Twitter Me Impressed

If I would have to pinpoint one thing about the media that bugs me, it’s their rush to jump onto anything that’s considered hip. Well, hip is probably not the correct word to use, as there is nothing hip about the Shamwow, American Idol, “cougars”, Sex and the City, Myspace, or any of the other “flavors of the month” .
The media’s current obsession is Twitter. There’s hardly a news, entertainment, or televised sporting event that doesn’t feature some sort of mention or use of the site. Stupid KSFY spends more time writing inane twitter updates these days than they do covering news. Obviously, I could care less what Britney, Ashton, or Demi (or their people) are hyping. Even NBA games on ESPN feature analyst’s twitters during the game. Hey, the reporters are at the game. If they have something worth hearing, why not have them say it on mic?
I must be fair, though. I’d be a complete hypocrite if I said that twitter isn’t worth having, as I have a twitter account. I signed up for it a few months ago, and planned to use it as an add-on to this site. Instead of writing the usual long-winded blog post, I utilized it as a “quick update” - primarily short reviews of new music, movies, videos, etc. I acquired a handful of followers, but I rarely posted more than a couple of items per day.
This all changed just a few months ago, when it hit the masses. Suddenly, instead of a handful of friends request per month, I had a dozen (or more) per day. It really exploded when one of my favorite radio hosts, Greg “Opie” Hughes, signed up and began posting pics from his daily show. As with everything else associated with the show, seemingly all of the O&A “pests” immediately logged on.
This is the moment that twitter became annoying. So many of these fans signed up just to attempt to receive notice from their heroes, and the star worship from some of these people is just pathetic. One person in particular who I need to delete very soon has never posted anything that’s not some sort of show reference.
But even the locals can be just as annoying. There’s nothing wrong with people that have their pet projects, and use twitter to point out articles or pics that they want their “friends” to see. (No, Jenimc, I don’t mean you.) But I don’t see the point of repeating the same spam-ish posts over and over. A perfect example is a former bar owner who used to fill my myspace account with bulletin after bulletin of the same events. Now she feels she needs to constantly remind us of her current profession. Others think of their twitter friends as nothing more than potential sales clients. Yes, I know you sell cars, and if/when I’m ready to buy a new one I’ll consider coming to you. I’ll do that only if you begin posting material other than where you work.
For the most part, though, I still enjoy using twitter. While I still use it as an on-the-fly addition to this site, it’s also a quick way to communicate with close friends. For example, if I want to remind the Goddess that she’s a beautiful woman, I can do so not only from my computer but my iPod and phone. Inevitably, a few minutes later I’ll receive not only a blushing reply but a handful of posts asking who I’m calling a goddess.
Yet one of the best uses of twitter occurred a couple of weeks ago. Missing an important plot point on a popular network series, I remembered that one of my twitter friends was a big fan of the show. I sent her a direct twitter post, and in just a minute or so she replied with my needed answer.
So let’s dispense with the over-hype of twitter. It has its uses, but unchecked hype could lead it to an early demise. Friendster thankfully disappeared years ago, Myspace has also died, and Facebook is already on its way to ruin as it attempts to emulate Twitter. Can anything be our cool little secret anymore?