I recently wrote about the internet’s most-enduring chain mail — the Bill Gates giveaway one — and reminisced about chain mail letters as a kid. Little did I know that as I was writing, a chain mail letter of the most insidious, modern sort was evolving on Facebook.
I’ve been tagged by at least 25 people who’d like to know 25 interesting, pithy and witty things about me (what, my status updates aren’t enough?) and I’ve yet to answer them, although I have considered it. I’ve even thought about it while I was doing other things, like listening to people chew beside me at Starbucks and how much it grossed me out. ‘I could put that on my list!’ I thought. And then wanted to slap myself for being so lame.
I realized about a week ago that 25 Things had blossomed into something far more than just a few friends making lists about themselves. (Wait: Isn’t this whole blog like a 25 Things list? Oh jeez.) Time Magazine noticed it too. And the Globe and Mail. I liked the G&M article best: he did the list, but did it from his cat’s point of view. Me and The Weakerthans approve.
Photo: Flickr Creative Commons
I thought it was just me and my slow internet connection but as it turns out, pretty much everyone in North America (and, I suppose, the world) was having the same problem: the video-streaming web was pretty much out of commission for the inauguration today.