Dear Social Media by Ellen Meister

Dear Social Media,

I remember when we first fell in love. Things were a lot simpler then. The blogosphere was our playground and everything was new and exciting.

But you quickly grew bored. I tried to keep you interested—new entries, new jokes, even new templates. You thought I looked darling in Minima. I loved your SiteMeter. And oh! The Googling!

But soon enough, your attention wandered, and you began spending more and more time in some new place called MySpace. You beckoned me, promising things the blogosphere couldn't deliver.

MySpace, you said, was the future. We would be happy there forever. So I followed, and you introduced me to your friend Tom who, it seemed, knew everyone.

Still you weren't satisfied. Each new tease that came along—LinkedIn, Gather, Friendster, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Flickr, YouTube, Shelfari, etc.—proved just how fickle you were. For the most part, I resisted.

But then you started running with a new crowd, and I felt lonely and left behind. I begged you to come back to MySpace but you just laughed.

No one goes back to MySpace.

And so at last, with great trepidation, I started a Facebook page. I added more friends and grew bolder. But every time I settled in, cozy and content, you shook the place up, changing the settings and confusing everyone. This will be better, you said, you'll see.

Still, it's never enough for you, is it? You have a new darling now. She's fast. She's sexy. She does it for you in 140 characters for less.

And yes, I've followed you to Twitter and have been seduced. I realize now that no matter what, you'll keep moving on. But remember this, my darling ...

We'll always have blogger.

--
Ellen Meister is the author of three novels and a social media slut who will soon be appearing on a SmartPhone near you. You can take advantage of her on Facebook and Twitter, as well her own website and blog. Her newest book, THE OTHER LIFE, is in stores now. Click here to listen to her talk about it.