Twitter Addiction, Upcoming Events & SWAG

My Personal Twitter Addiction

Well, I must admit that I think I have an issue with Twitter. I can't seem to stop following, updating, Twit-pic'ing and pretty much obsessing about the service. Now that I have a Blackberry and thus constant access to posting and monitoring my Tweets and those of my friends, it has gotten worse. The ability to post minute "Tweets" about what one is doing at a given point in time is such an exercise in narcissism, a trait that I would never applied to myself in the past. However, when I noticed today that I lost a few followers last night, I had to wonder two things 1) Why did those folks stop following my Twitter posts and 2) Why do I care so much?

When I first learned about Twitter via a story on NPR, I thought to myself - who would want to post these small snippets of personal activity? And more importantly, who would want to read them? Then I took on the role of Community Manager here at 2old2play and learned of the various ways that people in the industry were using Twitter to communicate and promote their endeavors. At first, using Twitter was primarily a way for me to get the word out about 2old2play Community Events and to keep up on what others were doing in the video game industry. However, at some point, the service has evolved (or devolved depending on how you look at it) into an odd version of my Id, and with it I have developed this bizarre need to post random comments that have little to do with my persona here at 2old2play. The culmination of this obsession (and the impetus for this blog) was when I posted a quote from Dwight K. Schrute while watching this week's episode of The Office. The look that my girlfriend gave me as I posted this particular Tweet said "Really? Now"? Unfortunately, the pertinence of this look was lost on my at the time. Now I see the wisdom in my girl's questioning of both the timing of my post and the content.

As many such quotes, this particular "Dwightism" was funny, but rather inappropriate for general consumption. The quote in question included the word "penis", always a touchy subject to say the least (TWSS). Later in the evening, I noticed a fairly sharp decline in the number of people following me. At first I did not connect the two, my post and the loss of followers. However, after thinking about it for some time today, I realized that perhaps I had overstepped my Twitter boundaries. The ease of posting Tweets (updates to ones Twitter Stream) and the truncated, in-the-moment nature of such posts does not necessarily lend itself to sufficient review of one's thoughts prior to send them out into the world. This is further complicated by the relative feeling of anonymity in which the Internet cloaks most online activities.

So I am making this pledge, to myself and to those who follow my Twitter account - I will try to limit my personal ramblings and focus my posts on the content that most of you want from me, i.e. gaming and site related news, updates and contacts. I will also do my best to maintain proper Twitter Etiquette and refrain from posting off-color and NSFW materials. Though I may, on occasion, still post a note to a friend or a pic of my dog (cause the fellow is just so damn cute!), I will try to limit such non-gaming ramblings as much as possible or send them out to friends via direct message to spare the masses. This will most likely be a work in progress, and I am sure that I will stumble here and there. So I thank you in advance for your patience and welcome any input from those who are still following me via Twitter.

Now for Something Completely Different

Some time ago I posted a note about scheduling a "Grudge Match" with the folks from SFX 360 (www.sfx360.com). The staff over at SFX 360 (Pallidian, LadyJ, Buzzkiller et al) are top notch folks and they run a great Community for gamers. Well, after several postponements and a few hiccups, I am working with Pallidian & Co. to get this thing going. So on Saturday, March 15th, beginning at 9:00 pm (Eastern) we will be engaging in battle with members of the SFX 360 Community to determine who will have bragging rights as the Best Gaming Site in the Universe (or at least along the Eastern Seaboard). We will set up rooms spanning three game titles: 1) COD World at War 2) Gears of War 2 & 3) Halo 3. We will set up as many rooms as necessary to accommodate everyone that wishes to participate. One team from each site will battle it out within each room in a best 2 out of 3 rounds. Once the dust settles, we will add up the W-L stats and declare the victorious site. There will be a random SWAG drawing for the members of the winning website (SWAG to be provided by the losing team's Community Manager - don't let me down folks! ) and the losing side will have to make a public declaration of defeat on the victor's web site.

This main goal of this event is to bring the members of our two sites together to meet and have a blast doing what we all love, playing games. To facilitate this event, I will need team leaders for each game title. So if you are interested in heading up the teams for COD WAW, Halo 3 or GOW 2, pm me and I will get you set up. I will personally be participating in one of the GOW 2 rooms and expect to have a blast.

I hope to see you all online next Saturday, ready to rumble and have some fun.

And Now What You All Have Been Waiting For - SWAG

So I was talking to the manager of my local Gamestop yesterday when I learned that they were about to switch over displays and that this little beauty was about to end up in the trash (note: the pic viewed below was taken from the web - the Standee I have in hand is brand new and boxed up).

So, knowing that we have some rabid Halo fans here at 2old2play, I thought I would rescue these wayward Spartans from their impending re-enactment of the Trash Compactor Scene from Star Wars and see if any of my blog readers might want to have them in their gaming room. If you would like a chance to win a Halo Wars Standee like the one pictured above, just post a replay. I will select the winner at random from those who post. As always, each person will get one entry and you are not eligible if you have won a prize within the past 30 days. I will accept entries until Midnight on Sunday and announce a winner in Monday's blog. Good Luck!