Desperate Housewives
Twitter Hits Prime Time
May 11, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter hits prime time.
On Desperate Housewives, Tom Scavo's recent story arc centers on the loss of his youth. Now in his early 40's, Tom finds himself in the eye of a mid-life crisis storm. In last night's episode, the storm intensified because of a job interview that reveals Tom's vulnerability in the digital age. The exchange between Tom and his wife Lynette masterfully highlights Tom's frustration.
Aren't you going to ask me about my job interview? (Tom)
Oh right. How'd that go? (Lynette)
Okay. Until the thirty year-old who was interviewing me asked me if I've ever used Twittering as part of a marketing campaign. (Tom)
And what'd you say? (Lynette)
Nothing. Because I don't know what Twittering is. (Tom)
It's a social networking tool where you send instant updates to anybody who signs up for them. (Lynette)
So you knew about this and yet you kept it from me? (Tom)
I didn't keep it from you. It's just one of those tech things that you don't care about. It's for young people. (Lynette)
And I am a dinosaur marching into the tar pit. (Tom)
Tom represents Generation Xers and baby boomers who have not yet embraced the new technologies of social networks. Facebook and Twitter are the present Internet darlings. True, social networks may disappear, evolve, or amplify individually. Collectively, they will survive in some form.
Electronic bulletin boards, Internet chat rooms, and E-Mail groups once dominated as the forms where we could exchange information with like-minded people. Today, the dominant form is a social network on a web site, for example, Twitter.
As businesses use the social network for business purposes, we must be vigilant in learning about the new forms of digital communications.
Unless you want to feel like a dinosaur marching into the tar pit.
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter hits prime time.
On Desperate Housewives, Tom Scavo's recent story arc centers on the loss of his youth. Now in his early 40's, Tom finds himself in the eye of a mid-life crisis storm. In last night's episode, the storm intensified because of a job interview that reveals Tom's vulnerability in the digital age. The exchange between Tom and his wife Lynette masterfully highlights Tom's frustration.
Aren't you going to ask me about my job interview? (Tom)
Oh right. How'd that go? (Lynette)
Okay. Until the thirty year-old who was interviewing me asked me if I've ever used Twittering as part of a marketing campaign. (Tom)
And what'd you say? (Lynette)
Nothing. Because I don't know what Twittering is. (Tom)
It's a social networking tool where you send instant updates to anybody who signs up for them. (Lynette)
So you knew about this and yet you kept it from me? (Tom)
I didn't keep it from you. It's just one of those tech things that you don't care about. It's for young people. (Lynette)
And I am a dinosaur marching into the tar pit. (Tom)
Tom represents Generation Xers and baby boomers who have not yet embraced the new technologies of social networks. Facebook and Twitter are the present Internet darlings. True, social networks may disappear, evolve, or amplify individually. Collectively, they will survive in some form.
Electronic bulletin boards, Internet chat rooms, and E-Mail groups once dominated as the forms where we could exchange information with like-minded people. Today, the dominant form is a social network on a web site, for example, Twitter.
As businesses use the social network for business purposes, we must be vigilant in learning about the new forms of digital communications.
Unless you want to feel like a dinosaur marching into the tar pit.