Attention economy

Along the lines of holy-crap-I-forgot-about-my-blog, this past week I started using Facebook. Which is not to say I set up an account - I did that a long time ago - but instead of just logging on, accepting friend requests, blinking at it a few times and then moving on, I actually started doing things there. Posting status updates, photos, etc. And at the end of the week, I hadn't posted anything to my blog. Hmm.

What happened was that I found a different way to use Facebook: the mobile-web interface on my phone. That turns out to be a pretty good way to track status updates, which are my favorite part because they often amount to an endless stream of one-liners and witty banter. Waiting for an elevator? Check Facebook. Gassing up the car? Check it.

But those stolen minutes were the times I'd been using to think through blog posts. And at the end of my week on Facebook, I was mildly amused but I had nothing to show for it. I'm proud of this blog; it forces me to express myself clearly, organize my thoughts, and make connections between ideas. And it leaves behind a record of what's been on my mind. But Facebook turned out the lights on last week.

So, I probably won't be Twittering anytime soon. Hard choices.

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