Social Media & It's Relation to Nostalgia

Social Media & Nostalgia 

It's been a couple of months since I decided to make a change.

Aimlessly Surfing 

One morning, I spent 15 minutes aimlessly surfing Facebook and Twitter on my iPhone; I realized that I waste a lot of time surfing through strange articles, columns, and information (as well as comments, rants, etc.). I was an early adopter of Twitter because I love the way it quickly links to information. I decided, though, to remove both apps from my phone. If I need to see something on either one, I can login to my Safari app and go to Facebook or Twitter. I also deleted Instagram and Snapchat. I haven't missed Instagram because I never found a good use for it, but my family insisted that I add Snapchat back because we use the app as a messenger.

Apps That Work

That one morning wasn't the only time I surfed aimlessly. The apps we have available have great power for us. Heck, I'm still amazed at what we can do while sitting on a couch. I used to have to go to the library to find the information that is now literally at our fingertips. Think about the amount of music and entertainment that we never have to leave home to find. Yesterday, I signed up to Amazon Unlimited Music because they're running a great promotional deal. I've had David Lee Roth's Skyscraper in my wishlist for a couple weeks, so now I can listen to it for "free."

Social Media Stars

Truly, this video from last night's John Mellencamp concert in Philadelphia is "free" on Youtube. My music on Amazon Unlimited is not actually free but "you know what I mean." How cool is it, though, that John Mellencamp's Twitter link sends out a concert video from last night's show. There are definitely advantages for authors, artists, etc. to communicate with their fan base. Jeff Pearlman has done a great job promoting his upcoming USFL book on his Twitter account.

Google Reader

I still visit Feedly every day for my blog fix. Am I the only one who misses Google Reader? Hard to believe it's been gone for four years because it was such a solid program to keep updated on a great amount of information. The aimless surf has value. Don't get me wrong ...  Everything leads to nostalgia, as you can see. Listening to a 25 year old album by DLR, a classic from JM still played live 30+ years later, and awaiting a book about the history of an amazing league are all about touching the past.