Green Parrot

Last time I was unemployed I went to Truthout everyday. That was 2003.

Blog ideas were running through my head this morning and I was headed in a particular direction. Is Twitter a tool for shameless creepy self-promotion? For a few, I say yes. I signed into Twitter, March 30, 2008. At the time I will admit, that I didn’t exactly get it or know what it was, or if I would even use it. Therefore the Twitter handle @jgx. Turns out with the 140-character limit the short handle is perfect.

I don’t follow a lot of people. And I don’t have a lot of follower’s. Which is fine with me. For me it’s not a popularity contest. I don’t need to be popular. In September of 2008 when I really started using Twitter, the race was on. People where nuts!! Falling all over each other to get followers AT all costs. And they took it personally if you didn’t follow them. In some cases (one in particular for me) take great offense to unfollow. I got a curt little note sent to me in facebook after the unfollow. Well I had unfollowed them so how else where they to verbally beat me up one last time?

My opinion, for some Twitter is all about self-promotion. In some cases annoyingly so. For some it has become a tool to help those in need. For some, it is the selfless desire to do something for the greater good. I’m talking about Thirty Hour Day. (previous post)

So I was thinking about what makes people do things like this? What was it that just a few weeks three people decided to have a 30 hour live podcast to raise money for local charity. No really! Just a few weeks ago!

This goodness should be collected and put in a shot and a required immunization.

And a friend from high school on facebook post’s a link to a great article on TruthOut, Bringing the World Out of Denial: The Power of Passion, The Fallacy of Fear. It says what I wanted to say.

The entire article is linked to the title, but I pulled a few paragraphs here.

“In my opinion, there is only one force that can erase this self-protecting, laissez faire attitude towards critical global challenges, or any critical change for that matter: the energy of unbridled passion. This creative force is so powerful that it evaporates fear from the deepest level of the human spirit and can literally change the world.”

“Every one of us is born with this need. This can result in human efficiencies beyond 90 percent. Have you ever engaged in an activity so inspiring that you lost track of time and your desire for food, water or sleep?”

“How do we instill such passion? I think there are three components that must be present. First, and foremost, the challenge must appeal to a person’s need to help the “greater good.”

“People must perceive and believe deep down that they are part of a team that will change the world for the better. That is the magic.”

Creative and innovative people no longer work well under autocratic command and control. That world is gone forever. At this critical juncture, we desperately need a few courageous leaders stimulating people around the planet with the passion necessary to create a safer, more rewarding future for all.”

Magic

I’ve decided to close Seesmic, TweetDeck and not open Facebook for a while. I saw the light today, or at least for a few minutes it was shining really brightly!

Remember this guy? Insane?

As I write this it’s been about 3.5 hours (now 7:16:25:3) since I looked at or posted to Facebook or Tweeted. Funny, seems longer? HA! It is crack!! ☺

It was crazy to watch Twitter go into over-drive as the news about Michael Jackson came out. News had him dead, then in a coma, and dead again.

Someone tweeted that this will interrupt Twitter more than Iran. I thought, and what does that say? We deal with things that we think we can have some element of control of.

So I tweeted, “One, two. If two is true who is three.” You know the old saying death always comes in three’s. I had forgotten about Ed McMahon. So now there were three.

Many other’s died today I know. Mother’s, Father’s, Brother’s and Sisters. But those three get the news because they are news and now wall to wall coverage. I guess, I’m not watching. I am sure there will be a sea of flowers to film somewhere. A mass of humanity will be mourning someone they didn’t know. Some they listened to or saw in concert, but never really knew them. A song or an action might have made a difference in their life, but they didn’t know them. They knew just what the press told them, real or otherwise.

Then I see this random tweet that says that the actor Jeff Goldblum has died falling from a cliff while filming in New Zealand. The link took about 5 minutes to load. By then I had Googled Goldblum about 8 times with no results. This can’t be? I finally see the “developing story” from some news source in New Zealand, “details to come.” Then I see a tweet that says the Goldblum story is a hoax to drive business to a website.

The straw that broke my little twitterfacebookensocialmedialovin camels back.

I updated Facebook saying that I had seen a crazy tweet about another death, but would not say who until I was able to get some, any kind of confirmation. To which about 12 people quickly responded.

It was then I saw her and heard, “STOP THE INSANITY!” Remember her?

So when I got home about an hour ago (4 now). I closed Seesmic, Tweetdeck and closed Facebook windows. And didn’t answer any of the Facebook inquires into, who? Who? They’ve seen it or figured it out by now.

So I’m looking at OPB and listening to the iPod that’s on all the time anyway. And not looking at Twitter or Facebook. I have some pretty good tunes!

I thought this and thought it a weird thought, but Michael Jackson’s death pulls focus from the death of Farrah Fawcett. Which in my opinion is more relevant, more important because of her fight with cancer, our current healthcare situation, etc. This morning the news was about her, cancer, treatments, etc. Tonight;

We have this amazing tool to communicate with. Yet everyone is so desperate to be the one who is the first to say it (to give the appearance of where they are “in” the loop) that they forget they are part of a conversation, even driving a conversation that has consequences. Ones that can do more harm than good. O.k., “everyone” is big. I know very responsible Tweeter’s.

So I’m going to take a little break. Not for ever, just a while. You might see a post of an article that I find interesting, but I’m not going to log in to Twitter or Facebook for a while. I will look at LinkedIn and read email. I am after all looking for a job, so better keep an eye on that.

I think I’ll blog a bit more and maybe spend some time actually working on that book. I think Knod misses me. Now just what to do with him?

Rest in peace, Ed, Farrah, Michael, Serena, Sky …

Peace out tweeps!

Read my newest post at, Webmanual.org in response to the new position that Multnomah County posted last week.