Toot Toot, Hey. Tweet Tweet!

Today, I posted my first tweet. It was truly the first thing that popped into my head. I found "Rockin' Robin" playing in my head and so that is what I wrote. A fleeting thought really, meaning nothing. At that precise moment, I felt both childish and old.

I received Elke's invitation to join her on Twitter by email. E-mail has replaced letter writing and talking on the phone for many people, myself included. As a young child, I had several pen-pals. I loved writing them letters and receiving theirs in return. Crafting a good letter has always seemed an art form to me. I continued writing letters to friends and family in my college years. To keep my letters neat, I often scribbled out a draft, then copied my letter onto stationary, using a ruler to keep my lettering in line. I spent hours wandering through card stores, just looking for the perfect card with just the right sentiment. As electronic communications replace greeting cards and letters, I will admit that I do keep in touch more regularly with friends and family using these effiicient communication methods.

As a child I kept a diary. I didn't write in it very often and my entries were mostly matter-of-fact details like "Today I went to School" and "Yesterday, it rained alot." Last year, I created this blog. I've enjoyed posting updates and getting comments back from people who've taken the time to read my ramblings. It's like keeping an online diary of sorts only now, I've learned to be a bit more wordy with my entries.

E-mailing and blogging aren't the only electronic contacts in my weekly routine. I can also be found on Facebook and other social networking sites. I sign onto Facebook daily, only because I was invited to join my friends on a few interactive games - and being a good friend, I accepted their invitation. BUT - once you start, you become obligation to return for more, day after day. I now spend 20 minutes every morning and another 20 or so in the evenings tending to my virtual farm and cafe. With my free time at a premium, I often wonder if I should simply stop - abandoning my farm chores and my virtual cafe customers. What else could I be doing with those precious 40 minutes a day?

Now, it's this Twitter thing. I am not even sure what to do with it. Is anything I am thinking really important enough to tweet? How often do I need to check in with my fellow tweets? [or is it twits? ... feel free to tweet me and let me know] Is there some protocol for twittering? I simply don't know. And, I'm not sure I care. But, I do love keeping in touch with my friends - wherever they are. So, I'll continue to write, call, email, post and now tweet to stay connected.

Until we meet up again somewhere online, I remain. Tweet-Tweet!