Saran Rap

Today I am shedding some "lyte" on the new national past time of twittering.  If you haven't heard of it, Twitter is a site that lets you post 140 character "twits" on well, whatever.  It's really another form of social networking, but with more immediacy.

Well, apparently, some folks can't be bothered to write 140 characters (or less).  A New York Times article talks about celebrities who have ghostwriters for their Twitter accounts.  It boggles the mind.  One of these people is the rapper 50 Cent.  He has one of his managers write for him.  Of course, the manager claims that the Twitters are still the essence of 50 Cent.  He just doesn't have the time to write.  

Brittney Spears is looking for someone to ghostwrite her Twitters.  I don't find that too surprising.  She doesn't write her own music, and her life is full of court appearances to have time to do the grueling work of string together 140 characters.

Politicians use Twitter.  A few Congressmen (and women) were twittering during Obama's address to the joint houses last month.  Obama uses staff to Twitter.  Many politicians use staff members to Twitter.  It makes sense.  They are busy people, who want to give the appearance of accessibility, without having to take time to b actually accessible.  I'll give our President a pass, he is a little tied with the economy, Afghanistan, flooding in North Dakota, and that's just this week.

What slays me is the whole idea of Twittering.  The notion of posting an online diary of your moment-to-moment existence is so 21st century.  Back in the old days people kept diaries or journals, and no one would read them or even know of their existence until that person died.  Now you can Twitter and the whole world can know what you ate for breakfast, how your underwear is crawling up your crack, and what you're watching on TV (while Twittering, IMing, texting, etc.,).

I am not sure if I want a window onto your world.  Most of you, frankly, are not that interesting.  Okay, maybe President Obama is that interesting, but the rest of you?  Let's keep the myth intact.  I may say, "I wonder what they're thinking?", but really?  I don't want to know.