More Twits

Twitter’s a funny thing. Not at all like Facebook in that the vast majority of the folk following me are strangers. Mind you, it may not be like that for everyone. The author John Scalzi, seems to have a lot of his buds as Twitter mates.

Long running comic riffs happen between him and Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher!!!), William SHATNER!!!, NASA rocket scientist Bobak Ferdowsi (I help build robots to explore the universe. Also softball. Next stop: Jupiter's moon Europa), astronomer and science writer guy Phil Plait  (SCIENCE! I love this stuff), Jeri Ryan (AKA 7 of 9, AKA 36 of D) and more. Reading his feed is one damn fine example why Twitter is wicked amounts of fun!

If you’ve not seen Scalzi’s gremlins on the wing shtick  (he wonderfully reposted the whole thing to his blog), DO take the time and click that link now. Really, it’s hilarious.

There are other interesting and entertaining folk but, mostly it seems, the joint’s full up with people trying to sell stuff — goods, services or Twitter followers. Yes, this is a whole thing. Every couple of weeks I get “followed” by someone new who can guarantee me X number of new Twitter followers for the low, low price of X or Y. This new fellow is advertising 20,000 followers for $59. That’s, roughly, a third of a cent per unit. The price doesn’t go down much more, even if you spring for 100,000 of these theoretical Twitter-ites.

Why the fuck would anyone go for this scam-ola? It’s just so *ick* slimy and *double ick* Gingrich-y.

Yesterday Newt Gingrich laid out a new argument for why he should be the GOP presidential nominee: He's got the most Twitter followers. But according to a former Gingrich staffer, he bought them.
~~~snip~~~
Newt employs a variety of agencies whose sole purpose is to procure Twitter followers for people who are shallow/insecure/unpopular enough to pay for them. As you might guess, Newt is most decidedly one of the people to which these agencies cater.

OK, I answered my own question. Nevermind.

I‘ve a recent follower who’s quicky bio line says “I am a very Conservative (NOT Republican) Attorney/Professor” The pic is of him, his presumable wife and their, it's assumed, five kids. Did the dude even glance at my Twitter page before following? I hardly seem like a clear and obvious kindred spirit. I post teaser lines and pics for Tell Me A Story, links to gay rights and other lefty political stuff, some of my photography and images of my paintings (all nudes).

Oh...wait. Maybe he DID look at what I post.

I’ve gotten a few followers who seem to just be posting quotes. One week there were two Nietzsches, and two Bukowkis. Possibly they travel in pairs? Maybe I could fix up one of the Nietzsches with one of the Bukowskis. You know, seems like a perfect love match to me.

I've had a few Shakespeares, a Relationship Tips, a Relationship Quotes and an Artistic Quotes as well. And then there are the party types who mostly tweet about drinking, sex, bad decisions and how they’ve bollixed things up lately because they were drunk and...you get the idea. Some of those are fun in a train wreck-y kind of a way.

Who do I follow? Artists, authors, cartoonists, science types, truth seekers and imbecile mockers and other general ne'er do wells.

For what it’s worth, this is my pic and bio line: