Remember all those writing techniques you learned in English class: brainstorming, clustering, and freewriting? This post will be somewhat of a freewriting exercise, because I’ve not had much on my mind besides everyday life. It is fast-paced! I just ate a pretty delicious fruit roll-up kind of snack from our MunchPak, but I’m not sure what country it was from. So back to freewriting – this will probably just be a collection of random thoughts.
Social media…which ones do you use? MySpace? Friendster? Hot or Not? Facebook? I’m not on much. From the most frequently used to the least: Next Door, MeWe, and LinkedIn. I like ND, because I know I’m dealing with folks in my neighborhood. It’s nice to get recommendations for this and that. There’s no shortage of posts regarding pets. Sometimes people vent about a business or other neighbors, and others praise the like. It’s a decent mix of normal and unhinged people. I often insert myself into controversial topics, which tend to be about crime, and therefore, guns. I ask a lot of questions to try to get to the root of why people believe what they do, and I attempt to do the same. I’ve been asked challenging questions that have helped me grow. Earlier, I said that ND is a decent mix of normal and unhinged. The normal folks can engage in good discussion; the latter often become insulting. I actually originally joined so I could try to sell my baked goods to those nearby. I’ve not been successful selling through ND, but I have been through my wife and friend’s produce co-op.
MeWe’s another one I use, but primarily for communicating with my wife while I’m at work. I’ve connected with a photography group, baking group, and bushcrafting group. I had left Facebook to escape all of its data collection. MeWe’s pretty quiet since my network of friends is quite small – all strangers, in fact. The baking group is my favorite; there are a lot of smart folks on there, and it’s always a good exchange of ideas.
I use LinkedIn the least, and just keep a bare bones profile with education, career, and skills information.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned The Daily Wire, but that is where I get some entertainment and try to maintain a pulse on the nation. It’s run by an intelligent crew that has helped shape the way I think. With my limited time, I don’t listen to mainstream media, such as CNN, MSNBC, but I do hear their side in DW’s commentaries. Generally speaking, if you can explain your convictions, then there can be something to talk about. It’s even better if both sides understand how words are defined. But if you simply repeat the same phrases, the conversation dies. I’m in the middle of creating a Half Life death match level that will have political figures – both sight and sound. It should be pretty funny.