#babysfirsttweet #amidoingthisright?

About a month ago I was bartending when two older British gentlemen sat down. They were definitely partners in business if not partners in life, and were having a bit of a tiff. Out of the blue, one of them asked me if I own an iPad (yes, I do), if so do I also own a laptop (yes indeed), and which do I use more for consuming media? I was about to respond, "iPad, no question," when the other man started yelling at both of us, demanding that his partner stop this line of questioning and that I not answer. His reaction was so dramatic that I thought surely he must be joking, but it turns out that he was dead serious. He was not having it. I answered anyway, but at my own peril.

From what I was able to glean over that short period of time, one of these men wants to allow their business to progress with technology by tailoring their media for the iPad and the other simply denies that this is necessary. Why he rejected it so staunchly remains a mystery; it felt almost personal, as if some Big Shot at Apple had personally wronged him. But regardless, he wasn't going to budge, even if it was to the detriment of his business.

Fast forward a few weeks. I am in a photographer's studio having makeup applied before a headshot shoot and overhear the photographer discussing Twitter with his assistant. He asserts that any actor that doesn't use Twitter for self-promotion is stupid (I don't know if he necessarily used that word, but you get the point).

I did not have a Twitter account. I did not want a Twitter account. I'm addicted enough to Facebook even though I hate it, and I do not need one more form of social media to become addicted to. "Well I don't have Twitter and I'm not stupid!" I want to reply. I am clearly above it!

Of course he was totally right. I avoid social media like that old man avoids iPads.

There's something to be said for raising your online visibility, and it's something that I have long avoided because I get turned off by overt self-promotion and have never wanted to be That Girl. Don't get me wrong- I want people to come to my website. I want people to "like" my Facebook fan page even though I admittedly don't really know what that means. I've just want all of those things without having to ask for it. Even posting my updated website to Facebook was slightly uncomfortable, but I had to remind myself that there is a big difference between launching a website and posting selfies with eighty hashtags every day. 

​So last night I caved and started both a Twitter account and said Facebook fan page. I have yet to tweet anything and I'm afraid to ask people to "like" me on Facebook because it brings back awful memories of middle school, but it would be silly for me to continue to ignore these opportunities for free marketing because I'm afraid of asserting myself. And, I must admit, #hashtagsarefun.