Tweet You

Urban Word of the Day:

Tweetup
A group of friends on Twitter (social network) that are planning to meet up. A request by a user to meet with friends via Twitter.
Example: Hey @user1 and @user2, u guys wanna tweetup at the Nickelback concert at Mariner?

I'm still trying to get my head around the phenomenon that is Twitter. I get the general concept but there's something rather compelling about our need to be joiners. We join groups and support causes on Facebook. We establish professional networks on Linkedin and Plaxo. And we follow various groups on Twitter.

I like the whole movement of social media anyway. It's incredibly addictive and it does give one a sense of belonging. It encourages life sharing. Yet (personally) there is something about the word twitter that bothers me. One of my colleagues, Erdy, and I were discussing it recently. She felt the term Twitter had vaguely sexual nuances. I agree. It conjured a virgin prostrate with anticipation or an oral act. So I'm a bit cautious about becoming a twitterer. Or a twitter-paterer. Or a twitter-linguist. Hmmm. I think just got what Erdy meant.

By assuming a presence on social networks, it does rely on some certainties. Another hour of precious leisure time is surrendered nightly to keep one current and on top of the latest gadget, trend and hot spot. There is the assumption that people care about your photography skills. It is helpful to have a decent photo to upload (preferably embellished by some cool photoshop tools). And then, there's that whole goddamned chat distraction. It is a miracle that I find time to sleep. Oh, that's right. I don't actually sleep anymore. And there are some people who think their Facebook page is so interesting that it requires an individual RSS feed.

Engaging in social media is practically a full time job these days. Can that be considered a marketable skill?