Happy People

Because You Asked: Threads Is, Among Other Things, A Conundrum

/ Ally Bean / 224 Comments

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Boom! Yep, that’s my number.

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WHY ARE YOU ON THREADS, THEY ASK

A few people irl and online have asked me about my experiences on Threads so I’ll answer here. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, Threads is Facebook/Meta’s version of Twitter/X.

I was there on Day One clocking in at 20,708,590 out of over 100 million people who joined worldwide on that day, July 6, 2023. Find me on Threads by clicking HERE.

And yes I know many friends and gentle readers think I’m loony, question my sanity, to have even joined in a new social media… but hear me out. I have my reasons.

I’m a curious person, a social scientist at heart, who saw an opportunity to be part of a social media from the beginning. Even though I’ve been on many social media over the decades* I’ve never had this option before so I jumped in.

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, I’m on Threads so you don’t have to be. Yes, I’m living the experience for all of us here in this little corner of blogland. You may thank me in the comments below!

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Social media active users indicating the most popular places to be †

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WHO IS THERE WITH YOU ON THREADS, THEY WONDER

This, of course, is a good question that I’ll field by first saying the following brief summary: a bunch of nice enough people**.

Then I’ll break down some specifics because that is what I believe people want to know. For me, after 7 months of checking in every few days and posting something when I am there as well as leaving wordy comments for others, I have a whopping 281 followers.

✅ One follower I know in real life.

✅ Six followers are current bloggers who like me are attempting to utilize Threads by showing up every so often and joining in. Click on the name to go to their Threads account, on their blog name to visit their blog:

✅ Some of my followers are current bloggers who are there in name only. OR, in a total surprise, a few former bloggers I knew a decade ago showed up, one even saying: “so you’re still here.” I do not know how to take that.

✅ Many, maybe most, of my followers are people who I’ve connected with on Instagram.

✅ I also have followers who are new-to-me and THAT makes me happy, giving me some hope for Threads.

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Information is my love language, but I my not be the norm †

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What Is The Purpose of Threads As You See It, They Inquire

Yes, again a good question that I will succinctly answer with my take and then add a famous quote that summarizes lyrically how I think about Threads.

My Take – Threads serves no discernible purpose beyond being a pleasant pretty distraction.

A Famous Quote – From John Lennon’s song Nobody Told Me: “There’s always something cooking and nothing in the pot.” 

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On Twitter by creating my own personal lists as seen here I was able to keep track of people, something I cannot do on Threads.

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And Finally Why Is Threads A Conundrum, Please Explain

I have three reasons why I believe Threads is a conundrum, a word that can mean a riddle, or a puzzle, or a poser even.

1) The thing about Threads is there is no center to it to draw people to a communal “What’s Happening” section or a Writing Prompt or a Weekly Topical Challenge. It’s all random all the time.

Hence, a riddle.

2) When you show up and look at your “Following” tab the algorithm shows you who it wants you to see and because, unlike Twitter, Threads doesn’t allow you create lists of who you follow, you cannot efficiently follow anyone. Thus the algorithm impedes connections.

Hence, a puzzle.

3) Threads is the only social media wherein I’ve seen so many people, so often, not reply even with a LIKE, to wordy comments left for them. Is Threads not notifying them that someone paid attention to them? That’s the only kind explanation*** I can think of which makes me question if Threads is really meant to be a viable social media at all.

Hence, a poser. 

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* Since the late 1990s I’ve been involved in Geocities, Myspace, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, Twitter, 43 Things, Tumblr, Mastodon, and now Threads. I’ve seen things, kids… oh yes I have. 😣

** The only sort of rude behavior I’ve encountered was a man who tried to start a fight with me because I said something to the effect of, and try not to be offended, that adults should behave like grown-ups when interacting with other adults rather than behaving like they were in a child/adult relationship. He took umbrage with that idea… perhaps forever wanting to be a child? 🤷‍♀️

*** A less kind explanation would be that I’m not wanted so I’ve been intentionally ignored in the hope that I’ll go away. Which could happen. 🤔

† Source: “As Facebook turns 20, politics is out; impersonal video feeds are in” via The Economist [probably not behind a paywall, but I can’t tell for sure]

Plan B: In Which I Beguile With A Potpourri Of Pretty Pictures & Pithiness

/ Ally Bean / 252 Comments

This is what I think of as a flapdoodle & twaddle post.

I’ve nothing specific to talk about today, Tuesday, the day I try to be here every week. This happens occasionally because when you write a personal blog you can only write about things that happen to you and if nothing much is happening because it’s a dull January, then you have to go to Plan B.

Which in this case is: I look through my files, I find images + links, I write something here, thereby adding value to the blogosphere whilst giving you, my little kumquats of curiosity, something to talk about. That’s Plan B.

I await your snarky insightful comments below.

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1 – Here’s a visual representation [via The Washington Post] of book genres and the percentage of people by age who read the genres. Are you in step with your age group OR marching off in your own direction?

2 – This is an excellent observation that is worthy of contemplation, akin to the medieval scholarly question: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  [Answer: it depends on the music.] 😇

3 – I’m not a dog but this feelings wheel calls to me. I have my ZOOMIE moments and my GROWLY moments. Who among us doesn’t?

4 – After taking a year off from One Word 365, I’ve picked *LIGHT* as my personal inspirational focus word for 2024. Let’s see how this goes, shall we?

5 – I know World Penguin Day isn’t until April 25th, which also happens to be Light Jacket Day a la Miss Congeniality, BUT I can’t resist a good flow chart. Can you?

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Grocery Store Chronicles: 3 Vignettes From My Shopping Adventures

/ Ally Bean / 246 Comments

Pretty picture of puzzle pieces put together that has nothing to do with the subject of this post, but pretty picture gotta pretty, right?

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TO BEGIN WITH

Over the years I’ve written about my grocery store shopping experiences and put the stories here under the tag: Grocery Store Chronicles.

[The story about discussing kinds of pears and the story about stealing potato chips have been the most popular. Also there’s Betsy‘s favorite story about me buying beer.]

While the following isn’t one complete story like those I linked to above, these are 3 vignettes about what I watched unfold, and entertained me, while shopping in ye olde Kroger this past holiday season.

LOVE CONQUERS CONFUSION

The layout of the first part of our store goes like this: produce, deli, cheese, bakery, then wine and beer.

It was coming up on New Year’s Eve, busy everywhere in the store.

I’d just seen a couple in their 40s picking out some produce for something specific, while overhearing them talk about making something special to take somewhere.

Moving on I went to the cheese kiosk and found myself standing with about 10 other people there as well as the couple. I looked around and realized that the wife was on the verge of tears because, as she explained for all to hear, she couldn’t remember which kind of cheese she was supposed to buy.

She turned to her husband and said: I dunno, I can’t remember. I’m just a little ball of confusion.

To which he said: You know what I like about that?

Her, sad: No… 

Him, leaning in to hug her: You’re MY little ball of confusion.

She smiled weakly while all of us standing around the cheese kiosk in unison went: Aww…

And with that he kissed her and said: I’ll go get the beer while you figure out the cheese. Meet you back here. 

KARMA GOT HER NUMBER 

It was crowded in the store with people and displays of food/wine everywhere.

Zen-Den and I had a small cart full of items and were heading to the U-Scan lanes to buy our stuff. A woman walking behind us to the U-Scan was impatient with our pace. She did a wild dash around us to get to the U-Scan lanes first, giving us the evil eye as she went by.

We shrugged.

As fate would have it, despite our pace, we ended up in the U-Scan spot beside her, which when she saw us caused her to snarl our way.

We shrugged.

Well, as Z-D played cashier scanning our items, I stood there and watched her, surreptitiously. And here’s what happened: her first credit card was rejected. Her second credit card was rejected.

And when we left having successfully scanned, packed, and paid for our groceries, she was holding a third credit card that had been rejected, while talking on her cell phone with someone.

Half of me felt sorry for her because I’d guess everyone has had a credit card rejected at some point and it is frustrating, BUT considering how impatient she was and her negative attitude toward us… I smiled.

Ha!

WHEN THE WRONG THING IS RIGHT

I was waiting in the cashier line, standing behind a Dad with a cart heaped with groceries and a 3 y.o. sitting in the basket cart seat. The Dad was at the front of the cart while the boy was directly in front of me.

The little guy was laser-focused on everything his Dad was putting on the conveyor belt. Nothing escaped his notice.

About halfway through unloading the cart the boy told his Dad: That’s the wrong milk.

Dad: What?

Boy: It’s blue. 

Dad: WHAT?

Boy: It should be red.

Dad, catching on that his son was talking about the color of the label on the milk: No the blue one is right this time. 

Boy, raising his eyebrow like the 50 y.o. man he’ll be: Mom. buys. red.

Dad, still putting items on the conveyor belt: The blue one is buttermilk. It’s the right one this time because Mom is making cookies and this is what she uses. 

Boy, shaking his head, rolling his eyes, explaining to me under his breath: Mom BUYS cookies… and she’s gonna be mad about no red milk. 

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QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

So, been shopping in a brick and mortar store lately? And how did that go for you?

Overheard anything that made you smile?

Or watched something happen that brought out the snark in you?

Or confirmed that kids can be wise beyond their years?

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The One About Celebrating 2024 New Year’s Day A Second Time Today

/ Ally Bean / 220 Comments

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Here’s what you need to know.

Regardless of the day of the year I’m not one to make resolutions, a word I’d define as an official proclamation announcing what you plan on doing henceforth.

However I do, from time to time, set general goals about what I want to accomplish in the future, but I don’t think of these general goals as hard and fast objectives. They’re more like gentle nudges in a better direction.

My nudges aren’t SMART [specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound], an approach to setting goals that I remember learning about in college. Instead my nudges are DUMB [doable, useful, memorable, and basic], an acronym I just invented in this moment.

As creative people often do.

Making it up as you go along, noticing the possibilities at hand, relying a bit on your intuition.

Being a pantser, in a word.

Anyhoo… 

Today, if I understand this correctly, is a significant day according to astrology, a belief system based on celestial bodies such as moon phases. One leans into astrology to explain what one should expect in one’s future.

[And doesn’t the use of the word ‘one’ instead of the word ‘you’ sound pretentious? I suddenly feel like Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, speaking formally, being haughty.]

Moving along, the bottom line here is that today’s new moon will be the last new moon for 15 years that we’ll see in Capricorn [the time frame starting December 22nd, ending January 19th]. Thus it’s a big deal for astrologers.

Meanwhile according to numerology, the belief that there is a correlation between certain numbers and coinciding events, today’s date, 111, is a number that means new beginnings. And that, too, is a big deal in certain circles.

You may read more about how these two concepts dovetail together here: The New Moon In Capricorn Is Here To Start 2024 Off Right

Regardless of my ambivalence about astrology and my nonchalance regarding numerology, from the foregoing I learned that today’s message to one and all is: “It’s go time!”

And I like this message. Don’t you?

I feel empowered.

It gives me the opportunity to have what I’m thinking of as a 2024 New Year’s Day do-over, secure in the fact that this time I’ve got the planets behind me, or above me I guess, and that I’m ready to be determined to reach my 2024 goals nudges.

Once I figure out what they might be. 😉

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QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Are you celebrating this second 2024 New Year’s Day today? If so, how?

Do you have any goals [or nudges] for 2024? If so, what are some of them?

Are you finding that this is the most uninspiring January that has ever existed in all of time? If not, which one was worse?

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