My travels through the media age began decades ago in rural Indianapolis. We lived at 96th Street & Haverstick Road and were so far out we didn’t even have a street address. Our mailman delivered to a rural route, in this instance to RR14, Box 358R. In our living room perched upon a brass stand was a simple black & white television with rabbit ears that required continual adjustment. It was 1959.
In the family kitchen was a black wall phone, hardwired into the wall by Indiana Bell, as everything was back then before the divestiture of AT&T. It was the shared “party line” of my youth. Our phone number was VI (for Victor) 6-2342. VI was called an “exchange,” and you could always tell what part of the city a person came from when you knew it. I shall never forget that shrill ring! Two shorts followed by one long notified my family of an incoming call while one long followed by two shorts, signaled my aunt and uncle living one block away to respond.
Fast-forward 64 years to 2023 and here I am faced with a world of internet, smartphones, and social media. The journey has been a long one, and especially troublesome for someone my age. In a sense, I am still that young child living at RR14, Box 358R at 96th Street & Haverstick Road in Indianapolis, in 1959.
So, here’s my travelogue over the past decade:
My journey began in 2014 when I first was introduced to Facebook. I posted a profile, a picture of myself, let people know my username, then sat back and watched…and waited. Unsure how to proceed, I looked to other Facebook pages which didn’t help much. Later, I decided to post a video of an 86-year-old friend marching in a parade with his American Legion chapter. It was about the only thing I posted for a long time, but I’m an introvert living in the past and I really don’t like keeping an online diary.
The late Robert C. Potter, member of San Francisco Alexander Hamilton Post #448 of the American Legion
In 2015, Twitter was the next part of my adventure. The instructor of a network security class I was enrolled in requested that everyone get an account, so I dutifully complied. Students all subscribed to various Twitter feeds from users that published network security data. Some of the information was quite helpful, but there was that “click bait,” some rogue individual hoping to garner a huge following by spewing a lot of controversy. Regrettably, I encountered that a lot. Oh, well…
My travels led me next to Instagram, which I began experimenting with in 2019. I found this to be the easiest for me to use since photography was already a hobby of mine. I tried to find my voice, even made some reels (short videos in Instagram lingo) and I kind of did, I guess? Suffice it to say I’ve got some rather interesting followers. Check out @keiths.theatre on Instagram. Better yet, check out some of my followers!
Someone suggested Pinterest, so I stepped right up, not knowing anything about it. I still don’t get it. Could someone please explain what it’s about? Categories?
By then, I’d traveled all the way to YouTube, the most intimidating of all social media. I diligently studied popular channels, then took a flurry of Skillshare classes about making YouTube videos. Finally, time to jump in the water since I had probably learned enough not to sink, right?
Obviously, I didn’t sink, but what did I learn?
One’s channel must fill a niche and a person needs to stay in the channel’s designated lane. A cooking channel should not tackle fashion commentary or an analysis of international politics. If one must depart radically from the subject matter of an established channel, then time to start a new one. Also, shorter videos are infinitely better than longer ones. I discovered that producing YouTube content is a lot of hard work, and running a successful channel is not for the faint of heart.
Hard work, yes, but I learned videomaking & editing, how to cook, how to replace the worn-out cords on my venetian blinds, as well as all about geriatric medical issues I face. There are countless old television shows and movies to watch, as well. What a perfect way to help me to recreate the era I’ve never progressed past, the Eisenhower era. Will I ever move on? Probably not!
This entire ordeal was exhausting, so it will be a while before I plan the itinerary for my journey to the magical world of TikTok…