Tuesday Morning Twitter Musings

Back in the day, when Neal Peart of Rush wrote actual song lyrics instead of the endless incoherent evangelistic atheist tirades he presently churns out, he penned, “Begin the day with a friendly voice / A companion unobtrusive / Plays that song that’s so elusive / And the magic music makes your morning mood.” A nice description of radio.

These days, it applies to social media as well.

When people using social media are being social, that is.

There are few things less interesting than people who hop on Twitter, or Facebook or what have you, for the sole purpose of yelling at or about someone, or something. They don’t interact with others. Sometimes they seemingly don’t interact with themselves, as the pump out link after link and screed after screeching screed. Gee, it’s great you’re passionate about the given topic. But if that squeezes the air, i.e. the life, out of your monologue… er, conversation, don’t be shocked when, on those rare occasions you come up for air, you find no one listening.

Closely related to this is the “look at me — SQUEE!” crowd. Yo, I’m happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but endless tweets about yourself and/or your kids is one of the most boring topics of all time. OF ALL TIME! Try asking someone else how they’re doing. And actually responding. With, like, two-way conversation and stuff.

Next up are the sole self-promoters. Most all of us use Twitter and Facebook and the like to promote different things: an idea, a philosophy, something we’ve done or are doing. There’s no harm in that. Your best salesperson, if you’re doing it right, is you. As long as you remember that you’re selling yourself along with the product, be it a blog post or book or whatever. A little shameless self-promotion never hurts. The word isn’t going to get out there if you don’t speak up for, and about, yourself. That duly noted, if all you have to offer is non-stop begging for attention, there’s a problem. Namely, you. You’re not hot and yours stinks, okay? Get over yourself and give consideration to the works of others. The good salesperson listens always and lectures never.

Another sign you’re doing it wrong is the infamous tip jar on your blog, should you have one. It’s not the tip jar itself that’s an issue. Nor is asking people for help when you need some. It’s what happens after someone makes a donation. Look, you get an e-mail from PayPal every single time someone sends you money telling you who donated and how much. Take the time to send that person a personal thank-you note. It’s called being polite by expressing gratitude. As opposed to being just plain rude.

Speaking of the latter, answer your e-mail without whining about how much you may, or may not, get. You put yourself into the situation of being visible online, you accept the situation. Unplug and go live in a hole if you can’t be bothered communicating.

Somewhat related to this is the “if you don’t like what I write then don’t read it” defense whenever someone expresses a different point of view and/or challenges you on yours. If you’re that incapable of defending your position, the problem isn’t the person calling you out on what you’ve written. It’s you throwing stuff out there without a foundation. Explain yourself if you can, and if you can’t, that’s not the other person’s fault. If, after making your case, the other person refuses to accept your rationale, respond with a simple statement that you’ve laid out your case and move forward. If they ask intelligent questions, or propose rational alternate viewpoints, give them a listen. However it works out, don’t whine. Which is all you’re doing when you strike a pose as one mortally offended by opposition.

To sum it up, talk with and to people. Not at them.