With social networking there’s always the rejection fear.  What if no one ever follows me on Twitter or joins my fan club on Facebook.  (Who needs friends anyway?  I have fans!)   What if someone writes something really mean-spirited and hurts my fragile ego?  In today’s economy, who can afford psychotherapy to heal such wounds?

However, I kind of like my Twitter page.  It looks cool, though I haven’t done much with it yet.  Still, it all feels strange.  It’s like singing into a hair brush in your underwear, in the privacy of your bedroom, imagining yourself as a rock star, and then realizing your performance had been podcast to the world.  Who wants the embarrassment?  Apparently millions of people.

The biggest problem, however for me, is remembering all the usernames and passwords.  Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Squidoo, Yahoo, Google…  It gets crazy!  Then of course, who has time to run a business and then promote it on a half-dozen different Web sites?

One very big problem with social networking is that it can reveal things about us that we may not want to lay claim to years down the road.   The Way We Were remains the way we are for all eternity on the Web!  What seemed look a good idea when we were 16 is probably going to seem very dumb at 22.  Heck, what I did at 37 seems dumb to me today at 38.

One service that I’ve found helpful, in regards to having a little more control over my own personal identity online, is a new service from Google.  Google is the number one search engine on the Web and if anybody is going to look you up, they’ll probably Google you, so it makes sense to put your best foot forward where it counts.   Having a Google Profile lets me tell the world who I am in my own words and I can edit it as time goes by.  It’s a great way to paint ourselves in a more professional manner.  It also allows me to add links to my various networking pages and Web sites.

I don’t know if I’ll ever really like the online social networking “thing” but, like it or not, it’s the way we are in todays world, and the we we’ll probably be for all eternity to come.

But now I can sit by my window and look into the backyard and be more inspired and in tune with nature.  I should be drawing my little heart out!  I can hear the birds singing, though right at the moment, it sounds as if a turf war has erupted between a couple of very loud chattering birds.  Oh, and there went the neighbor’s motorcycle.  Now, there’s a faint train whistle in the distance.  I wonder where it’s going?  Ah, the distinct call of a cardinal.  To me, a cardinal’s chirping has always sounded like, “Pretty Bird.  Pretty Bird”; just listen closely.

Well, I better get to work.  I wish those darn birds would be quiet!