Tweet Me!

JamesCartee-author pen name.

JLCurleyIII-stage name.

It is official. I have now joined the cult known as Twitter. I have signed up with two accounts, and I am cordially following my fellow classmates in addition to having them follow me in my Social Media graduate class at Auburn University.

My first screen name is simply my name, JamesCartee. This summer I am attempting to write a book with the hopes that it will soon be published. My coauthor has agreed to cowrite with me this summer. His ability to write well is far superior to my own. He has a natural gift to just do it, and I believe he will be a valuable asset to the success of my book. With the attempt to take on such a challenge, I will launch a social media marketing campaign to get my name out there so that people keep up with progress that the book is making and perhaps progress I am making with book proposals. Twitter will be an intricate aspect of this social media marketing because so many people participate in Twitter’s social network these days. The use of Twitter will be strategic for those who like to Internet stalk their favorite celebs or latest on campus crushes.

JLCurley was a nickname I was given in high school for freestyle rapping. When I moved to Birmingham, Alabama after my freshman year of high school, I really did not have a lot of friends being the new kid on the block. I met three guys at the Summit Sixteen Theater who instantly became some of my best friends; their names were Fluff, Scoop, and J. B. They certainly knew how to have fun. There were never any doubts in my mind about that. With their tutelage and knowledge on the subject on this very important hobby, I learned to freestyle rap. I have recently talked with a few Hip Hop artists about recording some Christian rap music this summer. Now I really do not take this seriously. It is not my aspiration in life to be a famous rapper, but if for some reason I were to ever to be in the right spot at the right time to perhaps consider a new path in life, then I have the Twitter account set up.

Twitter is a device that is useful for establishing a following of groupies if you were to become a famous writer, Hip Hop star, or perhaps even some other type of celebrity. Businesses and PR campaigns use it as well to get the word out about various different projects that are occurring. One of the obvious advantages is that Twitter is instantaneous. If people want to know information about any subject imaginable, they have it right then and there before their own eyes. For my goals, Twitter will become another tool in Web 2.0 to connect all my relationships to simply let people know what’s up. When I do sign a contract, that will truly be something to celebrate, and because of Twitter, the world will certainly know about it.

While the above cartoon is indeed humorous, I do think that it highlights a flaw in the system of Social Media, including the use of Twitter. Let’s be honest. Social Media and Twitter specifically are addictive. It consumes hours of several people’s days every day. While I really do not have a huge problem with this, I would say that our dependency on Social Media and computers in general becomes dangerous when we rely on it so much that when it shuts down we also shut down. I think breaking up with anyone through Twitter or Facebook would be pathetic. I do think that social media gives people an excuse to not socialize in reality with other people face to face. While this might be convenient, it is hardly real. Face to face interaction is the most effective form of communication…when you can see the person, when you can hear them in actuality, and when you can observe the environment in with which you speak. Twitter is not an excuse to live inside a computer box. It perhaps serves as a reminder of how much we need to get out and speak with people on a word of mouth basis. This is genuine. This is real. And life is best experienced when the experience is felt in a first person manner.