I'm not sure why, but recently I've had this strong desire to purge my friends and acquaintances. I think this age of internet, WWW, expanded network BS has me feeling like I've got all this filler in my life. It's like top ramen for your soul...
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE how easy it is to stay connected to the people I love. I love that I can be up to date weekly (if not daily) on how those I love are doing. Dig it. It's strengthened some relationships far beyond what they would be if we had to rely on phones and snail mail alone. I am extremely grateful for that. I also love that it's allowed me to re-connect with people I knew in my youth (shit... did I just refer to another time as my "youth".... holy crap I've crossed that line), especially when I find that I still like them and respect them.
However, I feel like I'm required to "friend" people that I'm not really all that much a fan of in reality. People that if I see at a party, sure I'm fine being nice too, in fact I even enjoy our interactions, but I would never honestly call them "friend." I would not call on them in times of crisis. I would not trust them to be there to help me move. I don't anticipate them being at my next major event. I would not expect them to show up at the hospital were I so interned. And there's nothing wrong with that except that we have this big false thing going on some stupid social networking site and I FEEL like I'm suppose to care and I really shouldn't. They are filler in my life; water in my lotion, wheat in my cat's food, potatoes in my diet, and Colin Farell in my cinema. And I'm sure that I am in their's, trust me, I do not expect them to care about the million photos I post of my son, or the antidotes... sort of wish they'd delete me so that I don't have to take the chance in offending them by doing it on my side.
*SIGH*
Why do we put up with this shit?
We call it "networking" but really? Those of us that are truly doing that, for say a business, we have other accounts for that, not personal ones. I do... it's been hard to kind of move people over because of my fear of offending them, but really, I'm at a point where I no longer care. If you like my work you'll keep following me elsewhere, you'll pay for my services. If you just want to see pretty pictures, you'll "LIKE" my page and call it a day. There is no need to see all my personal updates.
Unless you know me personally for YEARS, or what feels like years, unless we've just met and aren't sure yet and you want to check our my photo galleries (probation really), unless we're play date buddies, unless you're family or one of my besties that I consider family... I'm sorry, you're going to be pruned soon. Unless I haven't been hiding you for the last year because you no longer use your personal profile for personal use... you know who you are... then bye bye. I've likely been hiding you for the last year anyway. Add me on my "admin" site so we can stay connected in the business sense (go T-Town local artists!), I'm totally cool with that. In fact, I'd LOVE you for doing that.
Please, please, please do not take offense by this. It has nothing to do with a personal like or dislike of your character. It has to do with the fact that I have a limited capacity to pay attention to what 100+ (god forbid 300+) people are doing on a daily basis! That's not friendship, that's obsession with other people's lives that don't even coincide with yours! I have 178 people added on FB... not all of which I follow, and not all of which I honestly care about. That's not fair, not to me, not to them.
And no, I'm not going to simply cancel FB because, like I've said, I love what it does for those of us that are close. So fuck off.
Rather, take it as a herald. Take it as an opportunity to do the same for yourself. If you are trying to run a business, make a PAGE, not a profile and keep your profile personal. Create a business profile for those that wish to "friend" you on FB, or MS, or what ever platform you use. Don't feel the need to be "friends: with every tom dick and harry that sends you a request. Think of FB as your local coffee shop during the day and bar at night. Who is worth you meeting there for some catch up time? If you wouldn't do it in person... send them to your business page! (this may actually require starting a new page that's personal... for me that is WAY too many personal photos to think about so it's not going to happen)
I need some cleansing in my life. I need to get back to what I love, who I love, and ignoring all the excess that's either annoying, ignored, or, well, just plain pisses me off.... so peace, in the true meaning of the word, let's part ways amicably and get back to what matters to us in life :)
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