After several months of using Twitter, I began to merge it into my greatest passion – Survivor. During Survivor, on Thursday nights, I’d hit up twitter with and onslaught of constant updates. It became so much fun to use twitter all of a sudden – so my advice to everyone is to tweet your passions. Not only did I build a follower base fairly quickly, I also built followers that I was interested in following. Using Twitter for Survivor nights became a social event (instead of the reclusive singularity it had been in the past). The number of tweets that I’d post within the hour that Survivor was airing would GREATLY exceed the total number from the other 6 days and 23 hours of the week combined. Whether you love, hate, or simply don’t understand Twitter, its use is extremely broad and is limited only by the users that one chooses to follow. Since I moved to tweet during Survivor, I’ve moved on to include every other Reality TV show that I watch, and even some other shows and events.

Of course I do include personal updates as well, after all, I do wanna seem human. I like the personal interaction with people that share my same interests so we can correspond while different events are going on. Twitter is a community after all. Its just like moving into a neighborhood where you may or may not know anyone. If you seclude yourself, the others will not force you out of seclusion – BUT if you put yourself out there, you will undoubtedly find those that share your same feelings, beliefs, &/or common bonds.

During the recent tragedies we had with the deaths of celebrities, I found myself greatly effected by two of them – Michael Jackson and Billy Mays. While I would expect a large number of people to be moved by the former, I was extremely surprised by my reaction to the latter. Maybe its my obsession with Reality TV, maybe its because of my graphic design/advertising/marketing background, or maybe its all those sleepless nights when I’d watch infomercials, I have no idea – but the fact remains that I’ve been greatly saddened by the loss of Billy Mays. Honestly, I think its mostly because he was always there, on my TV. Whether I was paying attention or not, he was always there. I didn’t realize that I’d miss him until he was gone.

So with does all this have to do with Twitter? We all knew that Michael Jackson would be a popular topic for days, weeks, months – but I doubt any of us would have thought Billy Mays would trend the same way. I was so unexpectedly saddened by someone I’d never met, and someone that wasn’t one of the worlds greatest entertainers – BUT this person was better than that. He seemed human – like the neighbor’s cool dad that we all had growing up. When I expressed myself on twitter, I was moved that I wasn’t the only one feeling this same way. I found his son on twitter (@youngbillymays), started following him. He became the hub that tied all of us together. He said that we have been helping him, but I really think that he’s been helping us. While, I admittedly have no idea how hard this must be for  he and his family, I’m glad that he began to link us together so we can express our feelings and remember his dad. Yes, once again, Twitter is a community. By putting ourselves out there, we can even find help through difficult situations – just like real neighbors would do.

That’s why I’m going to keep tweeting. Twitter is my new hometown, and you are all my neighbors. You’re welcome to stop by anytime.

@jessewm

Easter Lilies located at Bellingrath Garden