Trending now on Twitter?

I recently joined Reddit and while I understand that Reddit can help expand your online presence, I have to say for the record that I just don’t get it. Maybe in time I will, but I kind of doubt it. It will randomly block you from posting something new if your posts haven’t been doing well. So let me see if I have this straight. It’s not enough for me to go to the listentothis subreddit to post links to music I think is cool? I also have to try and pester people to vote it up, so I’ll get more karma and post more things on a mildly and randomly Fascist site that has blocked me from posting? And for what? Because I am somehow an insufficient Redditor? Who has time for this?

There is some history here. After all, I didn’t really see the point of Twitter when I first started using it. To be honest, the point of Twitter still escapes me to some degree. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen something like Scooby Doo trending on Twitter. Scooby Doo! Who’s sitting around tweeting about Scooby Doo…aside from stoners sitting on the couch and eating a giant bowl of Cap’n Crunch with milk that’s probably a day or two past the expiration date?

OK, so I digressed a little bit there. I got to thinking about this whole phenomenon of me missing the point of social media. Now, there was a time when I was not what I would call socially adept. I’d say (and probably anyone that knows me would agree) that I’ve moved past any social awkwardness I may have experienced in the past. So then why is social media such an odd thing for me? I think quite frankly it’s because I prefer to do my socializing in person.

Think about if Twitter (or any other social media outlet) were an actual place. It would be like a giant doctor’s waiting room or even worse, the DMV. And you’d be surrounded by people who are telling you about a television show they’re watching, or what they’re eating for lunch, or complaining about their boyfriend. Or endlessly snapping pictures of themselves. Just ask yourself this: how long would you stay in a place like that? Not very long, I’m willing to bet. And if you did stay in that place, it would probably make you nuts. That being the case, is it so unbelievable that I find social media so odd? I don’t think so. Yes, I use the social media outlets. Yes, I interact with people on those outlets. And yes, I know that I don’t use any of those social media outlets to the greatest benefit. I suppose that’s because instead of hanging out online with people I don’t really know, I’d rather hang out live with people I know and care about.