My kids are tweeting their hearts out. They were born to this technological age. In nursery school, Laura was in the dress-up corner playing grocery store and scanning bananas over the toy cash register. I didn’t understand why she was waving the fruit over the keys in that particular way rather than just punching in the dollars and cents amounts. Our next trip to Stew Leonard’s revealed the answer as the check-out clerk there used the same motion. “Smart kid, my daughter” I thought.
I’m trying! We of the Baby Boomers have adapted to answering machines, computers, cell phones and the like, each time protesting, “Who needs that?” before adapting and proclaiming their benefits.
I know I will master this new technology. I know that it’s important. I know I will make great connections and learn lots. But right now, I still don’t get it and am whiny and annoyed. However, I recognize that that’s my style and move forward anyway. I had a wonderfully generous twitter lesson on Friday from Miraim Salpeter who introduced me to tweetdeck. Now there’s a chirping sound coming from my laptop every few seconds as tweets come through along with notification of new followers and those I’m following.
This morning’s reading in Courage to Change, a daily inspirational book, ends with a quote by Confucius: It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Unstoppable is my middle name.
11 comments
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June 10, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Jessica Bram
I agree with you completely. I just can’t keep up with all the technological “musts” and I know I sound like a crotchety old codger. On the other hand, I can’t imagine anything more annoying than a computer that constantly chirps. I have a hard enough time keeping from constantly checking my email. How are we supposed to get anything done?
If more and more of us find ourselves self-diagnosing as ADD, is it any wonder?
June 10, 2009 at 1:25 pm
janepollak
@Jessica
I knew YOU’d understand!
June 10, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Kathleen Ellis
Now, we’ve mastered blogging…and I’m enjoying the basics of FaceBook…which proves I am open-minded about all this stuff…but Twitter…I just DON’T get it! I’ve tried…it just doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t make sense to me…so, who decided it was absolutely necessary for me to master it if I want to succeed “online”???
I agree with Jessica…these things that are supposed to make us so much more efficient and save us so much time… i dare say…seem to be eating a lot more of our time, which makes us not as efficient. We need to learn to use the tools and not let them use us and at the same time decide which tools “fit” us and which ones don’t!
Do I hear an “Amen”?!
June 10, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers
Jane – I’m glad that our talk got you on your way and that your computer is chirping! (You can set it NOT to chirp – go to the icons in the very top, right side of the screen. There are four of them. Click on the one that looks like a wrench – settings – and you will see that you can check the box to turn off the sound.)
Practice makes perfect, and remember that there is no one “right” way to use Twitter. As with everything, you’ll decide how to incorporate it. I hope you’ll enjoy it for connecting and communicating valuable ideas as much as I do! Feel free to be in touch if I can offer any additional help!
June 11, 2009 at 6:15 am
janepollak
@Kathleen
I know what you’re saying, and something keeps calling me back to tweet. I recognize that there’s a journey involved. I do believe that eventually it will be as common as email, which I thought was crazy at first.
June 11, 2009 at 6:16 am
janepollak
@Miriam
I envy your ease with it and am going along for the ride. Picture me on the back fender (do they still make those?) hanging on for dear life. But, I’m on the road…
June 11, 2009 at 10:08 am
Julie
How is twitter any different or better than FaceBook? I have friends who post every hour or so on FB sharing their thoughts, activities, etc. etc….. (sometimes I wonder if they do anything else!)
It seems like twitting would be duplicating what I already have.
And besides, it’s too easy to get caught in the black holes of FB, e-mails, the net, losing track of time or getting off-track from the original purpose (which might have actually been admirable and business-related!) into the vortex of technology that eats precious time.
As a 20-year veteran entrepreneur, I still have to fight the urge to avoid unpleasant jobs on my to-do-today list, and the call of social networks can be one of them. I may make the excuse that I’m checking for business reasons, but most posts I get are non-business related. Then I come out of the ether, look at the clock, and wonder where my day went!
So, am I the only one that has this issue? Am I using the wrong vehicles for networking and social connectedness? The business networks are usually so far-removed from my business focus that they are of no use to me. What is the answer?
June 11, 2009 at 3:52 pm
janepollak
@Julie
Have you started texting? My hunch is that this will all become clear, mainstream and useful in due time. I didn’t understand text messages until years after my kids had been using them. Now I get it and use it with some frequency. My issue with twitter is that I somehow feel I’m letting others down–my followers–because I’m not posting. I’m okay with that.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
June 16, 2009 at 10:12 am
Julie
Yes, I text. (Not as much as my kids do though!!!)
It’s really not that this technology is unclear… the point is that I have to be choosey which tools I utilize to be sure they are helping me to achieve my goals, and are not just time-eaters. I’m pulled in a lot of different direction continually; I need to know I’m using what time I have wisely.
June 14, 2009 at 1:24 am
Lisa Braithwaite
Twitter has been fabulous for me, in more ways than one. As an entrepreneur who is sitting alone in front of my computer all day, Twitter is my “water cooler.” I can chat with friends I know in real life, and people I’ve never met but consider friends now.
I’ve formed partnerships with others in my field, done group projects, been invited to be a guest blogger, invited to do radio interviews and gotten clients and customers through Twitter. I’m a relationship-builder, not a marketer, and Twitter is all about creating and cultivating relationships, giving instead of taking, and being part of a community.
In fact, I was one of several business owners recently featured in an extensive article in the local paper about using Twitter for business. My face was splashed across the top half of the life section front page with laptop in hand, showing several of my tweets.
You won’t understand it until you try it. If it’s not for you, you’ll find out. But don’t assume it’s not for you if you haven’t given it a chance.
http://twitter.com/LisaBraithwaite
June 16, 2009 at 9:47 am
janepollak
@Lisa
I know, I know. I’m taking a class online this afternoon. I know it’s there for me, AND I accomplish all of what you listed live through my networks. It’s a yes AND, not a no.