Blog No. 40
When I say I don’t understand things like Twitter, that’s not to say I can’t comprehend the system or how it works – though I still don’t have a good handle on Snapchat. (I keep hearing conflicting explanations and I can’t be bothered to look it up). I think the problem comes from my lack of social skills (or the lack of desire to get any better at it). A lot of the apps or websites I either don’t know of, don’t understand or don’t care about have that social aspect. I don’t think it would be a surprise to many people (especially the readers here) that I am an introvert.
I’m not completely inept or disinterested. I do have a facebook account and here I am writing a blog online. I think it all moves too fast for me. There is always a new app that helps you keep connected or share with others. I am pretty happy with the amount I currently share thanks. That’s not completely true though. I am looking for ways to start expanding my presence on the internet – but only for my writing. My friend did help me set up a domain name (I still have to build the site somehow though).
As for some of the specific programs (namely the ones mentioned in the title) I really just don’t understand them. Twitter was initially a way for people working at a university to keep tabs on what other people were doing. It allowed people to go and work on their projects without being disturbed by meetings or questions about what they were doing. It was a way for a small group to work more effectively. Now all I can see is it’s a way to prove how popular you are. Sure it has become a necessity for any public personality, but you can bet that many of those people would rather not bother telling random people what they had for breakfast. I’m not say that I will never join twitter. If I ever want this writing thing to go anywhere I may have to. (That is after I actually figure out this writing thing). I will admit that some of the post my friends show me are funny, but I am perfectly happy missing it all together.
While I basically understand twitter, snapchat is completely beyond me. I have heard it explained as a way to keep in touch with your friends, but my brother tells me about people he has met on snapchat all the time. It could work in some way like facebook in that you can connect with people you know or with strangers if you are so bold (or psychotic from the stories I have heard). I get that it gives you the ability to set limits on how long something can be seen. I like that idea, but I don’t think enough to invest in figuring the rest of it out.
I realize that I am doing little but complaining this week, and that I may sound like a stagnant grump who is too stubborn to move with the times, but I honestly don’t see the appeal. I am a big fan of technology and some of the things that my technologically advanced friends teach me are super cool. There are lots of really cool and helpful apps I have been shown by friends like One Password, Tune In radio, Dropbox and dozens more. They are either fun or helpful and tend to make day to day tasks easier. My experience with technology is better for those programs, but there are hundreds more that are either useless for me or just baffling (though they may be alright for a more specific audience).
I’m not a tech writer or in any position to review any of those cool apps so I won’t bore you with that (if you are interested Lifehacker has a cool series of the best apps for each platform – http://lifehacker.com/lifehacker-pack-for-android-2013-our-list-of-the-best-819094535). I’m in even less of a position to review the ones I don’t understand (obviously), so I’m going to leave it alone completely. I am going to say that no one is going to convince me that I’ll be better off having a twitter account (outside of promotional reasons at least) and instiagram will forever be nothing more than a hipster’s play thing in my mind.
Besides, no matter how good the program it is never a replacement for actual interactions with people (and that’s coming for a guy who usually can’t stand people). I’ll still be open to new apps that my friends tell me I have to check out, but I will never be inclined to look them up on my own. Even some of the ones I think are cool are beyond me. I can’t for the life of me get my head around Evernote, and it sounds like something totally up my alley. It really comes down to me not wanting to bother with things when they are new and little more than fads. I’ll check them out when they are more established, maybe. Though that doesn’t mean I’ll ever understand them.
Ben Van Dongen 