Something about Twitter I’ve never really understood is that in some people’s profiles, there is a prohibition on sending direct messages, specifically those that have to do with looking for a date. No, I’m not kidding. I see these mostly in women’s biographies but on occasion, I will notice a man has something similar in his as well.  Two things always come to mind: does this person (man or woman) think they are so desirable that another person will not have the fortitude to withstand asking them out, or is it that Twitter has become a pseudo-dating site where people are forced to place a disclaimer in their profile to discourage a barrage of offers?

The reason I know about this is because before I follow anyone on Twitter (recommended or otherwise) I take a moment to look at the profile. I even will look at some of the persons recent tweets to determine if I find the account interesting enough for me to follow. Sometimes yes, other times, no. One of the things I find  in a lot of accounts is no biographical information whatsoever. That means I have to spend a little more time looking through their timeline to make a determination one way or the other. The profile biographies don’t bother me much; I don’t care much if they state they’re religious in some way, or political as long as when I look at their tweets, I don’t see it filled that way. I really don’t log into Twitter to learn about either.

I also see a lot of people, in fact a majority, use  “Retweet does not mean endorsement” or some form of the same. I wonder about why people feel the need to say that? I tweet, and retweet all the time. Mostly articles I’ve found on the net, but also other accounts that may have said something I thought was interesting. Endorsement? Not necessarily. I may tweet something that others might find, as I did, controversial in some way. It’s simply a way of starting, or attempting to start, a conversation about whatever the subject happens to be. I’ve seen some that say that if you retweet something, then, yes, you implicitly endorse what’s being said. Some people I guess will not retweet something based on that false assumption. I can only guess this is why there are so many accounts that explicitly state in their profiles that the retweet doesn’t mean endorsement. Necessarily. So then, how would anyone know? Maybe that’s the actual purpose. Seems a bit dishonest to me.

For those that follow me on Twitter, what you see is exactly what you get. I am that which I state and no more or less. I don’t hide behind any profile statements or attempt to hide what I think about something. If I endorse something, those that follow me will not have to guess. I also don’t treat the site as a way to meet women, to find a “date”, or hookup or whatever. If that’s what Twitter is about for some, maybe they should consider joining an actual hookup site. There are plenty out there. Maybe it’s time to use Twitter as grownups and not act as high schoolers.