Social networks

Here's the truth.

I signed up on Twitter over a year ago. In the beginning I tried be faithful to my calling and use it, but with email and phone calls and real people in front of me, after a month I didn't even try, and I haven't been back since.

I signed up on Facebook at the same time. I use it infrequently, for the same reasons. Once in awhile I go there to see what's up with people I know, and once in awhile I try to be a good priest and post things regularly. This lasts about a week, and then I just lapse.

I also, at the same time, accepted one invitation to LinkedIn but never got any other invitations and didn't use it at all. Now suddenly I'm getting a spate of invitations to LinkedIn. I confess to you all, I delete the requests. Of course LinkedIn keeps reminding me once a week that I have an increasing number of invitations to join this business network. I delete those too.

This has nothing at all to do with the people who have friended me or who have invited me to one network or another. It says everything about me. And I'm through apologizing for being me.

I'm an introvert. I love being with people and then I need time alone, unplugged, unhooked-up, to get back in touch with myself.

I like to garden. I like to read murder mysteries. I like to study Spanish. I like to play the piano. I love sitting on the deck with a book, a cup of Assam tea and my dog.

And I know, if someone really wants to get in touch with me, there's the telephone. If I don't answer, there's voicemail. And email. Or seeing me in church on a Sunday. Or a comment on this blog (see below).

And, of course, some people still write me letters - imagine that; paper with the traces of a human hand running over it.