So, You've Decided to Join TWITTER

By: Fred Cunningham | News Channel 7
Published: March 16, 2009 | 0 Comments | Post a Comment

I’ve fought the temptation to get into social networking, but when Senator John McCain is on TWITTER (remember when he said he wasn’t computer savvy during the campaign) I figured I better grab a chair before the music stops.

I’m sorry, but using electronics to talk to tens, hundreds or even thousands of people at the same time isn’t new. I did it in the 1970s. We called it CB radio.

So instead of having a “handle” like I did in 1974 (“Breaker 1-9, this is handle withheld to avoid embarrassment), I now have “fredontv” as a “user name.”

I have just one question now that I’m part of TWITTER Nation: now what?

I already have a cell phone with voice mail, a home phone with voice mail and an office phone with voice mail.

I’m next to one or two phones 20 out of 24 hours a day.

I have two email accounts, I can send text messages and now I have TWITTER. Communication isn’t a problem for me.

TWITTER asks the question: “what are you doing?” Here’s my answer: not much.

When I ask friends “what’s going on?,” they also answer “not much.” Unless my friends answer with a simple “nothing.”

My adult conversations go about the same as the ones I have with my 8-year old daughter each afternoon on the ride home from school:

DAD: “How was school today?”
GENNA: “Good.”
DAD: “How’s your teacher?”
GENNA: “She’s good.”
DAD: “Did learn a lot today?”
GENNA: “Yes.”
DAD: “What did you learn?”
GENNA: “Math.”

I guess I haven’t come as far from second grade as I thought.

So while my amount of interesting activity hasn’t increased, my ability to let you know I’m not doing much has grown by leaps and bounds.

That’s progress.