Bots, Fear and Shedding

 TL;DR -Go follow my Twitter List "BletchleyCircle". Your life and code will be better for it.

1. Twitter, Bots and Personal Contact 
 I like Twitter ... a lot. It feels like my childhood growing up in a large family of loud opinionated people who were stuck together in the same house. When I follow someone, I put them in a list. It gives me some meta data on them for the future.

I always wonder how people react to the lists. I notice when I get added to lists . I wonder if people are flattered to be part of my "Bletchley Circle" or if others doubt my "People I know" list. I thought I would never know until the day Patrick Kitchell added me to his "You added me to a list".

At the time of writing this Patrick had 88 lists. Some flattering ("Asks good questions") and some for research (">=50% fake followers") and at least one that was empty: "Only a Sith Deals in Abso". My mission impossible was to get on that list. I started with a simple tweet

Clever no? Deal in Absolutes. I did not think it would work. Moments latter, there I was, the sole member of Patrick's exclusive club.


2. Bot Bait and the Fear of Harassment 
It made me smile. It made me smile until it got attention and I notice Patrick has 77K followers.

I deal in the kiddie pool of social media. I also follow others who have adventured into the deep end only to find sharks. [TODO: add link]

At the time of writing this, 12 hours in, there has been no ill effects. However, I do fear this harmless fun turning into something ugly. As the only women in the "Professional Sith Order", I expect I will be the easiest target if it does.

I can't see an upside to more followers that I don't know. Hopefully I don't have to add this to my 'lesson learned' list. I enjoy living on the naive and trusting side of life.

3. The Cost of Shedding your Skin
I am grateful for the interaction. To calm my fears, I started reading about Patrick Kitchell. He is smart, stable and in the tech industry. All things I appreciate. His site is interesting and someone I would love to hear speak in person: http://www.thebluecollarmarketer.com/ 

I especially appreciate his willingness to talk about Depression. It gives a perspective for those going through depression and advice to loved ones of suffers. As one who is actively trying to shed her skin but only finding the same silly shell, this one line hit home for me: 

"It was very frightening to realize that I did not understand my place in the present  moment and I had no desire to be anything in the future."  - http://www.thebluecollarmarketer.com/abuse/depression/

Cheers and  may your lack of faith be disturbing,
Ginny

Oh wait, music. At the moment of selection this seems nearly impossible. Here is something new to me 'Superfishyality' by Fallulah