How Introverts Hide Behind Technology

Some introverts ARE shy. I would know; I'm one of them. But I think one thing this article (2y.o. by now) fails to address is that not all tech services are the same, at least in terms of personality types. What once was an introvert's paradise in the old-school '90s internet (static websites, pseudonyms, and a far smaller audience because home connections were far less ubiquitous as they are today), is probably a nightmare for us/them in the "2.0" era of rapid-fire Twitter conversations, YouTube visuals, and forced transparency (not to mention the privacy violations rampantly committed in the name of "keeping the web free" and "delivering relevant content"). The modern web is a sales game, and introverts view this as wh_ring oneself. Extroverts, meanwhile, are the ones sp_mming you every minute with links to Rick Astley videos and yammering about what their cats ate for breakfast and coughed up for lunch. (Apparently they DID "has cheeseburger.")

Blogging, on the other hand, might be more suited to introverts in and of itself, as its primary content is the written word (and many, if not most, introverts prefer to express themselves in writing rather than verbally). Within reason (i.e. not a year off as is the case with, say, a novel), you can choose the posting frequency. The only caveat is no one will discover your blog unless you're active on the other social media outlets, and the major ones (FB and Twitter) are too intrusive and too rapid-fire to encourage active listening (a trait sadly lacking in today's outsourced, impersonal business environment -- it's not that introverts don't care about people, quite the opposite, in fact, it's just that, to paraphrase Honest Abe, they can't and won't attempt to sell to all of the people at the same time).

As an introvert myself who has always hated real-time conversation (like phone calls and IRC, or Twitter, the modern equivalent of the latter), and far preferred methods that allow for self-paced introspection and an extended interval of reflection (namely the long-lost art of letter-writing, or even its bastard child e-mail), I think the fact that (again, paraphrasing Abe) all tech outlets are NOT created equal is important to acknowledge. For an introvert like me, e-mail and blogging are the slow pitch, while Twitter or anything real-time is like a firing squad of 100 hitting machines hurling 100-mph fastballs one's way, 100 each, from 100 different directions. Most of it is pointless babble, and anyone who doesn't use the real-time social web for anything "social" is considered either rude or out of touch with the "true" nature of the "new media." Further reinforcing the concept that it's not what you know, but who, and how well you can BS them into believing that you're more of an expert than you really are. So, if ever I'm asked to jump on the out-of-control Sandra & Keanu bandwagon of social media, I'll probably be the first to say: not tonight, internet. Social anything gives me a headache.

Guest 11:05PM May 08, 2012