There are all types of facebook posters in this world. Some
want to sell you things, some want to make you feel guilty and some just want
you to know that they again woke up, ate breakfast (chic fil a!), had to go
into work (oh the traffic!) and were subsequently annoyed/offended/amused by
their co-workers/clients/patients. Then AFTER work, they checked into the
Chevron, as they like to do on Monday evenings, and… oh, you get the point.
The interesting thing to me is not what they then did after
discovering the extra long line at the Peachtree Chevron (hopefully come on over
and shoot me) but how they and all these
other types of people express their personalities through facebook when it
comes to triathlon/ironman training.
Generally there are four different types of facebook Ironman
personalities that stand out. In no particular order, they include the bragger,
the soapboxer, the fisher, and the oversharer. A note: I’m sure we will all recognize some of
ourselves in these characters so don’t be offended.
In fact, to set the right tone, let me start by making fun
of myself. The more philosophically astute among you may realize that as I
proceed with my anti-soapboxing rant, I am actually soapboxing myself. The
Really smart ones may also realize that I was able to throw in a little
backdoor brag with that last statement. (Backdoor bragging is the socially
acceptable way to brag, as we’ll learn later.)
So without further delay, let’s start by identifying the
four facebook posters and their posts about daily life.
1.
Bragger-
in daily life this person is hard to miss. Nary a day goes by without this
fellow tooting his own horn in neon flashing lights. He got out of bed, he got
a promotion. He is so fabulous.. look at his pics!! He always having fun and
living a perfect life. He’s got 1000 facebook friends… what a popular, successful
guy!
2.
Soapboxer-
The world is an unjust place and this girl wants to make sure you know about
it. Responsible for all the posts that make you feel vaguely guilty even though
you don’t really know the person in real life. ‘True friends are hard to find,
as I have recently discovered’ It’s tough to go on when the whole world seems
to be against you’ The soapboxer may
also choose to express herself in a more positive sense particularly when they
are shilling some type of product or service. Oftentimes it is something
faddish but the zealotry is intense. ‘Eliminating soy from my diet changed my
life in three days. Here ‘s the link to buy my soy-free soy and join my soy
team!’
3.
Fisher-
Woe. Is. Me. Oh, how we love the fisher. Always looking for a little self-esteem
injection or pick me up. ‘Got some great news today!’ (please ask me about it )
‘ Feeling like an ugly duckling today’ my favorite is an exasperated
sound/noise/word with no additional explanation ‘ugh!!’
4.
Oversharer-
Do I even need to describe the over-sharer further? Perhaps you enjoy reading
scintillating publications such as the farmer’s almanac. It’s kind of like that.. a recitation of
mundane facts. On facebook it translates to dozens of daily ‘checkins’ and
generally focuses on such fascinating topics as
a.
Sleeping-Getting out of bed. The more
interesting posts may reference that this activity can be difficult. Going to
bed late or early
b.
Going to work- why that sucks or(rarely) is
awesome
c.
Driving- traffic, circuitous routes, getting
lost, accidents, and traffic tickets
d.
Eating- Getting coffee, eating lunch, snacks
e.
Errands- Getting gas, picking up dry cleaning,
dealing with childcare, and going to the bathroom. I’m putting myself to sleep
here….zzzz
Now, since I know two of three of (the) readers of this blog
are definitely triathletes, let’s get on to how this translates into facebook
as training log
The Bragger- if
you achieve something significant, you should share it with your friends and
family. This behavior is okay. Notice the key qualifier significant. It’s really
up to you, but you might also want to deliver it in a way that’s palatable to
others. Consider the following fictitious examples:
@ChrissiesMiles- Wow that recent Kona win was SO stupid easy! When am I
going to get some real competition around here?
@RandomWeekendWarrior- I rode 600 miles on Sat and ran 60 miles on
Sunday. What did you do you lazy loser? Also, I’m not tired, I’m rich, AND I’m
much better looking than u. (note: that may need to be two tweets)
The Soapboxer-
sharing things is an important part of humanity. By sharing your knowledge and
opinions with others you are effectively engaging with society.. to a point.
Key: accepting that your way of doing things might not be the best way for
everyone. Example:
@MagicJuicePowderBar- I Never would have made it through my session without
my magic juice/powder/bar. The custom blend of magic, organic sugar, and various
other .. um.. sugars come together in a
magic way that is much greater than the sum of its parts (again, multiple
tweets)
ALL I have to say about this is you better be on the payroll
of Magic Juice/Powder/Bar or it’d better contain actual performance-enhancing, legal ingredients
besides caffeine, sugar, and electrolytes (that pretty much leaves actual
magic)
Fisher- When I think
of a fisher, I think of Eeyore from Winnie the pooh. If you recall, his goal
was to become the happiest donkey in the Hundred Acre Woods. If Eeyore was in
Ironman training, he would undoubtedly post the following to get both the
conversation and the compliments flowing:
@IronmanEeyore- Think
I might be getting injured.
@IronmanEeyore- Ugh.
Another failed training session today
@IronmanEeyore-Guess
I’ll have to train all alone… again
And after the accolades and encouragement tapered off, if
Eeyore could tweet he would undoubtedly post
@IronmanEeyore-Thanks
for noticin’ me
Oversharer- An
oversharer can’t tweet. It’s impossible. Even the space available for status
updates is a severe limitation, so the oversharer has to go with multiple,
multiple updates. They also can’t help but supplement their postings with one
of those auto-update online logs that take some of the load off by posting For
you.
Molly Martin:
Molly Martin checked in at the Silver Comet Depot. “Time for my long
run!”
Molly Martin ran one mile via “Irritating/Auto-Posting Training Log”
See her live stats here!
Molly Martin ran one more mile via ” Irritating/Auto-Posting Training
Log” See her live stats here!
Molly Martin ran one more mile via ” Irritating/Auto-Posting Training
Log” See her live stats here!!!!
Molly Martin checked in at Publix “Re-fueling after a great run !” ….
“Naptime” …. “Two minutes faster than last time!”…. “Run was great minus my
uncontrollable GI distress!”
So what kind of poster/online logger are you? Did I leave
any important categories out? Are you really mad at me right now?
(Notice I left out people who post as their pets on
facebook. Completely normal!)
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