A City Councilman Follows Me on Twitter…Awesome!

I have woefully neglected my blog lately. I’ve just been so busy hanging out with family and friends and sucking all the life I can out of my days in Dallas this summer. School’s starting soon- so I’m trying to get back into the groove of blogging regularly so that when the craziness REALLY starts, I’ll be able to write more than once or twice a month. This semester, I’m taking thirteen hours of high level classes, assisting with one class, acting as managing director at a news site, working with Lutheran Campus Ministry, being active with Society of Professional Journalists and joining the Ballroom Club, so…..it’ll be a challenge.

Here’s a blog I wrote a while ago and just haven’t posted yet!

I attended a Rowlett City Council meeting a couple weeks ago for the Rowlett Lakeshore Times. I brought my dad’s laptop along and used it to take notes, but also to tweet a little. Nothing really about the meeting- more just things like “I think I’m the only reporter here,” and “I hope none of them think I’m a teenager.”

The meeting went a bit into the evening. As I was packing everything up to go, one of the councilmen came up to me, asked if I was Rachael, said Hi, and told me he followed me on Twitter. Slightly taken aback, I was just like, “Oh really?” He told me he liked my tweets about cupcakes.

I was uh, surprised. I don’t know why I was so shocked by this. It’s not like I didn’t know anyone who wanted to could find me on Twitter- especially since I go by my real first and last name. I just never really thought one of my story subjects would run a search for me and follow me. I guess I just got the tables turned on me.

That’s one of the wonders of social networking- you have little control over who will read your work or follow your life. That used to scare me, but now I just find it an exciting adventure. I put out my thoughts there for anyone to read and I have to say, I’m really glad people are reading them! I’m humbled that people would find anything I say interesting.

Despite all that, I have to admit, that as I was driving home from the council meeting, I was frantically going through everything I could remember writing on Twitter in the past two weeks (since I’m assuming he started following me after my stories on city council showed up online). Did I write anything too childish? Offensive? Too silly?

When I got home, I did a thorough check. It was fine. I really do try to keep my public image pretty clear online- honest to who I am but suitable for all viewing- from my mother to my employers, from my friends to the people who read my articles and are curious about me. I try to refrain from writing about anything I think would reveal too much of my own opinion on news stories or topics I report on- I don’t want anyone to think I’m biased on a story. Also, though I love bragging about my family and my friends, I try to keep any personal problems from appearing online. That’s not the arena to deal with drama.

I know some people were a little alarmed when I told them about the councilman following me, but I happen to think it’s great. Who cares if a story subject or a politician reads about my love of Muppets and cupcakes? I really do love the Muppets and cupcakes. It’s part of who I am- and I don’t think that fact makes me any less qualified for my job as a journalist. I’m very much a professional.

I did make a few further conclusions about what I talk about online though- I have decided that it’s time to totally cut down on the OMGs! on Twitter. Reading through my blogs over the weekend made me think I was reverting to valley girl lolspeak.

And also, though I do want to address my depression and ADD fairly and publicly, as I do think they’re important and are disorders that are too often feared, repressed, and misunderstood, there is a line between addressing it positively and effectively and being self-indulgent. I don’t really want to go over that line, so I need to be smart about what I post online about my actual emotions.

Though I’ve always been pretty careful, I plan to be ten times more vigilant now.

And oh boy am I glad that I didn’t write on Twitter that after the length of that meeting I just wanted to go swim in a margarita…..oops. : )