605. Blog, Twitter, Facebook; Fischer, Tandy, others

There was an ABC News article over the weekend making note of the fewer number of blogs as well as the fewer number of posts to those blogs in existence. According the article the blame goes to new media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The article offered all kinds of statistics to back up its point. I'll offer one more piece of datum.

My own personal experience upholds the finding. I have blogged less and less and have tweeted more and more. Yes, I have a Twitter page (@jtn960) as well as a Facebook page where I am listed as simply Jeff Noble. I've had the Twitter page much longer and resisted (and continue to resist) the Facebook page. I try to use the same entries on each. Facebook offers too many diversions and I believe the whole operation is controlled by Communists somewhere in Nebraska. [Ok, I made up that last line to see if you were still reading]. I do believe it is a giant marketing tool, if nothing else.

So, often, when I have something to say, I will. Like most people, I like being heard. And if it isn't going to be one of my long, rambling, run-on sentences, or worse yet, a long, rambling run-on paragraph, then I find myself taking the easy way and entering my thoughts as a Tweet, a new word-meaning developed exclusively for the Twitter medium. Of course trips to Frankfort and Fancy Farm and others place far-afield will never fit into the Twitter format of 140 spaces or less. One learns to communicate in an abbreviated style. I haven't yet succombed to skipping vowels and the like, nor have up given up spelling out words which are often abbreviated, such as Road or Street, abbreviated even in common writing, though not by me. Still, one learns the extent to which one can communicate in 140 spaces or less. As is my wont, though, given 140 spaces, I try to use every single one of them.

So, being a political hack, I wanted to spread the news and poll numbers reported this morning in the Courier-Journal about the mayor's race where I am supporting businessman and entrepreneur Greg Fischer. His chief opponent - I could say primary opponent but that might be confusing as it is a primary election - appears to be Metro Councilman David Tandy. I could go on for paragraphs - run-on paragraphs even - explaining why the numbers end up the way they do but I'm sure to exceed the space-limitation of 140 spaces or less.

Thus, in honor of Twitter, I'll make it simple. Here is today's entry:

Courier-Journal mayor's race poll: Fischer 20, Tandy 17, King 12, Allen 8, and lots of undecideds. Election Day is May 18. Remember to vote.

Go ahead and count the spaces. I dare ya'.