Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like Twitter and Facebook are turning people into inconsiderate jerks and they don’t even know it.
The advent of e-mail and instant messaging made it extremely easy to keep in touch with people. So at first, that’s what we did. We constantly e-mailed people, and even talked to strangers via instant messaging. As time went on, that phased out. We stopped feeling the need to be in constant personal contact with people, and waited to reply to e-mails, if at all.
Eventually, we got Facebook, which was supposed to make it even easier to keep in touch by broadcasting your own thoughts.Now I’m afraid that we’re at the point that it matters less about what people want to say to you and more about what you want to say to others. How do I know this? The reply rate to friendly personal messages has plummeted. The number of ‘Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you – I’ve been busy’ e-mails have skyrocketed (if any reply is sent at all) while those very same people Tweet and Facebook what they’re having for breakfast 20 times a day.
These people weren’t always like this – the technology allows them to be more narcissistic. They feel they’re being communicative by telling everyone what they’re doing, because what’s more important than what you have to say?
Seems that e-mail is about to be a thing of the past – who needs that when whoever matters to you can follow you on Twitter? Meanwhile, when an old friend comes along to give a friendly, personal hello, it’s met with confusion, if not completely ignored.
That’s where we’re headed.
Kurt Cobain in Seattle
It’s a bit surreal to be right near the place where Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide 16 years ago. Courtney Love tore down the shed where it happened, but the house is still there, and there is a public park right next to it with a bench. There are many messages on the bench, including flowers and candles. I even found a note thanking Kurt for his influence.
Growing up, I heard the stories about Janis, Jim and Jimmi, and it seems to me that people feel the same way about Kurt. In the early 90s, Nirvana was a band like no other. For me, coming to Seattle and seeing this place was well worth it.
Tweets and In-game Chats
I simply don’t get it. A game is on TV, or you’re at the game, but your focus isn’t on the game exclusively, but on your computer or phone so you can see what other people have to say about the game. In-game chats are on the rise, as are Twitter tweets about the game (or any event, like the Oscars).
So what’s going on is, people’s attention isn’t focused 100% on the game – it can’t be. While the people doing this are people I know, colleagues, and former colleagues, I’ll never be on board with chatting about a game on a computer while the game is in progress.
I’ll admit that occasionally, something of significance or interest is released through these mediums. For instance, if someone notices something that few others did, telling others who may not have seen it can be informative (like if a player doesn’t return for a period due to injury, or a milestone stat is reached). But that rarely happens. Instead, the vast majority of what we get are simple comments about the game/event as it unfolds, 99% of which anyone would know if they’re focused on the TV and not the computer!
While writing for CapitalsOutsider.com, I sorta have to do it, just in case. I need to keep an eye on what others are saying, just in case.
Now only if I can get ’em to stick to the necessary messages. But I’m one of the few making this argument so I lose.
A Gutsy Amazon Review
I did something I didn’t think I’d ever do – I wrote a review on Amazon.com for a movie. Typically there are far too many reviewers for movies that overshadow others, but I finally felt strong enough about a movie – and noticed a huge gap in the reviews – to justify it. At the same time, due to the controversy of the review, I knew I’d take a beating.
I saw a stop-motion animated film called “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” with the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep. It was nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score at this year’s Oscars.
And it was the worst animated movie I’ve ever seen.
Yet, everywhere I look, I see nothing but praise, and there were almost no negative reviews on Amazon. So I wrote one, outlining why it is bad.
- The story was predictable.
- The voice actors were bland (unlike, say, Shrek).
- The characters aren’t memorable (and there are no toys – which animated films bank on).
- Stop-motion animation is creepy and parts of this film looked like a bad Saturday morning cartoon.
- There were no original songs… just The Beach Boys (for a movie about foxes stealing chickens)
One last thing ace in the hole for my argument: The film flopped at the box office, which almost NEVER happens for GOOD animated films these days. GOOD animated films make HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS without fail.
I was the only one to give it one star on Amazon.
Almost instantly, the boo-birds came to me, marking my review as ‘not helpful.’ One guy told me to go watch Transformers again and leave this ‘intellectual’ film alone. Another argued with me that it wasn’t ‘animated’ though the term ‘animated’ can refer to stop-motion as well as drawn.
While I’ll never say someone is wrong for liking the film, I feel I gave good reasons as to why many won’t like it. Regardless, when you trash a film that several like, you’re opening yourself up to criticism, and that’s just what I did. Unfortunately, in this day and age, any moron has a platform for opinions and criticism, and poorly-written articles and baseless criticism is given the same megaphone as anyone else.
Phoenix
I spent some time in Phoenix last week,visiting my uncle and aunt. I also took a trip to the Grand Canyon, thanks to my mother and grandmother. For the Grand Canyon trip, we flew from Sedona in a 10-man plane to the canyon, then took a chopper down into the canyon. Then we took a boat ride on the river. It was remarkable. I’ll have many photos and videos to post when I get back.
In Phoenix, we went to a zoo, a mystery house, and the Renaissance Festival. I must admit that the Phoenix RenFest was better than Maryland’s overall.
Now I’m in Seattle visiting my other uncle, but I’ll write more about that later.