Aggressive Following - when 140 characters isn't enough

One of my favorite authors recently posted the following in her blog,

"Apparently I broke Twitter by trying to be polite and following people who
follow me. The troubleshooting guide says I'm "aggressively
following." If that phrase doesn't sum up my whole life, nothing does."

I started cracking up at my desk and told my cube mate, Allie about it. I think it's hilarious that Twitter will raise a red flag if it thinks your are following too many people in a short period of time. It's like they are trying to implement some sort of security measure. As if they are trying to keep the crazies away from stalking.

Job well done, Twitter. It was a valiant effort...but I've got some bad news for you. I'd say 75% of the people on Twitter and Facebook use the social media network as a stalking tool.

Whether it's to check out an ex, some random person you hooked up with or your newest crush - you're mildly stalking. Chances are everyone logs onto Facebook or Twitter at least once a day to see what their new/old/possible future flame is doing.

And you know what? That's OK. Everyone does it and it's an easy way to get some quick insight into someone's life...as long as you don't take it to the point of felony, you are in great shape!

The key thing to remember is to not forget about other means of communication. For example, if you "miss me" and "can't wait to see me" or "want to hang" please, don't tell me on Facebook. That's lame. Pick up the phone. Call. See how I'm doing. Ask what I've been up to or how my day went. But for the love of God, do not say it via my "wall."

I get that people are shy but in the 1950's being shy wasn't an option. Back in the day to score a date the gentleman had to call the lady. Often times people didn't even have personal phones. The man had to call from the lady at a soda shop, at the precise time she'd be there, from the candy shop that he was at just to use a phone to ask her out.

Now, if your Grandfather could do that, I dare say you can take your cell phone from your pocket and call my cell phone. It's easy enough and you don't even have to worry about strangers answering because you aren't calling a candy shop, you're just calling a personal phone.

So go ahead, aggressively follow. Then pick up the phone.