Subscribe in a reader
Monday, July 26th, 2010
In 2005, just before I moved to Japan, I stumbled across a peculiar thing called MySpace. I was horrified. Why would anyone want to put themselves out there like that, I thought. A girl had put pictures of herself up and people were ripping her to shreds. I don’t want any part of that, I said and quickly navigated away. Fast forward to today, I have this blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Soundcloud…basically, there is no escape from me on the internet. I got sucked in.
What happened is, when I got to Japan, I saw my roommate was using MySpace. She talked me through the benefits and said it might be a good way to meet people. Hmm. I set up a profile and within a couple of weeks, it had basically become like my own personal dating site (hey, we were in Japan – there’s a lot of lonely American military men out there, what can I say?)
When I moved to Canada at the end of ’06, everyone was talking about something called ‘Facebook’. I don’t need that, I’d say, I have MySpace. But after a while, having MySpace was like being the last person at a party. Plus, the only friend requests I was getting on there at that point were from random death metal bands in Ohio. Yup, I had no choice, I had to defect – so, off I went to set up my Facebook account.
At the end of ’07, this blog was born. Last year, though it petrified me, I decided to start making video blogs. Gradually, one little thing at a time, my online life has grown to the point where I’m online all the time.
So why do we do it? Those who don’t ‘get’ it, say it’s just all so narcissistic to put ourselves out there like that. Do I think that what I have to say is any more interesting than anyone else? Of course I do! I wouldn’t waste my time otherwise. In reality, is it any more interesting? Of course not! First and foremost, as someone who spent much of my twenties galavanting around in other countries, it was just a way for me to keep in touch with my friends – if other people wanted to read what I had to say, cool.
People who don’t use any form of social media love to look down their noses at those of us who do. We’re just all sad little losers, living a fantasy life with no real friends. If that’s all they get from their internet experience, they’re doing it wrong. I’m happy to say I’ve met so many wonderful people through blogging and happily count them as friends now. I use Social Media to grow both my online and personal connections. For me, one is not really separate from the other.
It takes a while to get used to, as my blog grows, the barrage of negative comments that come every now and then, how people can and will judge your whole life off just one blog post, then click through to some other random portal of the internet without giving it a second thought. How people will make all sorts of suggestions about how you should conduct yourself on your blog or Twitter (how about I just stick these middle fingers up, that good enough?) without considering that they should perhaps start their own blog before offering up their armchair ponderings.
There are a million things about Social Media that drive me crazy (really? Another blurry shot of your drunken night out on your Facebook page? Yawn), but I can’t imagine my life without it.
———————————-
NOMINATE ME!
Cosmopolitan has launched its Blog Awards and I would be so grateful and honoured if you would take a moment to nominate Bangs and a Bun in the ‘Lifestyle’ category. It only takes a second and I will love you long time if you do. Click here and make my day. Thank you!
Tags: blogging, facebook, myspace, online life, twitter
Posted in life | 18 Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Still having a MySpace account at this point is being the last person left in a club when the lights come on. It’s uncomfortable, a little embarrassing and you’ve lost your ride home.
Recently, I’ve been wondering why I have continued my MySpace upkeep. I joined up when I moved to Japan and found it a great way to meet English speaking people. That then turned into being solicited by, seemingly, every foreign man in Japan who could appreciate a girl with hips. Being hit on via the interweb was quite a new phenomenon to me. I’d get home from work and marvel at the fact that I was receiving about 10-15 new messages a day and all I was doing was sitting in my sweats, drinking tea.
But then my friends back home started getting on it and it was a cool way to connect with them. Then I moved to Canada and heard all this mysterious talk about something called ‘Facebook’. I resisted it for a while, then it became apparent that I could no longer function in society without a Facebook account. Seriously, seeing the look on people’s faces when you say you haven’t got one, is worthy of a bitch slapping.
And so I signed up for Facebook, which has put me in touch with some great people I’d lost touch with and some not so great people whose reasons for friend requesting me, when they clearly hated my ass in high school, is beyond me. Being that I live in one country and most of my friends are in another, it has become, basically, the only way I keep in touch with anyone.
But then the Facebook bug wasn’t enough for me and I had to feed my social networking jones by adding Twitter into the mix, or ‘Facebook on crack’ as I like to call it. It’s the ultimate tool for any narcissist. It operates on the assumption that the world at large should be intensely interested in your every move and yes, you should be in mine. I am just that interesting.
And so that leaves little old MySpace, struggling to stay relevant in this sea of over sharing. I check my account every now and then and now I’m being propositioned by random middle eastern men (apparently, I’m big with the Arabs), Nigerians and anyone who has released a hip hop mixtape in the history of time. An ex of mine (who is now married and living in Italy) likes to message me every few months and tell me, repeatedly that he wishes me all the best and I deserve nothing but greatness and he really hopes everything works out for me. So, um, to that guy, message received, roger that, I got it, over and out. Now kindly fuck off. I have like, at least ten Arabs lined up to get with me.
So, methinks it might be time for me to bid MySpace farewell. We’ve had some good times and you did kinda introduce me to someone who is incredibly special to me, so I guess for that, you get a high five. But I just don’t have time for you anymore, what with all the Twittering and such like.
Before I go, I will turn down that friend request from that random death metal band in Utah just one last time, for old time’s sake. *Wipes tear* So long MySpace. It’s been special.
Tags: exes, facebook, myspace, twitter
Posted in life | 8 Comments »