I usually try to minimize time spent in airports - usually any wasted time is spent at the gate waiting for delayed flights. In the Little Rock airport, however, I have spent several hours hanging out at the Starbucks near baggage claim (on two separate occasions in the last year). Today I tried to make it here 3 hours earlier than my scheduled flight so see if I could catch an earlier departure back to Boston, but no such luck. So here I am stuck around the baggage claim area for now.
In my short time here its been great to people watch, especially those that are waiting for friends/family. Its hard for me not to guess if its a husband, a child, or grandmother thats going to come down the elevator with a huge goofy grin on their face while their driver-in-waiting runs to give them a hug. I admit its hard not to smile when I see a little kid run up to Mommy who just got back from her business trip.
Traveling is a little different for me. I drive myself to/from the airport. I descend elevators with a straight face. I usually get back to my apartment with very little drama and just go to bed. But sitting here today has got me a little jealous of all these joy-filled reunions all around me. Why can't I have a beautiful girl waiting for me when I arrive home from my business trips? I suppose this makes it much easier for me to leave MA in the first place.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Jumping on the "Digital Bandwagon"
As years go on there are many fads that come and go, and for the most part I pride myself in not jumping on bandwagons just because everyone else is. Ok maybe I've done it a little with the Bruins this season since I rarely watched them other years.
I'm sure everyone is aware of (and possibly sick of) the most recent fads in the world of technology with things like text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking tools that some argue only worsens the problem of increasingly lonely people in an overly-connected world. While I would agree that for many people (especially teens) it promotes less personal contact and communication, I enjoy connecting with people in new ways and sharing interesting info with friends, family, and coworkers.
I can completely understand people rejecting Facebook and Twitter. In fact I have told my parents that they aren't allowed to get a Facebook profile. But the only reason why I can be an active participant with these two fads is that I have been using them long before they were even mentioned on the nightly news or celebrities were using them.
Facebook was originally started as a social network for Harvard students back in February of 2004, and by that summer it had expanded to include dozens of other universities. Although I can't remember exactly when I signed up with my own profile, I think it was the Fall of 2004 or Spring of 2005. What attracted me to it was how "clean" it looked compared to Myspace and how it was all college students (no more 50 year old pedophiles looking for undiscerning teens). So even though Facebook has grown to over 150 million users around the world, I was using it long before you could become a fan of popsicle sticks and take a survey on your top 5 favorite salad dressings. In fact I think the most advanced feature they had back then was poking a friend.
Now on to Twitter. Besides the fact that it sounds like a dirty thing to be "twittering" at work, I think this is the one that confuses people even more. Why does anyone care about what I'm doing at all times? I agree that posting a tweet of "sleeping" is about as important notice as putting on your blinker each time you pull into a parking space (I still love you Mom). But I've tried to contribute info that doesn't just clutter the internet. Many times it actually starts up lengthy discussions. Another time I was able to let friends and family know (via text message) to pray for my Dad when he was going in for his quadruple bypass heart surgery. And as far is the 7 million visitors that Twitter.com gets each day? My first tweet was over 15 months ago when the site was getting less than 500,000 visitors each month.
So that's my defense on using these technical fads that have popped up in the last several years. Sure they can be a waste of time, but I refuse to be labeled as a "bandwagon" user.
I'm sure everyone is aware of (and possibly sick of) the most recent fads in the world of technology with things like text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking tools that some argue only worsens the problem of increasingly lonely people in an overly-connected world. While I would agree that for many people (especially teens) it promotes less personal contact and communication, I enjoy connecting with people in new ways and sharing interesting info with friends, family, and coworkers.
I can completely understand people rejecting Facebook and Twitter. In fact I have told my parents that they aren't allowed to get a Facebook profile. But the only reason why I can be an active participant with these two fads is that I have been using them long before they were even mentioned on the nightly news or celebrities were using them.
Facebook was originally started as a social network for Harvard students back in February of 2004, and by that summer it had expanded to include dozens of other universities. Although I can't remember exactly when I signed up with my own profile, I think it was the Fall of 2004 or Spring of 2005. What attracted me to it was how "clean" it looked compared to Myspace and how it was all college students (no more 50 year old pedophiles looking for undiscerning teens). So even though Facebook has grown to over 150 million users around the world, I was using it long before you could become a fan of popsicle sticks and take a survey on your top 5 favorite salad dressings. In fact I think the most advanced feature they had back then was poking a friend.
Now on to Twitter. Besides the fact that it sounds like a dirty thing to be "twittering" at work, I think this is the one that confuses people even more. Why does anyone care about what I'm doing at all times? I agree that posting a tweet of "sleeping" is about as important notice as putting on your blinker each time you pull into a parking space (I still love you Mom). But I've tried to contribute info that doesn't just clutter the internet. Many times it actually starts up lengthy discussions. Another time I was able to let friends and family know (via text message) to pray for my Dad when he was going in for his quadruple bypass heart surgery. And as far is the 7 million visitors that Twitter.com gets each day? My first tweet was over 15 months ago when the site was getting less than 500,000 visitors each month.
So that's my defense on using these technical fads that have popped up in the last several years. Sure they can be a waste of time, but I refuse to be labeled as a "bandwagon" user.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)