Nearly an hour after I opened tumblr to start this post, I have found my way back here. It is amazing how a single post, yes a POST, can set you off on a journey of discovery and tangents.
I remember eons ago when the internet was new, Netscape was the browser of choice, and there were nowhere near as many sites/pages/links. I used to love following links and then look back to see where I started. I was always amazed at the journey.
Now that is commonplace. No matter how far-fetched the connection, 7 degrees and all. There is no awe anymore. There is no newness. Thankfully, it hasn't lost its fun.
I guess I have to thank facebook for that, still. Feeds, especially as THEY are what usually drive my mood for knowledge, entertainment and discovery.
Recently a friend posted this question:
My immediate thought was HELL YES! I still think it wouldn't be a problem. I go for long stretches without access (voluntarily) anyway. But lately, I have been online for several hours EVERY DAY. Some people call that normal. I call it an addiction.
But what would I miss most? Lately, through this experiment, I have been on facebook significantly more often. The purge seems to be working as more and more of what I am fed is personal - whether that is a poster / picture from a friend or their comments, it has been a delight to see more about the people that used to populate my world (I live FAR away from the vast majority of my facebook friends).
I have been amazed by the interests and the lives of my friends. Their lives are so different from mine. Or, more likely, my life is so vastly different from theirs. I love the contrast but more than that I love the delight in their own lives that comes through in their posts. I know that I am lucky that most of the posts that I have been seeing are less politicky or ranting and more intimate. Maybe it is the source. Regardless, thank you, facebook, for allowing my feed to become more personal.
Still - and I have to throw this wrench out there - the first advertisement appeared as THE THIRD POST in today's adventure.
Back to the Question... I would miss finding out what my friends were doing on facebook, certainly. Sometimes the nuggets of wisdom are just CLASSIC. Other times, the situations they share just make me think - always a good thing.
The world is such a small place. Less than 10 minutes after seeing this post, I see another one (from one of my cousins to her brother)...
Laughter followed. Chuckles, really. Then a coughing fit because I have the cold that everyone, including myself, thought they were finally over.
Still facebook is not my immediate online destination of choice. Neither is my e-mail - unless I feel like a half-hour of deletes before reading anything of interest. And no, I don't need ANY medication, thank you. And that is just the ONE account.
I guess I would miss YouTube the most. Even when I am typing along like I am here, I often have music from YouTube playing in the background. My subscription list there could use a good month-long purge as well. I don't comment because I DON'T WANT TO USE MY REAL NAME, D**** it! So that takes the personal aspect away a bit. Still, I LOVE the feeds and the videos and the clips and the quirks so immediately available on YouTube. If there was one public site that I had to choose to keep, that would be it.
I am thankful that I do NOT have to choose - Yeah NET NEUTRALITY (so far) - but the question also made me consider how I use these sites.
I have decided that I should use facebook for the personal connections that were the reason I opened the account to begin with. After all, my innate introversion and lack of correspondence skills can be someone mitigated on that platform.
I have enjoyed my tumblr experience as well. I have only been here for about 6 months - thank you Kissing In The Rain fan cannon experiment (Shipwrecked) - yet the discoveries have been amicable. I wish "tumblr" would post less often, but that is how it rolls. I have begun following my feeds more regularly from here and missing less than previously. That's a bonus.
I don't have twitter or any other significant social media. So, along with YouTube, these two sites cover most of my bases. I think they are really basically all that I need. I like it this way. :)
