Do you tweet? I’m laughing as I write this, provoked by the ridiculous mental image of a guy in waders saying “tweet, tweet!” under his breath while casting in a river. But as it turns out, a lot of people do tweet to the extent that they are fans of Twitter--the latest micro- blogging Internet phenomenon.

I asked my kids, who are of course up on all the latest, if there was any reason why I should try Twitter or get involved in Facebook or anything else resembling social media. The question was related to fishing in that I wanted to know what the angling point of all that might be.

Fortunately, they said no, and I thus won’t have to further waste time that I don’t have to begin with. Having looked at various tweets and Facebook pages online, it does indeed seem like an insubstantial waste. Hey, I’ve got real fish to catch and real wood to cut, not to mention flesh-and-blood friends to speak with over coffee down at the general store. That doesn’t mean that I think some technology is bad as it relates to fishing. Far from it.

A cell phone is or would be handy if my truck or boat breaks down, and it allows a buddy to call me with news of a hot bite on a distant beach. And I get lots of current fishing news off the Internet. And years back I used to read three daily newspapers every morning-- national, state, and local--that I now read electronically instead, which is easier and less expensive.

I can’t help but think that like most mass-social concoctions, on-line social media have grown beyond all reason. What might have started as a useful information exchange wound up blossoming much larger as a way for teenagers to gossip. It’s quite true that this and some other websites are useful angling tools in terms of the information exchanged. But tweet? I’ll be damned if I will....

Comments (9)

from seadog wrote 2 weeks 3 days ago

I'm pretty slow to get into new technology. I still use my cell phone to make phone calls. I haven't used twitter and it will probably be obsolete before I get the desire to learn about it. My kids text questions to me. I have 2 responses: OK or NO. If the answer needs to be longer than that, they know to call.

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from rjw wrote 2 weeks 3 days ago

Tweeting is no doubt a current social issue, in a world that is so dependent on new technology and trends. Having real live friends, splitting firewood or any outdoor activity is also social, there have been many times that I wish I would have stayed away from computers, but here I am enjoying the benefits of it. Ultimately I am with you on twittering, it is not on my priority list, or any other list.

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from shane wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

I won't touch twitter. Gives me the willies.

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from Blind Scud wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Whatever you say, geezer. But I suppose you think that Life Alert (the "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up" gizmo) is valuable.

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from seadog wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Hey Blind Scud, you young wippersnapper, come closer so I can hit you with my cane! Don't make me get out of this rocking chair. If you don't come closer, I'll throw my rotary phone at you. LMAO

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from Jim in Mo wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

A cell phone can save your life much like a life vest. Any other gizmo on my phone does not exist.

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from buckhunter wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Facebook is kinda cool. My neice set me up with an account and suddenly a bunch of people I haven't talked to for 25 years are looking me up. None of which have given the location of a great secret fishing spot so yes, Facebook is useless for fishing.

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from buckhunter wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Seadog,
That's funny.

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from coho310 wrote 1 week 5 days ago

If you want a social networking site that's usefull for fishing,try Ifish.com,but I think Feild and Stream.com is pretty dandy!

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from seadog wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Hey Blind Scud, you young wippersnapper, come closer so I can hit you with my cane! Don't make me get out of this rocking chair. If you don't come closer, I'll throw my rotary phone at you. LMAO

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from seadog wrote 2 weeks 3 days ago

I'm pretty slow to get into new technology. I still use my cell phone to make phone calls. I haven't used twitter and it will probably be obsolete before I get the desire to learn about it. My kids text questions to me. I have 2 responses: OK or NO. If the answer needs to be longer than that, they know to call.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from rjw wrote 2 weeks 3 days ago

Tweeting is no doubt a current social issue, in a world that is so dependent on new technology and trends. Having real live friends, splitting firewood or any outdoor activity is also social, there have been many times that I wish I would have stayed away from computers, but here I am enjoying the benefits of it. Ultimately I am with you on twittering, it is not on my priority list, or any other list.

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from shane wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

I won't touch twitter. Gives me the willies.

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from Jim in Mo wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

A cell phone can save your life much like a life vest. Any other gizmo on my phone does not exist.

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from Blind Scud wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Whatever you say, geezer. But I suppose you think that Life Alert (the "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up" gizmo) is valuable.

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from buckhunter wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Facebook is kinda cool. My neice set me up with an account and suddenly a bunch of people I haven't talked to for 25 years are looking me up. None of which have given the location of a great secret fishing spot so yes, Facebook is useless for fishing.

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from buckhunter wrote 2 weeks 2 days ago

Seadog,
That's funny.

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from coho310 wrote 1 week 5 days ago

If you want a social networking site that's usefull for fishing,try Ifish.com,but I think Feild and Stream.com is pretty dandy!

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