@Twitter Etiquette

The social network "it-girl" @Twitter has expanded too fast for servers (@Twitter is often down with maintenance) but it has also overwhelmed the general public; so much that people have no etiquette and tact within the micro-blogisphere. There can be no civility in a forum without rules, correct? Today i think establishing some rules are in order.

Twitter by nature is polarizing, with lingo such as "follow" and "unfollow". It already makes everyone take a vain premise by referring to their friends as "followers". And to make @Twitter even more strenuous on personal relationships people use the new social networking behemoth for different reasons and its not always blatantly discernable. Perchance i get on @Twitter to keep up with local professionals/businesses, i may be bombarded with friends (probably associates) asking me why im not following them on @Twitter as they have decided to follow me. Truth is i may not be on there to keep up with friends. But they may be there to simply laugh and chat with friends, thus they would like to laugh with me. Some people treat @Twitter like Facebook and that is a definite folly. For @Twitter the fact that i "know" you doesn't merit a "follow" or what Facebookers would call a "friend request".

Also you cannot take an "unfollow" personally, the person is simply not interested in reading your 'tweets' or 'twits'. This doesn't mean that they no longer like you in real life or they don't respect you; it simply means that they would rather not have you help saturate their timeline. I have to digress for a moment and note that it is very interesting to realize that your friend is someone that you really can't stomach in pure form. Once one has the realization that you and your friend have completely conflicting and dueling ideologies on life. Then there are those that just talk too much via @Twitter. You feel as though you cannot even get an honest glance at the rest of the people you would like to hear from because one omnipresent user is dominating your timeline, usually with emotional updates.

The Golden Rule of @Twitter: You cannot force someone to follow you. It is highly recommended that you follow people simply because you want to follow them, not because you want them to follow you back. This wreaks havoc on the resisting party. As a matter of fact there is a term used by a few lads i know, #twitterrape, which refers to the action of forcing someone to "follow" you.

Remember people, @Twitter is not real life and you will be ok.

P.S. what did we use the "@" symbol for before the Internet?

Must be the Money

As you guys know i do brief reading in my limited spare time. This time i was nudged to get some perspectives on the subject of money and friendships. The article i read professed that huge differences in income put a strain on both participants. It stated the wealthier person feels a level of guilt for the things they have, considering that the friend has quite a bit less. They feel awkward about inviting them to gatherings in fear that the other friend may be uncomfortable. The other friend feels bad about the paucity of his/her bank account. They feel as though they have to keep up, often acquiescing to spend more money than they should or living at times above their means.

To be frank (who else would i want to be), most people live above their means. I've always imagined that good friends would be just that regardless of circumstance. It sounds like a problem of (as the kids say) not keeping it 100. If you are honest with yourself then you can be honest with others, and people respect and adore honesty. Perhaps people get caught up in the details of life and forget the simple things. The fact that these two friends enjoy each others company and have a blast together is not something that should be overlooked. There is often too much emphasis and attention directed on putting people into a box or category, its almost as if we forget to label people as simply, well, people. I don't want to get too MLKish but people should be judged on the content of their character. Friendships have no rules, as one cares for the other and the sentiment is reciprocated, they shall be friends...qualifications met. From my experiences i don't know that i agree with what i read 100%.

What does the 'sofa readership think? How heavily do you feel that money weighs on friendships? Since we're talking money, let me get your two cents.