A week before 2010, I decided to take a little Twitter detox.

OK at first I said Facebook, blogging, Tumblr, and Twitter but in the end I could only stick to one.

And I realized how much I depend on Twitter. There were so many things I wish I could tweet/retweet and then I had to stop myself.

So to satisfy my craving for the past week, here’s what I wish I could tweet.

“Damn Time Machine is awesome. Combined with my equally awesome and cute WD drive, this is heaven.”

“Never cared for Twitter Lists much until this detox.”

“RT @macTweeter Gunman iPhone app merges LazerTag with augmented reality: http://bit.ly/8HUSeK”

“Is it time to start using Microsoft Office for Mac? Does it still suck?”

“BK Magazine got their dirty hands on Miss Jay Alexander: http://bit.ly/7z6NBK”

“Been using iPhoto ‘09 face detecting features. Why do they keep asking if I’m someone else?”

“Wow the Lin Ping craze just took a creepy turn. Found this at a bakery near the office. [TwitPic]
”

“Got so bored tried to force people to Skype Video with me. Got three victims.”

“Bought a B40 Kit Kat. Comes with two packs and a free Kit Kat shaped pen!”

“So the Honeymoon+travel English edition is finally out after…9 months. With only ONE of my articles on it. Oi!”

“BKK you’re being ridiculous. Being gloomy on the last day of work does not encourage me to be at the office at all.”

“Oh hell yeah! GLEE is coming to Star World Jan 20!”

“Going Club Culture for the NYE. Expect free drinks at midnight. But then since I can’t tweet no one is gonna know about this surprise.”

OK I cheated. I’ve been jotting down those tweets and reading the updates. But it was fun being an observer for a change. I did go through a day without opening Tweetie, both on the Macbook and the iPhone, and that was my proudest moment. I didn’t feel incomplete as I thought I would. And once you’ve missed a heapload of tweets you just can’t be bothered going back reading them all like you would when you missed a few hours.

Happy New Year, by the way.

The “new twitter” Foursquare has surprisingly caught on quick here in Bangkok, partly thanks to the increase of Blackberry users as much as I hate to admit.

Foursquare is a location-based social app. The idea is you “check-in” at places you go during the day. It gives you points, which in turn ranks you in a city chart. And if you check it multiple times at a single place, you can become a “mayor” of that place. It’s a great app to meet people, see which friends are around. You can also add “tips” or advice for these places so other people who have never been there before know what to expect. I’d say it makes an awesome travel guide as you can switch cities.

I knew about this app a long time ago but only recently that they took on more international cities and Bangkok was one of them.

And I have been enjoying it and observing its growth in Bangkok. One thing for sure though, just like any other new social services, people here seem to always find a way to, not misuse, but misunderstand these social apps and turn it into one big mess. Examples:

- Iam Superhot is not an ideal Facebook name.
- RT in Twitter does not mean reply. And really you don’t need to give to us minute-by-minute emotion and digestion report.
- and of course “P’ Nat’s House”, “My room” and “I am drunk now” are not exactly the kind of places and tips Foursquare members can benefit from.

I really don’t know if they misunderstand or they just simply don’t care.

And some just care too much. Like checking in at every BTS station s/he journeys on, or getting insanely empowered by their bogus mayorship, that when I “took over” their favorite mall, they got all pissed off.

This is just insane.

I admit I am a social network addict. I have blogger, wordpress, facebook, twitter, tumblr, youtube, flickr, linkedin and more, and my hands are sometimes glued to the phone, but I’m still able to distinguish between online and offline world.

I had an idea of doing a Social Network Detox for a week to see if I am still capable of living without checking my friends’ and updating my status. I still don’t know when though. Maybe for New Year.

Pogue Posts is the name of the regular column by David Pogue, the gadget extraordinaire of the New York Times.

But a few days ago that phrase had taken on a whole new meaning for me.

This is my Pogue Post:

Yup. Mr. Pogue, well his publisher, sent me that book. All the way to Thailand. Free of charge!

Why? I was a part of the book. Well along with thousands of other Tweeple that follow David Pogue’s Twitter and participated in his first crowd-sourced book, The World According to Twitter.

Being a Pogue freak that I am, I tried my best to come up with the wittiest of tweets to respond to his daily questions. Out of all the mind-opening, cleverly composed tweets I sent to him, these are the two he picked to include in his book.

“I underestimated my own hair and bought 1 box of dye instead of 2. I had a fox tail instead of a ponytail for a week.”

“I can make the come-hither gesture with my index toes.”

Now the world will think I am a freak. But all is forgiven once I flipped to the first page.

OK I know, for a fact, that he signed every single copy he sent out to his “coauthors” but it feels great nonetheless. Besides, he already sent me Twitter DM a few times, so I believe we’re friends now.

So, can I get an internship at the New York Times Tech desk next, Mr. Pogue?

My friend Dwight Turner from the online goodwill group In Search Of Sanuk is organizing Thailand’s second Twestival (Twitter+Festival).

No it’s not as geeky as it sounds. It’s a part of World Wide Twestival, each of which have one associated charity or a cause they’d like to promote and the profits from these Twestivals will go to their respective charities and foundations. Thailand’s one is a co-event by In Search of Sanuk and LUSH, a green networking group.

The event will be held next Friday, Sep 11th 2009 at the pool of Fraser Suites Sukhumvit. The event is B200 per person and includes one drink. More drinks, more money to the kids at Baan Dada and Baan Unrak.

I’ll be there manning the registration table (he doesn’t trust me with the donation box) if I get there on time.

For more information, http://bangkok.twestival.com.

The world is ending!

But before it does, I need to shout something.

I’ve been duped by my own father. Guess who’s holding a 3GS?

Yeah. That’s it. Since I have no Twitter..