I’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m a little behind the times when it comes to certain modern technologies. At one time I prided myself on being up-to-date. I bought my first DH TV as soon as it hit the store. I was on the Blu-Ray bandwagon when they still cost $50 a pop. I was always looking for the next best thing, the upgrade, the cool gadget I could tell my friends about.

Social media has been the stumbling block.

In 2004, I had a band that was becoming somewhat successful in the local scene. My singer at the time told me that if I wanted to promote our shows I would need to get a MySpace account to do so! What? What the hell is that? Let me just add, at this time I was still using a TracFone that I had JUST purchased! I grew up with a phone that had a cord and weighed 15 pounds, not this little plastic device that could allow me to make a call from anywhere at any time. And texting? Don’t even get me started!

So, I went on the trusty web and started a MySpace account. I learned how to use it, how to design it, how to add features, etc. When I was done I was a master of that page, and it worked for the intended purpose of getting my name and my band’s name out to the public. As soon as I could sit back and enjoy what I’d accomplished, MySpace began a quick and painful death, and soon I noticed that people weren’t paying attention anymore.

Why? Facebook! That’s why!

Okay, okay, what the hell is Facebook?

So now I start all over, I get a Facebook account and I’m immediately annoyed with the fact that I can’t customize anything. No cool background, no embedded music player – just a blank page with some sort of newsfeed thing, and people can “like” what I do. Okay, I’ll give it shot! Well, that was 7 years ago!! Once again, I feel pretty confident that I got everything out of Facebook possible. I understood that this media platform was no frills, but huge in reach. It works to connect people, and in that regard it succeeds.

It’s 2016, the book is out, and now I have a Twitter account. So, what now? I tweet? I re-tweet? I start adding POUND SIGNS!! The first time I saw this I had to figure out why a pound sign was now called a hashtag! Dammit already! I catch on quick, I learn as I go, but technology is really cruising along, and if you don’t stay on top of it, you’re going to get left behind.

#whatnext