Dearest Leonard, my highly esteemed Nobel Prize winning colleague: When you say you’re "surprised that people — by the thousands — buy in to it"…do you mean "buy in to it" as in, I just bought Wachovia Bank stocks? Or swampland in Arizona? You talking that kind of "buy in to it"? Because if you are, I’m kinda insulted.
But I get insulted a little too easily so really, it’s no biggie and I won’t hold it against you BUT I also defend and explain myself a little too much and well, you’re no exception to the rule.
You wrote, Twitter "encourages you to narrate your life in real time as opposed to, well… living it. I’m sorry but include me out."
Okay, first, shouldn’t it be, "don’t include me?" I mean, as a fellow writer, I’m just saying…. preposition at the end of the sentence and all….
Second, I understand your rationale that we could literally be twittering away precious moments we can never recover. I do see the potential in many electronic venues to suck us out of precious real world real living moments.
But some of us Leo, (may I call you Leo?) are still schlepping into our seventh year of weekly deadlines, self-marketing, smaller syndicates, dusty book manuscripts, self-maintained websites, newer blogs and now, yes, Twitter. Why? Because we don’t have the Miami Herald and a Noble Prize in our living rooms.
Now, I must say, we do have my husband’s Emmy in the living room and dang if it isn’t a great conversation starter! But, it doesn’t increase my readership in print or hits on my section of the paper’s website. That’s where Twitter comes in. And yes, Facebook and blogging and short of standing on a street corner in a chicken costume (I’m more of a goat person), I’ll take all the PR help I can get.
And here’s the deal: Twitter works. (Hang on a sec, I’m now required to raise my voice five octaves, jump up and down like a pogo stick and execute flappy hand motions.) Okay. Like. Oh. My. Gawd! I like, just totally reunited with like, my sorority sister on Twitter! It was, like, oh my gawd, the cooooolest thing! Cuz like, I had JUST asked another sis if she like, had Maria’s address and Beth was all like, "I don’t have it, like, check her website." So I like, go to Maria’s website but dinner was burning and the dog had to go out and her site was so ginormous I couldn’t find any direct link to like, contact her personally, you know? So like, the Very. Next. Day I’m on Twitter following my bff/colleague Marybeth, you know who has, like that new Geeks book and oh my gawd you will NEVER believe who SHE was following!!! Right! Maria! So I’m all, "tweet! @ Maria, it’s Karen Buffer. Email me". And like she did, right away and she was all, "OMG HOW did you find me?" And I’m like, "Well [repeat above story.]"
So Leo, because of Twitter connections, I’m not only booked on Maria’s radio show but will (like!) swap books with her next month at our sorority reunion…and who know what after that?
Love, http://Twitter.com/KarenRinehart .
