randulo’s unblog

Isn't social networking great? It can be, anyway. It's fun and it
feels good, mostly. It can advance your business, get you help by
"crowdsourcing", give you a Zen-like feeling about being part of the
universe. The Internet has fulfilled many of my own dreams and gone
beyond them in some ways.
 
I have had the chance to interact in a meaningful way with authors of
technical books I bought, ask questions, get answers, and give them
valuable feedback. I have also taken the trouble to post a few reviews
of expensive technical books, when I thought it was a good idea to
warn people off buying them. While this wasn't a service to the author
of the bad book, it is to the prospective buyers. I have also met many
interesting people in person after getting to know them online. We've
all had these experiences, positive, enriching, win-win situations,
often turning into friendships.
 
So what am I bitching about? The Internet is but a reflection of human
nature with a bit of a magnifying glass effect since people will often
be a little more extreme knowing they're not risking being punched
out, slapped or - and this is the big one - not going to be re-invited
to the party. Social networking over the last few years, has created
one type of person I am totally tired of seeing appear everywhere:
the user.
 
Everyone knows that on Twitter, for example, you at least occasionally
will re-tweet someone you know or suggest them as worthy of following.
You scratch my back, and I scratch yours, the French call it "sending
the elevator back". On forums, you'll try to come up with useful
answers to queries, share your experience and refrain from always
tooting your own horn. Unfortunately, there are always people who
somehow don't get the party beyond self-promotion. They just use the
media, which doesn't bother as much as when they use people.
Eventually, this grates on the most patient people's nerves. Sure, you
can ignore the borderline spam, but then it interferes with the
efficient reading of a discussion.
 
Do you know anyone who constantly answers every forum post with an
invitation to join her site and post content there (thus enriching her
content capital free)? I see this constantly from one specific person
ona forum I frequent. Now here's the punchline: you know who I'm
talking about, right? Yet, we're probably not thinking of the same
person at all, because it's a personality type, not just a unique
person. Not only do I avoid people who promise you the moon and suck
up content from you, but I recommend to real friends they stay away
from these media vampires. The world keeps getting smaller and
eventually the users will be cornered and lynched, metaphorically
speaking.

At the end of a hard day, we like to look at 100% fantasy from the heavy Millenium to the light and airy The Pretender. What made me think of the Pretender just now was the opening sequence:

There are Pretenders among us. Geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be.

You don't need to be a genius to invent yourself on Twitter, but a little creativity goes a long way. I've been reading through countless 140-character bios of Twitter users, and it's pretty amazing what you find. The Pretender opening line popped into my head while reading some them. My own profile is pretty pedestrian, basically a list of my interests. What is fascinating is how people re-invent themselves in the mini bios.
 
I wonder if in a few years there will be psychology majors pumping out doctorates about how people fashion their personae on social networks (regardless of which social networks survive). [By the way, it's pretty amazing that a spell checker in my mail client knew the plural of persona, don't you think?]
 
How's Second Life doing? I have the impression it's faltering. Are companies leaving? Talk about Pretenders though, that's the place to invent yourself from A to Z. Back to Twitter, less is more is definitely true of much great art, but are all artists good at minimalism?
 
Here are a few comments I have about Twitter:
 
I don't care how many people are following me or how many read this Posterous series nor do I care how many people follow the people I follow. What I care about is the quality of connectivity. Can we have a short conversation of some kind? I just had three or four this morning. Actual thoughts and ideas were exchanged. The numbers are only important for the Pretenders among us.
 
If you have SEO, diva, expert and other like words in your bio, I know you are not of interest to me. You see, you are no better or worse than me or anyone else on Twitter. Calling yourself a diva or an expert marks you as a one of the Pretenders among us. My step mom used to say, "He who says, doesn't know. He who knows, doesn't say." You're one in a sea of Pretenders, humility and sincerity are in order.
 
When you auto-DM followers with "Check out my site" you are being like the people that come up to you on the street and try to talk you into their religion. This is an insult, in the one case because the religious claim to have a monopoly on the Truth and on the other because I've been on the Internet long enough to find your site if I'm interested. The auto-DM thing comes from the Pretenders among us.
 
You can be a successful Pretender on Twitter, but you won't be among me for long.