Great. Here we go again. It's 11:15 pm and I'm supposed to be in bed but I had a random thought while brushing my teeth.
Most people who know me would probably consider me a tech-savvy/nerdy guy. While I don't know how to program anything, nor do I speak Klingon, Elvish, or any other fiction-based language, I enjoy keeping tabs on what's going on in the world of tech and participating in my own, limited way. Yes, I probably know enough about Star Wars to be considered a complete geek to the average person. Sure, I've had more cell phones in the last seven years than most people will have in their entire lives. So you'd think that I of all people, I would have a MySpace and/or Facebook account. After all, it's how hundreds of millions of my peers function online and off.
But I don't. And that's on purpose. (I shared my feelings about social networks here.)
Up until now.
Here's the thought I had while I was brushing my teeth: why don't I create a Facebook account to tell people I'm not using Facebook.
Weird, I know. But bear with me.
One reason I don't like sites like Facebook is, if I understand it correctly, people login to Facebook and leave me a public message. I then get an e-mail telling me that I have a public message, so I login to Facebook to see what it is. OR YOU COULD E-MAIL ME. (This is similar to the problem I have with Basecamp, but I'll save that for another time.)
So instead of corresponding with people through Facebook, why not use Facebook to tell people the channels I do use to communicate? I picture an empty page with nothing but links to my Twitter feed, this blog, and maybe an e-mail address.
Despite this minty epiphany, I have my reservations:
1. I'm really stubborn about certain things, and getting a Facebook account is one of them. Even if I don't use it, the fact that I have one wouldn't settle well with me. I kind of enjoy not doing certain things everyone else is doing. I know it sounds a bit backward, but it's true. It's why I've never had a Coke and it's why I'm perfectly happy hating potato chips and french fries, thank you very much.
2. My real name and personal information would be linked to this site. Now, most of you know me and I don't think it would take a rocket scientist to probably find out everything about me online. While I've been contemplating dropping The Other Drummer moniker and just using my full name as the title of the blog (and the URL), I haven't decided to make the jump yet.
What are your thoughts on the subject(s)? Two polls have been posted in the upper-right corner. Have at it. Or, if you feel like waxing poetic, leave some prose in the comments.
