Stalk me elsewhere

Monday, December 17, 2012

A Future Without Twitter?


Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How are you all doing? Are we in the Christmas spirit yet? I hope so. I am getting there, but some things have risen up to do their best to dampen them…

Things have gotten tough at the dreaded day job. Due to many factors, we had a lousy busy season and have been forced to work weekends. I got out of working a weekend ago and the subsequent Monday due to the fact that we already had plans to accompany our high school freshman and his choir to Disneyland and the Candlelight celebration. It was a very cool time, but now I’m on the clock for weekend work and worked this past Saturday. I typically take two weeks off during the holidays – you may recall my having been sick for them last year. In any event, even that is in jeopardy, and I may have to work during this time as well.

Not only are we really busy, but now I find myself really tired. It didn’t take long at all for the busy workload to wipe away that three-day weekend I just had. Christmas makes us all busy. I’m trying to get some writing in, but my three hour window is shaky now because some days I am far too tired to concentrate. Lately, I’ve hardly blogged at all. Many have continued to visit in spite of the fact that I have rarely reciprocated, which I adore you for, and hope to improve upon.

Then this past Wednesday morning during a work coffee-break I attempted to do my #WriterWednesday shout-outs on Twitter, only to discover that the Follow Friday App had been permanently shut down. This left me with no real way of doing that work – which is more of a labor of love for me, to be honest. I just don’t have the time to check Facebook or Twitter feeds, so doing my #WW and #FF work from my trusty iPhone was my only dedicated method of continuing that interaction. I was left more than a bit disappointed by the fact that I only heard from a handful of friends last week when I usually hear from so many more.

Out of sight is out of mind, so I suppose what really bothered me was the very real possibility that I might be quickly forgotten in a community where we literally “know” hundreds and thousands of people. One might have thought that less Twitter interaction might actually be better, giving me more time to write, read or blog, but I don’t see it that way. To me, it’s a big loss.

So, my friends, does anyone have any suggestions? Is there another App that can help me do the same thing? I’m not interested in mass following and unfollowing people which seems to me to be what these bigger and better mousetraps are for now. How do you Twitter-loving folks keep up and reach out? I just want to be able to interact with my friends, even if it is only at 140 characters.
We’ll talk soon… I hope.

12 comments:

  1. Wow, Jimmy, I don't even have time for Twitter. And my publisher told me it was a waste of my time. He wants me to write. So, I don't know.

    I've been working on my next two books, and plus you know my husband was down with the back problem. That took up loads of my time as he does a lot of things around the house for me. It worried me and got me more than a little depressed, not knowing if he'd get through it. But he has. So far. We'll see how it goes today of 6 hours behind the wheel of a bus.
    Hope you figure it out, friend. (wow, thousands of friends? I might have a hand full)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't help you with Twitter, sorry! Never done it. I'm not on Facebook all that much, either. Might help if I had a smart phone, but not sure I want one (certainly can't afford one right now anyway). Everything to do with the internet gets done on my laptop.

    Hope you get a break to enjoy the holidays!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Usually I use the computer or TweetDeck for Twitter. I don't spend a lot of time there as blogging takes the bulk of my hours.
    Sorry about all that work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jimmy! No way you'll be forgotten!!!

    As for an app, I have no idea. I count myself lucky that I can tweet and post without making my whole computer go up in smoke.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You won't be forgotten Jimmy! I can include your name in our threads and even if you don't talk all the time, when you look at your @ page we will be there and you can reply and say hi anytime you like :).

    ReplyDelete
  6. You aren't ever forgotten, Jimmy! I myself use Gremln.com to tweet lists of folks I want tweeted (like the Coffin Hop crew). It takes a while to set up, but it hasn't failed me yet. I'm not exactly great at social graces myself, but I'm always a tweet away if you need me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My Wordpress blog auto-posts to Twitter and Facebook, Goodreads and LinkedIn. Of course for Goodreads and LinkedIn, I have included in my profile my RSS to my blog. But Wordpress allows for auto-posting to FB and Twitter. Wahoo!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a great posting I have read. I like your article. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so sorry you are stuck working so much. Christmas is busy enough without extra work hours. You are a wonderful blessing to your family, my friend. You can only do what you can do. The rest will keep. I too was bummed when I went to use Follow Friday Helper myself and found that it had been shut down in favor of a paid app. If I find anything that will help, I will definitely let you know. And don't worry, your kindness will not soon be forgotten :) I wish you and your family a most magical Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi James. I'm so sorry to hear that work is keeping you from your precious family at this busy time to year. I do hope that you get some time to relax. May I wish you and yours all the best for the holiday season.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well, I'm a bit late to this party post, but hm... I find it extremely difficult to keep up with all the social networking sometimes. Twitter--never could figure out Twitter. Kind of like screaming in a crowded room and only getting the attention of the people right next to you. Fun. I set up announcements on TweetDeck and peruse what's going on right then--beyond that, I don't knock myself out. Now Facebook, I keep up on a regular basis because I find it's more personal and I like the actual interaction. Good luck, James.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've been shying away from Twitter lately. I've never really felt comfortable with Tweeting. (I think maybe I'm too much of an introvert.)

    I really prefer blogging and Facebook, which I plan to get into more while leaving Twitter behind. So please don't think I've been ignoring you on there... I still want to keep in touch. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate you taking the time. I'll get back to you here or on one of the other social networks. It's not like we're not on all of them, right? ;) Also, if you're here to give me an award - bless you. However, your friendship and visits are more than enough. Thanks and blessings.