Saying Good-Bye To Social Media

A few minutes ago I sent my final tweet out on Twitter, saying good-bye to those that were following me, for some reason, and letting them know I was done with social media. This is the second time in two years that I have walked away from Twitter, and I think this time it will be for quite a while.

My two reasons for coming back to Twitter were that I felt I had something I needed to say, that I couldn't, or wouldn't, say here, and secondly, I wondered if I could increase my reading audience by posting the column there.

After a few months I've discovered a couple of things.

First, I have zero self control when it comes to stupid things being posted on social media. I just can't let some things go by without ripping that person to shreds, and getting crazy frustrated over it. I'm beginning to think this may be a character flaw that needs some professional help. The jury is still out on that.

Second, I realized that I don't care how many people read this blog, because my reason for starting it in the first place was that it was an outlet for me to write about the things I have an interest in myself, for myself. I appreciate all of you that read my columns regularly, don't get me wrong, and I love hearing from you on them, but it has become an important outlet for me, creatively, that I would still do if nobody read the columns.

I left Facebook many years ago, actually that is not true. I never really got into Facebook because I wasn't into sharing pictures of my life, or updating people on what I had for lunch, or any of the other things regular Facebook users do. I have no problem with anyone doing that, it just wasn't for me. Also, I wasn't comfortable knowing my personal information was being shopped around and no longer belonged to me once I posted something there.

I found Twitter interesting because you could get in and get out of topics, plus it was a quick way to stay on top of breaking news and events. Truth be told there have been a few people that have become Twitter friends over the time I've used it and I will miss communicating with them daily. But it was taking a mental toll on me that was stupid and needed to be ended. I also don't like Twitter Dan nearly as much as I like In My Opinion Dan.

So, what does this all mean?

One of the positive things I found out during the 638 days, and counting, of captivity called Covid-19 stay at home, is that I can write about things other than sports on this blog. In fact, some of the most popular blogs have been non sports related, much to my surprise.

When I write about music I get more reads and comments than about anything else I write about. I have no interest in turning this into Rolling Stone 2, but I will continue to find interesting music related things to write about going forward.

I also promised you that I would not get into any political commentary here, but I must now tell you, that you may see an occasional blog or two in that area going forward. You don't have to agree with me, or even like what you read about it, but sometimes I need to get shit off my chest and I will. I will keep it to a minimum, I promise.

Finally, there is some slight hope that sports might actually be getting back to business, and I know you are as happy as me for that. I would still caution you that the virus is not going away, and it will continue to be the one thing that is going to have the greatest impact on whether or not sports can resume at all. I have my doubts, but will remain cautiously optimistic for now.

So, thank you for your continued readership, I really do appreciate each of you following this blog. Please share with family and friends if you read something interesting. There is a link button on the top right of the column, three dots near the headline, that will allow you multiple options for sharing, please use it generously. Until the next time, see ya.