Social Media Rules Ok?

Social Media Rules OK? ©

By Michael Casey

In the Old Days we’d go to the smoke filled pub and have a beer and debate sorry argue, there were even Smoke Rooms, tell that to your kids and they don’t believe you. Nowadays we go to wine bars, or bars, pubs the ones my dad used to go to are long gone. In fact the biggest one is now a MacDonalds, or rather a cellular unit was lowered into place after the Cape of Good Hope was demolished, as was the Locomotion Engine over the road, even the Brewery has been demolished to make way for housing. Though the design life for modern housing seems to be only 40 years.

So where do we go to argue nowadays? We go to FB or Linkedin if you are a professional, but never offer a compliment or you will be called all manner of things. I spent 3 years at CPNEC Birmingham and did we go around ignoring people? Compliments are great especially if meant, if there is a wall of anger then we are all worse off, much worse off.

I also spent 3 years at a major law firm and the people there were amongst the nicest I have ever met. The recruiting policy rooted any bad apples, before they could get in the barrel. And yes I can hear you already how did I get through? Perhaps they had a sense of humour too, or I was a Penance for them. One small thing, they had to hire a coach to take staff, including lawyers out for the day to do a literacy event at a school. That’s Class in my book.

Now as for Social Media you can use it to arrange a place and time to meet your friends down the pub or at the gym, and why isn’t gym spelt Jim, it would be so much easier for kids being taught to read by lawyers. If you like Social Media is a notice board, it’s our fridge with the fridge magnets on it. Face Book should be renamed Indesit Ice Diamond, or whatever brand of fridge you have.

You have social media with photos too, Snapchat, this is where all the embarrassing things are shown to the world, forever shamed in cyberspace until another European Law arrives, if it hasn’t already. In the old days somebody would fall over in the bar and a laugh would go up, that was the end of it. Now everybody has a camera on their phone so 20 versions of the event are uploaded. If you are a star people can make money out of your misfortunes, like not wearing knickers, and why do they never wear knickers, are they not paid enough?

We have Twitter as well, this is perhaps for witty people, for banter and so forth. I’ve given it a try in my quest to find a publisher/producer/radio outlet for my words. Getting a “like” from Kay Burley is my highest achievement.  I’ve abandoned it for now, and why have I abandoned Social Media?

I just tend to attract Loons, on Twitter I was followed by a Porn Star, or so it would seem, and a Boy Band, they follow you but then do nothing. You get people who want to sell you stuff following you. Or you get Born Again Christians, who I resent as they seem to think they own Jesus. He is for everybody, as is fresh air and water, but for them they own HIM, I just say they should listen to Genesis, the band not the 1^st book, Jesus He Knows Me, from the We Can’t Dance Album.

Andrew Childes recent documentary highlighted my own feelings on Faith. Andrew became a Catholic and in his film he had meals with Christians/Jews/Muslims and guess what he said the scariest people were the Born Agains, the major 3 he had a great connection with, but the Born Agains were scary.

Appropriately enough 666 just popped up on the word count as I finished that last paragraph. To balance the negative, we all know about campaigns via FB which have raised so much for charity, or are a lifeline for people. So modern technology brings the whip round into the 21^st Century, instead of a hat being passed around or a beer mug, and money is then collected, now we can give online, or join in a sponsored this or that. Have a don’t use FB for a day, or don’t your mobile for a day, that would be very interesting. People would have to talk to each other face to face.  

As I talk to you we’ve hit Chinese New Year, with a Shanghai wife and 2 bilingual daughters this means the Internet and FB or whatever the Chinese variant is will light up our house so that my wife can talk to family. It sounds like chickens gone wild, ask your Chinese friends if you don’t believe me. Talking does make the world go around, even if there are negative nasty people who want to heckle like chickens in the background,  but chicken is nice with a good Chinese sauce, and the more chicken you eat the less heckling there is. And that is an ancient Chinese Proverb, its trending on Twitter right now, Happy New Year family everywhere in Shanghai.