Don't follow me - I don't know where I'm going!

So, I did it, and I feel as though I might regret it. Yup. I joined Twitter.

I have 14 followers since Tuesday.

Of course, I heard about Twitter years ago, and when I'm at work, I keep track of several feeds from the traffic cops and other news agencies.

I avoided joining, but this week I was feeling out of step with the world, especially since my 70 year old mother has become a prolific poster on facebook. I felt I had to do something to keep the digital divide wide enough that I can feel at least the teensiest bit young and cool.

Although, the way I figure it, if I've joined up, Twitter is probably just about over. Justin Bieber's rant yesterday was posted on Instagram, not to his 35 million Twitter followers, so maybe the social media action is all about Instagram now, and as with so many innovations, I find myself behind the curve yet again.

I've read that Twitter has one of the highest attrition rates in social media, and I can see why as I try to figure it out. I've already dumped one of the sites I was following for its sheer over-posting. Seriously, Huffington Post, I don't have time to scroll through all your stuff! But with 2,793,000 followers, you must be doing something right.

Chris Hadfield (526,000 followers) is certainly very interesting, but I don't know that I need quite as much material as he posts. Furthermore, doesn't he have work to do as Commander of the space station? He sometimes posts twice an hour!

One of my first followers, after some friends and fellow media-types, is Sandra Cooper, Mayor of Collingwood (13 followers, including me) whose three posts so far have been about where she is, like at which meeting. She joined Twitter at the end of February, and like me, doesn't yet have a photo associated with her feed. With all the upset surrounding town council, maybe opening a Twitter feed was seen as a way to demonstrate that ephemeral quality, 'openness' that many people are demanding. Or, maybe she, too, wanted to be cooler than her mother. It also could be a way to keep an eye on us in the media. Whatever the motivation, I'm guessing she's still trying to figure it all out, just like I am.

Maybe the town needs a Communications person or a consultant of some sort to help burnish its image and write those feeds. Then again, maybe not, since it was a consultant that led to those questions about 'conflict' issues last week, wasn't it?