A pause in my daily writing & paddling of the twitter stream allows just a little time…to offer my response of sorts to previous posts, but specifically to thank Zoey Jordan , your good self and those other 300 individuals who incredulously have decided to follow me on Twitter since I joined about four weeks ago in early October.
Up until the age of 40 I was confused as to who I actually was, now… I’m not so sure anymore. I’m not looking to get into clever word games or a Maslow’s hierarchy of needs style psychology discussion or prompting any kind of tie-in Taoist reference about acceptance or self. I just want to observe that at a time in my life when I’m more comfortable ‘about me’ I find that my use of the internet continually changes my own perception ‘about me’ and that’s maybe more ‘about you’.
I remember a television advert, (back when people watched television and other’s bowled together) where a lady in a white coat stood mid shot and declared: “I’m not a dentist…but….I recommend” and thereafter waxed lyrical about the merits of a specific toothpaste.
That advert annoyed, almost infuriated me, her superficial attractiveness and friendliness were negated by the audacity of an actress (& her copyrighters) to offer expert orthodontist advice while not actually being expert (i.e. at least not in dentistry) but also in some weird counter advertising connection style – objectionable = memorable ? She acknowledged it before hand, I simply didn’t like that but still remembered it these many years later as that patronizing toothpaste ad. (note the absence of brand memory)
A genuine expert, whom I respect recently twittered about Martin Lindstrom’s dismissal of product placement, (She has protected updates). Martin’s marketing philosophy was outlined in last Sunday’s UK times as a sort of cognolinguist creativity craftily constructing memes targeted at specific clumps of individual dendrites within the individual brain. – Way beyond the life of Brian’s ‘we’re all individuals’ sort of idea, but with added technology, promise and mystery: all stuff that IMHO powers part of the intellectual aspects of this internet thing. By Martin’s standard’s a wafflely, all over the shop, humble and hastily constructed ‘thank you precious 300th followers, post like this will do little to ‘promote or advertise’ any brand that might be clevercelt.
But as you know all too well I’m not a brand and although connected and highly valued by me, you are not my customer nor consumer, as I have nothing to sell and no desire right now to manufacture anything to flog to you, I’m not an opinioneer or whatever someone with 300+ followers might somehow think they are entitled to call themselves, I’m simply a father, husband and writer first and foremost. And in that order, before I can be anything else connected with either others or technology, which means, like you, I must first inhabit my head wherever my Cartesian mind-body or the internet takes me.
Unlike Lonelygirl15, I’m not pre-scripted but I am primarily a writer and as with most of those writers I admire: I am concerned with ideas AND readership - while there is a point or rationale, perhaps even a catharsis, to writing for pleasure or self development, mastery of this craft does not happen today in isolation, as a writer I need an audience and on twitter - I've already got 300 people plus willing to listen to the occasional 140 characters form me. For that I am genuinely grateful. So thanks once again.
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