Whittling Twitter

The day I realized social media might very well be the end of me was the day I began following Sn00kie on Twitter. It's not what she was posting -- it wasn't like the Courtney Love chaotic mind-numbing posts which resulted in a quick unfollow -- I don't even read what Sn00kie writes. It's not her, it's me. Just the mere act of clicking on the follow icon for Sn00kie calls into question the capacity of every brain cell I have when they interact with social media. I don't even give a damn what she does, where she's gone, who she did, whatever. So why would I follow her? In fact, why do I follow the majority of people I follow? And why are the majority entertainment personalities?

Frankly, if you happen to post something within ten seconds before I sign in chances are I'll at least see your tweet, I may read, but far more likely just glance over, see your name, and ignore it. Nothing personal. I'm an equal opportunity ignorer. I also don't click on anyone to see what pearls of wisdom, what re-tweet, or what mayor of wherever they have become. When I first signed onto Twitter my primary goal was to read what the professionals in literature were up to. Except for a handful, after reading their tweets, they're up to the same shit as you and I are. I just happen not to post about the amazing tuna fish sandwich at wherever or the new seasonal Starbuck flavored brew.

As I became more and more disillusioned I began un-following. Those twits were just clogging up my scrolling screen. I didn't need their tweets getting between foursquare locations (whatever the hell that is) and giveaway contests tweets. Since I never win anything, even when I know my entry is the best, those tweets serve no purpose either.

Perhaps Twitter is best used as a device for business or publicity.



I don't believe them. Based on the number of people who click into this blog when I tweet an update I'm not wasting my time on creating a business account.

The most useful feature of Twitter is the quick moving national news feed and a slower moving local news one. Reading local folks and national news is what I'm going to use Twitter for. Maybe now and then, just for yuk-yuks I'll post a link to my updated blog, but I couldn't possibly use it as a social interaction site. I'm too wordy. There's no way I could be as witty as I should be using only 142 characters. Impossible. I give high-fives to those who have mastered it. I respect you but I'm not bantering with you.

All I know is when I get some time I'm whittling down the Twitter list. The first to go is Sn00kie...

Compromised Position

When I saw the words "Haha, Is this you???" in a direct message on Twitter from the Local Roots Cafe, my first thought was, "What? A compromising position? Ah geez I hope not." For a brief second I wondered what past connection I could have possibly had with the Local Roots Cafe. Not knowing a soul from there, I came up with nothing, so naturally I still clicked on the link. It looked legit.

When I did it brought me to Twitter's sign-in page, which also looked legit, so I signed in and then received a message that the page did not exist. So I tried again, just in case they didn't get my password the first time. Same thing. I forgot about it, but quickly removed the Local Roots Cafe from receiving any of my tweets, "just in case." When I signed on this morning I found out that dopey people everywhere for days have been falling for this phish attack on Twitter .I would be one of those dopes. I immediately changed my password, although I doubt they would use my account to spam people as I only have 98 followers. Not big bang for the buck. Besides, my account is a locked account, so that must have an added layer of security in Twitterland.

I found this article, "A compromised Twitter account: regaining control!" ...good information.

"The good news is that you can regain control over your account quickly. Make sure that you log into your account - I would go to the address bar in the browser and type it in by hand, (or follow this link to Twitter) and log yourself in. Then go to your Settings page (top right hand corner), and click on Password. Change your password, verify it, and confirm the change. Second, click on Connections. This will take you to a list of third party applications that you have allowed to access your Twitter account. Run your eye down the list, and make sure you recognise them all. If you don't, hold your mouse cursor over the title, and check the site that it will take you to. If you still don't recognise the application, click on 'Revoke Access'. This will tell Twitter to stop allowing the resource to use your information. Don't worry if you've made a mistake - you can always return to the application website in the future and allow access again."

I haven't really warmed up to Twitter. I find it's not user friendly enough. I don't have as much control over it as I like, yet hackers want to take what little I have. It's too time consuming. I don't know if it's even worth it...