Photographic proof (kind of) that I have been in the same vicinity of some of these people. Honest.
I’m part of this community. I am also not part of this community.
I live in Little Rock, and while not a native, it has been my home for the better part of a decade. For years, I lived in my little bubble of TV production and seldom, if ever, ventured out to meet anyone outside of our myopic little society of camera guys, editors, and “producers” who ran all around the country shooting things and bring them back here to cut down to what could, for lack of a better term, be referred to as entertainment. Back in 2007, I read about John Edwards (yeah, yeah) on the campaign trail using something called “Twitter” to tell people where he was on his baby-kissing (and, I guess, in hindsight, baby *making*), hand shaking Presidential campaign trail.
I was at once intrigued and kind of confused by the whole thing. As in, what would make someone put themselves out there with something like this, and also, what kind of creepy freak show of a human being would waste their time reading where someone was eating lunch or what they were doing?
Anyway, I signed up as my musical alter ego, and tested the waters, mostly following celebrities and people I would stumble across that I thought were amusing (Cobra Commander, The Hulk, etc.) in hopes that I would eventually “get” Twitter. I eventually just went ahead and set up an account using my real name as I dislike a pseudonym more than just about anyone.
All my friends and colleagues thought I was stupid for signing up to this site, and it was “just a fad”, but over time they’ve mostly signed up. I try my best to stay on the outside of the periphery. I have no intentions of injecting myself in the community for any sort of professional means, as I like to keep my opinions/jokes/thoughts/etc. and my 9-to-5 work as separate as possible.
Where it is helpful is knowing that there are people thinking and doing entertaining things in the area code you live in. I won’t say that Little Rock’s Tweetup community is great, because really, I don’t know the majority of you, and probably won’t ever meet any of you, and I haven’t been a legitimate part of it so it just isn’t my place to say it. I just don’t go out of my way to be that social. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with meeting people from the internet (hell, I met my wife there in the 90s), it’s just that I have a capacity for being social and meeting hordes of people with a moderate string of related interests based solely around our shared nature to tell people where we’re at, and what we’re eating.
Boil that down, though. At the heart of everything, isn’t everyone reaching out to tell people their story? Where you’ve been, what you like, what you dislike, the list of things that make you go on and on. This isn’t anything new. Twitter has just put it into clear and succinct, easy to follow, unbelievably simple to digest pieces. It’s Clarity-To-Go. It serves a purpose.
Therein lies my main problem with Tweetups, LJ Meetups (which, ironically, my wife and I actually founded in Central Arkansas), and any sort of meetup based on a communal want/need to find out what kind of people live in our community. It’s the same kind of people that were there long before Twitter. There are brilliant, insightful, sincere, thought-provoking, geniuses doing amazing things. There are insular, sullen, folks doing unimaginable things. There are boring people, going through the motions, trying and failing to make a mark. You just have to look around. Listen instead of broadcast.
It was all there before. Don’t blame Twitter for it showing up in your viewfinder, finally. Maybe you just woke up from the National Coma the majority of the world seems to be in. Welcome to having your eyes open. No, I haven’t been here for long, either. Enjoy your stay.
I will say that I am friends with a decent chunk of the LR Tweetup community. I like their company very much when I can be dragged out of my office or my house. Amy Bradley-Hole, for instance, was one of the first I followed, just because I thought she was funny. I didn’t care what her job was, or what she did…I just followed because she made me laugh sometimes.
With all that being said, I realize what kind of people are out there, and I, more than anyone (and this will seem strange coming from me, probably) am in love with the world. I am constantly amazed, dumbfounded, and learning about the world I live in and the people who inhabit it. Sure, when life on our planet is gone it will barely be a blip on the galaxy’s radar, but I am part of that larger community and it is beautiful and I am proud to have been a tiny speck of dust in it.
I appreciate what Tweetup is trying to do. But it’s not networking for me, and it’s not a place for me to advance my career, and really it’s not a place for me to make friends. It’s a sociology experiment, and I’m happy the people who have allowed me to peek into their lives have done so. You are a fascinating bunch and I appreciate you.
If you see me at the River Market at lunchtime, say hi.
