Is Social Media The Ultimate Buzz Kill?

Cell Phones Everywhere by Scott Ableman, on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA

Jonathan Fields writes, Is Social Media The Ultimate Buzz Kill?:

Millions of people now live-journal nearly every happening, thought and moment in their lives on Twitter, Plurk, Friendfeed, Socialthing and dozens of other services. So much so that I know a number of folks who literally rush to the computer of cell phone the seconds something remotely interesting begins to happen, out of an almost addictive need to report what’s going down.

Question is, is this activity turning us more into journalists of our own lives and less into participants?

Nick James comments:

I think you’ve hit Hunter S. Thompson’s definition of Gonzo bang on the nail there. True Gonzo was becoming the story, the actor, the director, the writer, and the producer - all of these things rolled into one and reporting it on the fly without editing.
I embrace blogging and micro-blogging for making this possible to every one of us. I’m sure Dr. Thompson would’ve embraced it too. Imagine if he’d been set loose in Vegas with a PDA and a Twitter/ Plurk account.

Very interesting comment...

I've got to go back and read Hunter S. Thompson...