God bless Al Gore, because I love the internet. Although a lot of things have made the claim over the years, the internet truly is the greatest thing since sliced bread (providing that sliced bread is the barometer by which all great things are measured).
For someone like me, to whom being a smart-ass comes as naturally as taking air into my lungs, the internet is a very useful outlet. No longer is my sarcasm limited to those lucky few who come into personal contact with me. No, no, no! With forums like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and blogs like this one (and this one), the entire world is at my disposal.... and my mercy. And, because I am who I am, no one is exempt and nothing – nothing! – is sacred. I have a gift and I seek to share that gift with everyone.
While I do have a presence on Facebook, I really use it only as sort of a clearing house for my other social media platforms. My Facebook page is not a personal page, but rather a "fan" page. I can post things I want to share and you can comment on them, but I cannot see photos of your kittens or your kid's first loose tooth or that beautiful sandwich you are about to eat. I can't see nor comment on the fact that you're tired or you have a headache or you just ran a 10K. I just post. You just look. And that's just the way I like it.
I like Twitter a lot. I suppose that's fairly obvious, because, as of this writing, my tweets number 28,000 plus. I guess I just have a lot to say. Twitter has put a new spin on watching television, especially if you are watching a particularly bad show, like a Phillies game or a lengthy awards broadcast. "Live tweeting," as it has come to be known, while using pre-determined "hashtags" (or funny, made-up ones) is like watching and commenting with six billion of your closest friends. My philosophy is: "If you can't say something nice, then say it on Twitter."
A good portion of my tweets are responses to other tweets. I regularly offer snide, yet playful, retorts to mostly earnest posts from followers and their re-tweets. (If you don't understand some of this lingo, you should either start tweeting or stop reading right now.) I have "smart-assed" everyone from public officials and local newscasters to celebrities and even the spouses of celebrities. It's all in fun. It's not malicious. It's just me being funny... or at least giving it the old college try.
Last week, someone felt I crossed the line.
I got a DM (direct message for those of you non-Tweeters) from a Twitter follower, my friend Calluna, a former co-worker. Calluna works at an ad agency and I follow her tweets, as well as the agency's. It seems I made a comment on one of her co-worker's blogs, one that I discovered via the agency's Twitter account. My comment, evidently, made her co-worker pretty upset. She asked if I would remove it.
As a self-proclaimed and proud smart-ass, I make a lot of comments that have the potential to make people upset. The internet (especially Twitter) is a cruel, cruel place. It's a lot like high school in its viciousness and its "clique-iness." For the most part, the comments, the judgments and the insults are superficial and soon forgotten. But, you gotta grow some thick skin if you want to play with the Twitter kids.
I had to ask Calluna to direct me to the comment I had made because, as I explained, I make a lot of comments on a lot of blogs. However, after a little retracing of my electronic footsteps, I found the "offending" remark on my own and deleted it. I usually would never do something like that, but I made an exception to my normal "no apologies" policy because 1.) the comment, after re-reading it, wasn't all that funny (I've posted funnier) and 2.) I like Calluna a lot. Besides, I'm sure I made many more smart-ass comments later the same day.
So, there, Internet. Your pal Josh Pincus isn't always an asshole. I have my reasonable, "ol' softie" side.
You can take your chances and follow me on Twitter or just "like" me on Facebook if you wanna keep your distance. You have been warned.
While I do have a presence on Facebook, I really use it only as sort of a clearing house for my other social media platforms. My Facebook page is not a personal page, but rather a "fan" page. I can post things I want to share and you can comment on them, but I cannot see photos of your kittens or your kid's first loose tooth or that beautiful sandwich you are about to eat. I can't see nor comment on the fact that you're tired or you have a headache or you just ran a 10K. I just post. You just look. And that's just the way I like it.
I like Twitter a lot. I suppose that's fairly obvious, because, as of this writing, my tweets number 28,000 plus. I guess I just have a lot to say. Twitter has put a new spin on watching television, especially if you are watching a particularly bad show, like a Phillies game or a lengthy awards broadcast. "Live tweeting," as it has come to be known, while using pre-determined "hashtags" (or funny, made-up ones) is like watching and commenting with six billion of your closest friends. My philosophy is: "If you can't say something nice, then say it on Twitter."
A good portion of my tweets are responses to other tweets. I regularly offer snide, yet playful, retorts to mostly earnest posts from followers and their re-tweets. (If you don't understand some of this lingo, you should either start tweeting or stop reading right now.) I have "smart-assed" everyone from public officials and local newscasters to celebrities and even the spouses of celebrities. It's all in fun. It's not malicious. It's just me being funny... or at least giving it the old college try.
Last week, someone felt I crossed the line.
I got a DM (direct message for those of you non-Tweeters) from a Twitter follower, my friend Calluna, a former co-worker. Calluna works at an ad agency and I follow her tweets, as well as the agency's. It seems I made a comment on one of her co-worker's blogs, one that I discovered via the agency's Twitter account. My comment, evidently, made her co-worker pretty upset. She asked if I would remove it.
As a self-proclaimed and proud smart-ass, I make a lot of comments that have the potential to make people upset. The internet (especially Twitter) is a cruel, cruel place. It's a lot like high school in its viciousness and its "clique-iness." For the most part, the comments, the judgments and the insults are superficial and soon forgotten. But, you gotta grow some thick skin if you want to play with the Twitter kids.
I had to ask Calluna to direct me to the comment I had made because, as I explained, I make a lot of comments on a lot of blogs. However, after a little retracing of my electronic footsteps, I found the "offending" remark on my own and deleted it. I usually would never do something like that, but I made an exception to my normal "no apologies" policy because 1.) the comment, after re-reading it, wasn't all that funny (I've posted funnier) and 2.) I like Calluna a lot. Besides, I'm sure I made many more smart-ass comments later the same day.
So, there, Internet. Your pal Josh Pincus isn't always an asshole. I have my reasonable, "ol' softie" side.
You can take your chances and follow me on Twitter or just "like" me on Facebook if you wanna keep your distance. You have been warned.
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