Is Social Networking the New Playground?

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Recently, RockDog - one of my first readers and someone that I've read and followed since I started blogging - brought up that he might be leaving Blogger.

A moment of silence please ... OK ... I think I can continue now ...

In his recent post, Changes; are they coming or are they here?, he writes:

My theory on this is that with social networking being the new in thing, that people are still blogging, but doing it in one place ... the same place where you can view their pictures/videos, get status updates, etc.

A place like Facebook.

No! Please!! Say it isn't so!!

Jay, in his devious ways, introduced me to Twitter, and more recently Plinky.

For those of you living under a rock who might not be familiar with these two sites, Twitter allows you to announce every time you use the bathroom your daily activities. In other words, it allows people stalk you from afar. I tried to Twitter, but I just can't seem to get in the habit of updating with any regularity. Seriously! Who cares if I'm headed to the grocery store? And if you do care, why?

Plinky is a little different. I'm guessing this will be the new "thing" on Blogger *shudders in disgust* Plinky advertises itself as:

... a service that makes it easy for you to create inspired content on the web. Every day we provide a new prompt (like a question, or a challenge). Everyone gets a chance to answer. It’s simple to add photos, maps, playlists and more. You can easily share your Plinky answers on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and most major blogging services.

Really? Inspired content? Today's prompt was, "Describe superhero you." If that is inspiration, please don't inspire me!

Of course, there are literally hundreds of social networking sites. Wikipedia lists some of the major social networking sites HERE - most of them I've never even heard of!

I can't finish this rant discussion on social networking without mentioning Facebook and MySpace.

I have a MySpace account only because I need to keep tabs on my son's MySpace page. There have been a few times when someone that I want to follow moves over to MySpace. Y'all know what happens then, right? In order to view a MySpace page, you must create an account. Nothing irritates me more than being required to put my information out there so that I can access content.

Facebook? I actually attempted to set up a page and keep it updated, but I just don't see the draw. I logged in this morning and had the following "requests":

* 1 friend request
* 2 good karma from XXXX requests
* 1 XXXX circle of request
* 1 birthday request
* 3 drinking requests
* 1 XXXX request
* 1 XXXX has a invitation
* 3 xmas stocking requests
* 2 birthday requests
* 1 free gift (new) request
* 1 birthday request
* 1 christmas decoration request
* 1 (lil) green patch request
* 1 christmas ornament request
* 1 mob wars invitation
* 1 (lil) blue cove request
* 1 nicest person request

Really? Y'all want me to answer all of these things? You actually care? I don't ...

Maybe it's because I'm not attempting to market myself. I blog as a creative outlet - the bonus for me has been a bit of social networking. I read blogs to gain insight into people and subject matter, not to get my name out there so that I can increase readership.

Maybe it's that I really despise trends and wonder about the sanity of those that flitter from one thing to another without ever giving anything their full efforts.

Or maybe I thrive on content. Not content like "Describe Superhero You," but content that requires actual thought and cohesive writing - skills that social networking doesn't even come close to fostering.

Don't even get me started on the censorship aspect of the social networking sites. If I had to chose a single reason that I'll never go - exclusively - to the social networking dark side, it would be censorship.

Tell me what you think - is Blogger (and blogging in general) a dying art? Will I be eating my words 6 months from now and bestowing the virtues of Facebook and MySpace? Where do you think you'll land?

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Fab Five + One

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One of the things I wanted to do during blogiversary week was to acknowledge some of you who have been with me for quite some time - who have encouraged and supported me when my blog was disorganized and inconsistent. Those who have stuck with me through the past year. The down side to this is I really could name something special about every single one of you - but then you'd tire of my blog manifesto, and we can't have that!

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I have one commenter who came to my blog from the Yahoo "blogger dare" group, and she still comments. We've had our ups and downs, some of those on the blog, some off-line. Yet she keeps coming back here, and I think that speaks volumes to her character. This one might surprise those of you who have witnessed the cat fighting banter. Who is this mystery gal? Fairy Flutters! Yep! She is the only one from that group who still consistently comments on my blog. Hmmmm ...

Then we have the Fab Five - those first five commenters who weren't from the Yahoo Group and who still - amazingly - continue to comment today. In order of appearance:

1. RockDog - Probably best known for his participation on Blog Talk Radio's Annie & Burl show, but also a self-proclaimed porn snob - and kindly gives lessons to those aspiring slut-next-door types!
2. Real Live Lesbian - She's my girl blogger crush. If she weren't so completely in love with her girl I would definitely probably be stalking her.
3. g-man - If you ever want to see some amazingly creative photography (his nature stuff is Ansel Adams reminiscent) or you need a little hot monkey sex, he's your guy - and he's been an amazing supporter of mine.
4. Captain Corky - I'm not sure there are words for Corky. He's a talented writer and really should blog more than he does (*hint*hint*). We used to hang out on stickam on occasion. I lost my webcam virginity to him (get your minds out of the gutter)!
   
5. Jay - What can I say about Jay? He claims to be a cynical bastard, but I don't believe it for a second. He's got to be one of the most caring, considerate people out here in blog land!

Yep! Believe it or not, the first five "real" people who ever commented on my blog are still stopping by. Pretty damn amazing!

What? Y'all are surprised you didn't see Matt-Man on the top 5 list? Yeah, I don't know what took him so damn long to get here either, but now I can't get him to leave! Just kidding Matt - I kid because I love.

Thanks to all of you who stop by to see what train wreck has occurred silly thing I'm pontificating about on any current day. It really is all of you who inspire me and help me to become a better person!

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Anyone Want To Play???

So, I was perusing Leighann's blog, reading through the comments (I am an admitted voyeur after all, and the internet has *worsened* my condition) and I stumbled upon two very *fun* blogs - RockDog and In Search of My Hip Bones (Real Live Lesbian). Now, Real Live Lesbian is playing a game, and we all know that I like playing games (especially those involving lesbians), so I've decided to play too.

Here are her rules:

"The first 5 commenters here will get a small gift in the mail from me. All you have to do is post this on your own blog and promise to gift the first 5 commenters on your post if they promise to gift the first 5 commenters on their posts… you see how it goes. What do they call that? The domino effect. After you comment jot your address in an email and click it off to me. As soon as you participate in the game I will get your little something in the mail."

Now, I don't have a cock or shiny objects to send, but I'm pretty sure that I can find a little something that will bring a smile to your face. Just send me an email with your mailing address and I'll make sure your postal carrier (politically correct) finds his/her way to your mail box.