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Hi… Yes, it’s me, minimalist Pat, again. I ranted about too much Twittering. Now, I’m here to rant about something else, something that I’m sure if you have a Facebook account, you’ll probably agree with me.

You will.

OK.

It’s those damned cutesy things that friends you don’t even know really keep sending and sending and sending, like every day or multiple times a day! It’s driving me mad.

I mean, I appreciate the thought, though Facebook kind of makes you pick like 20 people at a time, right? It’s NOT that strong an emotion, really, is it?

I mean, you didn’t say to yourself, “What a cute smiling cherub daffodil. I think it’s perfect for Pat. I’ll send it along to her with my best wishes.”

No, it’s more like, OK… I’ll send this flower to 20 more people and save the rain forest! Listen! Dude! you should own every tree in South America by now, and I hear you’re creeping into Central America, too.  You’ve done enough! Really.

So please stop filling my mailbox with notifications. I can’t possibly be in Facebook long enough to answer all of those requests. What happens to them if you never read them? Do they just go into request limbo? I’m going to test that out.

I’m not answering any more requests from people who send me one to ten EVERY day. I appreciate the thought, really, but enough is enough, already.

There. I feel much better now.

Perhaps I’ll be less cranky tomorrow.

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Not me!

Really.

I mean, I totally love Twitter and enjoy seeing what other folks are up to all day with the Firefox plugin TwitterFox. It’s rad because I can quickly see it just by turning my attention (not even my whole head) for a split second and then, it’s over. Or, I can reply with a snarky “me” (yes, I’m a snark in real life) comment or whatever.

Generally, I only comment on other people’s Tweets throughout the day, though they have to be important. I mean, I’m picky. Really. John Reese was in a car accident in Greece! Worth a Tweet? I think so. “Hope you’re OK.” Simple. He had to make a “get the heck off the road fast move,” says he. And on with my day.

But I usually reserve my Tweets for blog posts or something cool like being interviewed by Early to Rise (which I was for the second time last week, BTW). And I don’t spend a lot of time messing with Twitter, really, because I have too much work to do.

Here’s the thing, though, and it really fries my bananas…

Some people Tweet about every stupid thing under the sun. I mean, I really don’t give a hoot what you ate for breakfast unless it’s something totally, incredibly funny or awesome. I mean, if you’re in Kawabunga and eat a tarantula or some monkey brains… Hey, that’s worth a Tweet.

But if you had cereal. Keep it to yourself, K?

So, don’t be a Twitter Whore. (I didn’t make that up, but the Friday Traffic Report had a cute video about that that I went to watch at: http://www.jackhumphrey.com/fridaytrafficreport/blog-marketing-videos/how-not-to-use-twitter-to-generate-traffic/. (Whew! Hey, Jack… That’s one long-ass URL, BTW)

Totally cracked me up, and then it dawned on me that people like that make me nuts. If you don’t have something really, really cool to Tweet about… tell your mom or your cat or someone who really wants to know this stuff, K?

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Do you Twitter?

I don’t mean, do you chirp like a bird or talk inanely until your lips fall off? I mean, do you belong to Twitter?

Well…

Why not? It seems kind of silly to be “following” the activity of people, but I follow some pretty cool people, like Brad Fallon and his “Free Line Report” and Paul Colligan, podcasting journalist. So, when I go to Twitter, I can see just what’s up.

I get a Twitter from Brad daily, and if you’re interested in Web 2.0, the Free Line report is pretty cool. Takes just a minute to watch and keeps you up on the 2.0 news.

Paul Colligan posts to Twitter about a gazillion times a day. I try to stop by the stuff I’m really into, and keep the other stuff for later. There are just so many hours in the day!

I keep one open for education, usually first thing in the morning. It’s a “Tellman” thing. He says, “One hour of education; one hour of implementation.” It really works, and because of that bit of encouragement, I learn something new about our online world of glittery gems at least once per day.

But anyway, Twitter is so cool that some guy named James Buck, a graduate student in journalism from the University of California-Berkeley was arrested last month in Mahalla, Egypt while covering an anti-government protest. He just had enough time to Twitter “arrested” and his Twitter followers both here and in Egypt contacted the U. S. consulate to help him. How cool is that? James was freed and his one-word “Tweet” of “Free” was the next message he sent along. CNN even reported on it.

So, see? Twitter is useful.

And with folks following you and reading your blog and such, and some signing up for your list, it’s the best of all worlds.

Plus, it’s the quickest micro-blog on the planet.

Who doesn’t need more time?

Popularity: 38% [?]

Have you seen Don Crowther’s Stomper video about Web 2.0?

If you’re not convinced that social bookmarking and networking is important, that it’s not a significant change in the DNA of the Web, then you need to watch this…

http://www.stompernet.net/goingnatural2/

I love it!

Man, not only can you learn about Web 2.0, but a lot about making videos that people want to watch. These are the best videos I’ve ever seen online.

It could be that I lead a sheltered life, but I don’t think so. This is the kind of quality we see inside StomperNet and the type of quality information. Man, I wish I had an affiliate link. Andy, you reading this?

Popularity: 35% [?]

So, I was over at Sphinn checking to see what’s going on in the world of Web 2.0, and I found a post on Cornwallseo.com about how the world of social media sites is so complicated that people should actually pay a consultant to crack the mystery of getting onto page one.

New media. New Web. New jobs. Interesting.

I never found the social networking sites to be all that complicated, but becoming part of the community definitely takes time. You could spend hours every day just working at Web 2.0., and I can definitely see where a consultant could be beneficial.

Hmm…

Wonder what a “social media consultant” would charge. And then, is this an adjunct of SEO or a whole new world? I’m not sure. I know I find the concept fascinating. Facebook would be easier with a guide, as would MySpace and Squidoo, and people have used those venues to make some serious jing. I mean, think about it, hardly anyone even know what Squidoo was a year ago.

No doubt, if you want to get right to the quick of things, hiring a social media consultant would be a very expedient, and if you’re busy making tons of money, how much time is there to waste?

Wow. I’d like to get that busy. Sure, I’ll hire a social media consultant. Where do I sign up?

I guess until I get so rich and busy I’ll just keep stumbling, digging, plugging, etc. But here’s the thing…

If I’m right about how important these sites will become in the future, it will be very worthwhile to become an expert. Looking for a new career or specialty? Start early.

Popularity: 36% [?]