I read this article on Friday that was written by Maggie Mason of MightyGirl.net. I immediately shared it out in my Google Reader because I thought it was SO spot on. I then Twittered about how I was rethinking my twitter existence because of the article, and might have mentioned that some things about Twitter annoy me.

Then…two things happened. One - I discovered that the article pissed a lot of people off. Two - I discovered that I had pissed Twitter off. Since the article mentions the followers/following numbers…I paid attention to the number of people I was following for the first time ever. It was like 450+. I clicked around awhile to see how that numbered compared to others, and when I came back to my profile? It suddenly said I was following SEVEN people. It went from 450+ to SEVEN in a matter of seconds.

I figured it was a glitch because all of the photos of people I follow were still showing up and their updates were showing up on my main page. So - obviously I was following them - Twitter just couldn’t count. THEN…later that day…the updates stopped appearing. Suddenly my front page showed only my own updates. And then…today? The pictures of people I follow disappeared.

Evidently I have angered the Twitter gods. Suddenly I am not longer following anyone. At least according to Twitter. I’m going to give it a few days and if it doesn’t fix itself, I’m going to have to go re-follow them. All because I casually mentioned that there were somethings that annoyed me about Twitter.

So - Let me explain myself before the Twitter gods delete me all together. I’ll touch on some of the points of Maggie’s article that either had me shouting, “Amen!” or “Uh Oh” because I’m guilty of some of the offenses she mentions.

3. Consider pausing between tweets.
Twittering 30-plus times an hour pushes other people’s messages off followers’ homepages, and sends mobiles into convulsive twit-fits (to say nothing of excessive SMS charges). If you have a lot to say, but still want to engage with followers without alienating them, consider making more liberal use of DMs.

Also, don’t you occasionally need to use the restroom? Please don’t take your phone in there. Thanks.

I have logged into my Twitter page before and seen 20 tweets from one person IN A ROW. And all 20 of them are in the last 5 minutes. I’ve never un-followed anyone because of this, it’s just something that I find a little annoying. See, Twitter - it’s not you, it’s them!

5. Accept that some people will use lots of @s.
If you’re getting a lot of nonsensical @ messages because you don’t follow the same group of users, either subscribe to the people being mentioned so you can follow the thread, or turn @ messages off. And then stop complaining.

This is the key part: because you don’t follow the same group of users. I follow a bunch of people who follow people I don’t follow. So, yeah, I get VERY confused. I find myself sometimes very lost and that’s exactly why! I don’t follow the same group of people that the people I follow, follow. (Are you confused yet?) Now…I’m not going to turn off the @ messages (yet), but I will take Maggie’s advice and stop complaining. That’s just annoying.

8. What’s rude in life is rude on Twitter.
Passive-aggressive tweets are never as inscrutable as the sender thinks. When you’re being mean, even covertly, eventually everyone figures out the target. And then they start firing the arrows back your way.

I have been the target of criticism a few times on Twitter, that’s never fun. And there have been other times where I’ve seen someone else get attacked in the same passive-aggressive manner. It always makes me feel VERY uncomfortable. Like, I immediately want to cover my ears and run away. I never like to participate in conflict because it upsets the peace-loving hippy inside of me. So this part of twitter? The comfort it gives people? Makes me uneasy. Why can’t we all get along?

12. Leave when you want.
If you want to stop following someone, stop. There’s no need to send a breakup note. Unless you’re having Twitter sex.

I never quit following anyone intentionally. I did accidentally follow EVERYONE following me once, and found out there were a bunch of spammers out there. So I un-followed them, but they don’t count. I’ve never un-followed anyone but I WOULD like everyone to know that I don’t pay attention to who is following me, so if you un-follow me? I won’t notice so no one’s feelings will get hurt! I understand that my tweets are boring…it won’t hurt my feelings at all if you un-follow me!

13. Plug moderately.
Lots of people ignore this guideline, but if you’re almost exclusively using Twitter to plug your blog posts, events, or products, or to ask people to vote for one of your projects on Digg, you’ll lose some followers.

This annoys me. Period. People who ONLY tweet when they have a new entry on their blog. I should probably just un-follow those people. OH, WAIT. Twitter did that for me! As it is right now, I’m not following ANYONE, so NO ONE I’m following does that. Anyway - I do NOT mind the occasional plug, but when that’s all it is? Bugs me…that’s what I subscribe to RSS feeds for.

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So, there’s where I stand. I don’t hate you, Twitter! I just get irritated that - like everything in life - some people don’t want to do it my way! The nerve! I know that’s unrealistic and to be honest? I don’t spend that much time on Twitter anyway. So, not too big of a deal. I think Maggie did an excellent analysis of Twitter and it’s users. And I’m even guilty of some of the annoying things she mentions. If Twitter ever sets my account back right again, I’m going to treat it better. I PROMISE.

Taking a page out of KMiller’s book regarding my email dilemma. (Thanks, Bethany.) This is an email chain from the protest group I somehow became a part of. See? Exciting stuff. I’m sad to see it go. Although, these emails came in after I emailed the lead to tell him I’m not the right person. Maybe he’s keeping me in the loop just for the hell of it? That’d be awesome. I love living vicariously through others political activism. Even if I’m not exactly sure what they’re protesting.

It all started with a Google of the name “Merlin Mann” because dooce posted pictures of him on her site and I was curious who he was. (Why do I feel like several of you are rolling your eyes at how little I know about people in cyberspace?) I ended up at his site and the first entry was a video of a presentation he did at Google.

First of all - have you ever been to a really good religious/spiritual event? It could be anything from a Rainbow Family Gathering to a Southern Baptist Revival - if it’s good, it will have the same effect. It will make you want to go home and re-start your life. Which is why “Revival” is such a good name for them (duh) because hopefully - that is what it will make you feel: Revived.

Well - Merlin Mann did that for me in his presentation and all he was talking about was email. I’ve officially hit an all-time dorky low. I can not stop thinking about the incredibly simple points he discusses when it comes to processing your inbox. He says in the beginning of the presentation that most of these admittedly common sense ideas come from this book. Have you heard of this guy and this book? Well - if not - join me in the group of The Only People On The Internet To Not Know What The GTD Method Is.

Between Merlin Mann’s presentation and this book that I haven’t bought yet but I’ve read a bunch about - I feel like I may actually be able to catch up on my life. I get a CRAP LOAD of email. First, there is the company that I work for as the “Support Person” to try to fix things that are broken or teach about things that are useful. That mandates a LOT of emails. Then there is my blog - which creates a lot of emails as well. And I feel like I never actually get caught up with dealing with any/all of those emails. The points Merlin Mann mentions and the GTD Method pretty much teach you to just DO IT ALREADY. It’s all common sense, but somehow - hearing someone else say it - makes it seem like a brand new (and freakin’ brilliant) concept. Empty My Inbox? Is that even possible? Just thinking about it gives me a high. I don’t think my inbox has ever been empty because I leave stuff in there until I’m done with them. And I’m never damn done with them. It’s a scary place — my inbox.

Anyway…(Man, I didn’t mean for this to turn into some really boring infomercial. Sorry.) I wanted to know if any of you practice/use any of these methods to be productive in your life. I’m famous for lists and organization so they will fit perfectly into my world, but I wonder if you’ve ever tried them and do they help? Evidently the Google Campus offers GTD workshops/classes for their employees. I mean - if it’s good enough for Google? It’s good enough for Zoot.

I’ll let you know how it goes for me. I’m going to begin implementing these ideas in my life on Monday. Because, while I’m desperate for a way to manage the chaos, I’m also a tad OCD and I can’t start anything new in my life on any day but Monday.

(You’re laughing at me now, aren’t you?)

Let me go on record saying that I have wanted a macbook forEVER. Ever since I first saw someone with a white laptop at Atlanta Bread I thought, “so pretty.” As I learned their power and the ease they handle graphics, video, and music, I thought, “so very pretty.” I always appreciated the superiority of the macbook simply because my windows laptops had annoyed me on many levels and I liked to think that sleek macbook wouldn’t let me down.

Well - for work I have one to use now and I have been very pleased with the experience. It takes some getting used to (did you know there’s no right-click?) but I have enjoyed it tremendously. However, I’m still very new to this “mac” thing and have frequently asked the guys at work questions about it.

So - I did the memory video this weekend in iMovie and it was very easy to use and made a fantastic product. However, I needed audio and an adapter to use with the projector so I decided to brave the ONLY mac store in town. And let me tell you, if I hadn’t already aquired a love for my macbook, he and I would have broken up immediately after that trip just to keep from ever having to deal with “Mac People” again.

Evidently there’s two types of “Mac People.” There are the ones who joined after years of using Windows and are happy to help others transition as well. And then there are those who have used ONLY Macs since they came out of the uterus. The latter group tends to have a high percentage of what I like to call, “MacHoles.” They look down on anyone NOT using a Mac and roll their eyes if you don’t know about the wonder of the Mac. The first group looks at Windows users as lost souls who need guidance, the MacHoles look at Windows users as people who need to be scorned and mocked.

I went to the Mac store and was immediately greeted with attitude when I said, “I’m new to Macs so I made need a little help.” He rolled his eyes an changed his tone to, “Great - stupid chic just walked in. Waste of TIME.” I needed him to sell me a set of speakers that would work with my laptop and with an iPod. I told him it was essential I leave the store with everything I needed because I was heading straight to the presentation. He sarcastically and bitterly helped me with several huffs and puffs along the way. I tried my best to ignore his attitude and got out of the store after making sure he gave me everything I needed.

WELL - I got to the presentation and realized I was missing the audio cord that connects the speakers to the macbook. I thought, “Surely it was supposed to come with the speakers since I told him I needed EVERYTHING before I left.” So, I called the store and he said, “Well - I just assumed you’d have one of those cords because everyone with a mac would have that.

I had two choices at that point. (1) Curse him out for being a giant jackass and cry over the fact that his annoying attitude was going to ruin my presentation or (2) hang up on him. I opted for the latter and ended up just using my father-in-law’s USB speakers which I luckily grabbed as backup.

But let me tell you - I will NEVER go inside that store again. NEVER. Not that my measly money will make a difference, but I refuse to pay money at a store that doesn’t prioritize good customer service. As a matter of fact, since then, I’ve heard several people talk about the wide variety of MacHoles that place hires.

They should be supportive of newbies, not judgmental. Bah. Those jerks can go the way of the condescending coffee people who roll their eyes when I want flavoring in my coffee as well as the snotty wine store people who seem offended when I buy White Zinfindel. All three of those type of assholes should be taken outside and pelted with PCs, Hazelnut syrup, and wine in a box. That would make me feel better.

Tomorrow is the 24 Hours of flickr event. I’m looking forward to this because I’m sending the last of the sick kids off for the weekend. Actually - he is much better, so he’s going to spend the weekend with his Dad. I have learned a valuable lesson with this stomach bug. The bigger the kid? The better they are at caring for themselves. Which is a good thing. But also? The bigger the mess they make. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

So - LilZ is going off to his Dad’s for a relaxing weekend taking advantage of his Nana’s HUGE garden tub. I’m going to take the opportunity to get out of the DAMN HOUSE for the day. If the weather holds out, we’ll head to my favorite outdoor spot: the Botanical Gardens. This will be an awesome outing for a day that flickr commands us to document. (And I do everything flickr tells me to.) If the weather does not hold out, we’ll head to my favorite indoor spot: My bed. And I’ll nap all day. And I’ll make MrZ photograph me in my sleep.

Here’s hoping for sunshine.

Regardless - I’m going to document the day. I have always wanted to do this type of project, and there are several groups on flickr built around the “Day in the Life Of” concept - but I’ve never had the motivation. Now I do! Now I can take my fancy camera and show you exactly how true the current tagline of my blog is: “This level of boring can only be achieved by a true professional.”

If you decide to do the same, let me know. They only want one photo from the day submitted to the group, but I’m going to add all of my photos to a set. If you do the same, leave a link so I can see what a day in YOUR life looks like. If nothing else, this task forces you to look for beauty around you: every second of the day. You’ll be surprised where you’ll find it. It may be something as mundane as your favorite coffee cup or the bottle of hand lotion next to your sink. It may be something inspirational like the face of a loved one or a marvelous work of nature. Whatever it is - you should share it. I’m going to.