2 of my grands with a cousin, playing in our water garden.I've made some friends online. Not that many because the idea of having 983 friends is a little repulsive to me. (This probably means there is something I am not getting about this whole social networking thing.)
If I add someone to my sites, it's usually because I like what I read on their blogs or I love the books they wrote. But mostly it's because I sense something on the inside of them that I am drawn to.
As an author I have a few blogs. And I'm open to joining every social network that might be helpful to my career. Well, that's a lie. I tried MySpace and lasted through 4 sleazy friend invites - each with different names and the exact same profile.
So, the upshot is that MySpace is not
mine, after all. I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm just saying... The more I look at MySpace sites the more I wonder, What are all those glittery, glowing, stickery things? They remind me of something a dentist gives to children who don't bite his fingers!
And then there is Facebook - at first when I signed on (at the urging of my daughter) my reaction was somewhat akin to the whole MySpace thing. What's this about someone sending me an ice-cream cone? Really? Where? Because I didn't taste any chocolate. I mean, really if you're going to send me ice-cream,
puhlease won't you attach it to a refrigerated truck? And send it to my driveway. The address is...
uh, never mind - you might be a creep or something.
Just so you know, I stayed with Facebook. I made some friends - mostly people I admire already. I jabber with them occasionally. And I'm starting to like it. Not enough to have a whole hunking 700 friends or anything but enough to chat with real people I've met who happen to be on Facebook too.
Yesterday I took a look at Twitter - a
look, I said. I watched the video intro - it was fun but...do I believe that there are 671 people out there who want to know when I pour a cup of coffee, kiss my grands, or yell at my hubby?
I do not. And
I especially don't want
them to know about the yelling.
There are plenty of people in this world who know the real me - people with whom I've participated in such up-close-and-personal experiences as:
- old fashioned cornshuckings (Yes, I am ancient!)
- fondue meals that lasted and lasted
- campfires with ghost stories and guitars and Kum By Yah
- picking crabs with friends on screened-in porches
- shelling lima beans under a shade tree
- coffee on the deck with my hubby
- bulk cooking with my girlfriends (chaos in the kitchen!)
- canning applesauce with my sister and our daughters-in-law
- book club discussions with great food and almond tea in hand
Last year I turned down the applesauce-making opportunity because it meant a day away from my desk. I gave up vegetable gardening about the same time I took up blogging. And my dear husband is fast forgetting the mornings when we shared coffee on our deck.
I began this year blogging about balance. And now that it's over half-way through, I'm still struggling to find it.
But here's the good news. Each Sunday evening my ancient siblings and I, along with our equally ancient spouses, and our wise and wonderful parents still enjoy potluck around my parent's table. After a summer hiatus, my book club at the libary meets again in 3 weeks. And I'm sure I'll have the chance to make applesauce this fall.
Unless, (God forbid!) I am too busy twittering on that September day.
A few members of my huge family.
With a family like this, who needs 900 friends?
My LiveJournal friend, Susan Taylor Brown is conducting an online class in social networking. When you click on the link above, scroll down to her write-up of a class she co-taught on this subject at a recent writer conference in California. (The feedback is impressive!)
Susan is the author of Hugging the Rock, a book I loved! (Read my review of her book here.)
