Just finished reading a brilliant post by one of my favourite blog/Twitter friends, Tania Kindersley. It got me thinking about Twitter and its wondrous ways.
I've spent almost 15 years in the entertainment industry and been lucky enough to have had several high profile and sought after jobs. But with that comes the hangers on and also the confidentiality aspects to what I do and see. I'm on Twitter and write this blog anonymously because my name can be googled and from there comes piles of mail and "please can you help me's, and I've written a brilliant script".
Twitter has been a joy for me. I've found and met friends that in ordinary life I may not have known about or had the chance to find. I have on-going emails exchanges with many and have had dinners, lunches and overnight stays with others. Brilliant, interesting, hysterically self-deprecating people who are not afraid to voice their opinions and defend them. Over the years working in this particular business I've built a slight wall and am a little more weary of new people's intent. The world in which I work and live is a glamorous and fun one but can also be superficial and phony and at times lonely and a little like living on Mars. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do but with every job there are amazing aspects and not so great ones. There's the opportunity of meeting and socializing with most of the "extremely recognizable people" on a daily basis. But I can also count the minutes, on one hand as to how much interest they have in my personal life or views; a vast majority are very self-consumed.
Twitter has opened up a new world for me - one in which I am "followed" and spoken to for my witty banter (well sometimes)and not because of what I can do for them or who I know. In the past, I've been slipped resumes, head shots, scripts and specs etc. in the most bizarre places and situations after thinking that my scintillating personality was what was intriguing them. Packages have been left at my house full to the brim with every details of a trying-to-be-discovered person's life. Very quickly I realize that its from a party goer who I might have met briefly the night before, who has taken note of my name and found my address. Oh joy.
I compare Twitter to a party line - anonymous people throughout the world coming together through shared views, interests, humour and in my case a LOVE of Jilly Cooper. It really bothers me that the stereotypical phase naysayers continually use is "why would I be interested in what someone had for breakfast". How closed minded! My confession - I don't follow or for that matter am interested in people who send out tweets like "still in bed, am bored". When growing up was never allowed to get away with saying I was bored (more about that in a later post).
I don't and can't send tweets out about what I'm doing on a daily basis as much as much as I would like to and know would get a laugh. What I enjoy is to sit back and watch my Twitter friends discuss a certain actor, movies or television shows and get their instant views, without them knowing that I have somehow had a hand in the project. Or my knowledge of what a huge nightmare the actor is or was, on that particular project. Biting my lip as I would really love to tell them that he is not a sexy beast at all but a huge drip.
So for the naysayers out there I say if you don't understand Twitter, you are not being forced to participate - no one is begging you to join. Find something to your own liking and please leave us be.
