Some like it ha.

Some like it ha.

There’s a hidden dynamic to the world of social networking. The dynamic that some attempt, few succeed at gloriously, and at which most fail miserably when at their hand they try: Humor.

There’s a trick to being perceived and referred to as a humorous social amoeba. People have to know you to get it. I mean it seems pretty cut and dry, but it is way more sticky than that. And the stickiness will make you neurotic.

Take for example this recent Twitter exchange between myself and Schmutzie:

 

At first I was like, “High five, self! You are on one today!” But then? Then the neurosis kicked in. And while I know that Elan is a steaming pile of curt and generously dry humor, I started to convince myself that maybe she really thinks that I’m psycho. That perhaps, she’s not equally educated on my flavor of disturbingly misplaced humor. And in that moment I made the discovery that it is tough to communicate the funny if someone knows you only by one exchange, outside the context of your typical banter, and, therefore, may perceive you as real-life-murderous psychotic instead of pretend-on-Twitter-for-laughs psychotic. There is a fine line between the two, I now realize.

I am assuming this is why celebrities only randomly respond to fan birthday shout out requests instead of non-doting commentary on what it is they are sharing with the interwebs. I suppose the same approach goes for the mass of us interweb laypersons.

All this to share that I think we need to be more mindful, delving, and, gasp, social in this digital age. With so much accessibility comes the opportunity to expand our interaction with those feeling what we’re laying down. I challenge you to take the time to get familiar with one person (if not a few) this week that you may be seeing but to whom you’re not paying much attention.