Time magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” for 2010 arrived at my door a couple of days ago. I haven’t begun to get through all the pages of those 100 folks but a double-page fold-out caught my eye, “The Influence Index”. It measured how connected or engaged you were on Facebook and Twitter. Let’s be clear, connected and engaged translates to how many people follow you if you’re on Twitter or how many people are listed in your friend pile on Facebook. The higher the number of followers and friends raised your influence status. (BTW—my following is 2. Yes, I’m humble).
The trend in favoritism leaned toward youth, hip, and artistic. Nonetheless, the article noted that Barack Obama had an almost equivalent following to the latest pop/rock artist, Lady Gaga. Obama lead the pack with other recognizable names such as Oprah, Glen Beck, Taylor Swift, Sarah Palin and the Twitter king, Ashton Kutcher. Out of all of these, I think Ashton Kutcher is the only person who actually tweets some, if not most, of his entries. Others, like Oprah, have their “people” do it for them. Do you really think President Obama is running around trying to update his Facebook status?
These very influential folks have “people” spouting off quips or statements that you as a follower or friend should ooh-and-awe at when you read them and desire to respond. Do you know Facebook offers an application that posts statuses for you? You sign up for a category such as glib quips, or philosophical ideas, etc. The application then posts once a day, or as many times a day, as you sign up to enlist. The result is to make your friends think you are the most clever, or most pithy, or most intelligent person they know. PLEASE!
It leads me to ponder how we are transforming from a society who leaned over the fence or clothes line to gossip with the neighbor to sitting huddled over a small screen in a bustling airport or mall or other public pedestrian place ignoring the world as we are connected to the aimless pontifications of others who we think are cool.
Some of us separate ourselves from the world by countless hours at a computer screen being connected to chats, tweets, and IMs to people miles and miles away; feeling ever-so close and chummy. True, you can’t hug your computer or cell phone without appearing somewhat weird, but are these little tools enhancing or eroding our lives?
I don’t have the answers. I don’t know if the ability to reach out and send your thoughts or questions to CNN at any given moment makes me feel more engaged or influential. It somehow seems we are ignoring our immediate surroundings and the people we commune and breathe the same air with when we are so rapt with attention to the screen of those so far away.
When we have influences that are so strong and enticing, how do we sort through the flotsam and naval gazing to the modicum of reality and truth that exists in the world? If reasonably intelligent adults can get swept up in the tweet/FB syndrome, what happens to the young and impressionable? I guess this is one of the great questions of the day, who shapes your thoughts? Is all this information making us more intelligent? Are we gathering in all this information to better our balance of reasoning? Or are we loading up to be the big hit at the next cocktail party or social gathering?
I don’t’ write Groote’s Gaggle to give you the correct slant on life. I hope I write to make you think and try to form answers or seek out more information to a subject or idea. I definitely don’t have the answers, but give me time and I’ll ask you lots of questions. If I influence you to think, not my thoughts, but think about finding out more about your thoughts, or needs, or ideas to try, I feel extremely privileged and honored.
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