedly, and sadly, I've found it essential for what I do. I check it for topics for "Doubleheader" and game broadcasts and news and life.

I explain to students why it's important but to understand it's not a source. It's a start when doing research.

But it's also a heaping pile of dog poop. It's an absolute cesspool.

Social media has not exactly helped us be nicer people, has it? I mean, that probably goes without saying. Still, it's fun on occasion.

It's also my daily car crash where I just can't look away.

I try to give people content that will make them laugh or think or dig a little deeper. Basically, it's an extension of this little slice of my neighborhood.

It was clear when I first took the leap into Twitter I had no idea what to do with it. My first tweet wasn't the standard "Hello world" or whatever. It was, basically, that I was working on writing the blog. I wrote two posts that day: one with a video that has since been removed so I have no idea what it was about, and one about A-Rod using steroids.

Ugh.

A few other nuggets include whether or not I was ready to commit to Twitter on Mar 11, 2009 (answer: yes) and something was up on Mar 17 when I wrote "Can't say what's going on. It's bad though."

I'm not entirely sure what that meant.

Oh, there's plenty more such as tweeting about being furious about something being "taken from my house" in early April 2009. I was going to tell the whole story of that but decided to pull back. Let's say I know what was taken, who took it, and that it had nothing to do with the object that was taken.

It was more about the principle and lack of respect.

Oh yeah, and my son also left the house that same night. So, yeah.

I'd like ultimately to see the good of Twitter and social media. There are friends that I've made and relationships I've enriched by being myself on "the socials." It doesn't take long to regret the bad -- I question myself a lot -- so I'd prefer to see the good.

There are also moments of interaction with people you might not interact with normally. Celebrities and such that provide an "oh wow" moment when they've liked or acknowledged something. Again, hopefully, the good stuff.

Sure there are the fights and stupidity -- the latest edition being something totally mindless about Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo that a certain Mr. Tako Aktovious Mumpsimus (aka Mr. Kaelin) couldn't let go. And there's the daily ritual of idiocy that emanates from my list called "Good For a Laugh" that is, again, like a car crash.

By the way, I get the feeling the Mets are holding an Old Timers' Day but I could be wrong.

I often think to myself I'll just stop. I'll walk away. I'll get tired of it.

Well, it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Still, can I go back to MySpace?