I have to say, I'm finding this one difficult. Not because I can't think of five, I must say, but because it's hard for me to narrow it down to just five. I'm a champion procrastinator. I could probably compete for Ireland in a procrastinating competition (wouldn't that be cool...see! I'm always getting distracted!).
So here we go:
1: Blogger: It's hard for me to believe that a couple of months ago I didn't have a blog. I knew they were a good idea, I know that every aspiring writer should build a platform, but I thought I was too busy for one. Now though, it sucks in hours of my time. Because what I love about blogs is that not only do I get to ramble incessantly about musings of my choice (which gives my husband's ears a break, thereby saving my marriage) but I can follow people and get a little glimpse into their lives. And for someone as interested in other people as I am (read: as nosy as bedamned) it's completely addictive.
2: Salacious celebrity gossip: Yes, there are more important things going on in the world than the fact that Cheryl Cole has been dropped from the American X-Factor, but hey. As I said above, I'm nosy.
3: Newspaper sites: Hours of my like are sucked into reading articles and opinion pieces. But I'm a journalist and a writer so I can claim that it's work...ahem!
4: YouTube: I love watching YouTube, particularly clips from the Ellen DeGeneres show. I love her so much! I wonder if Ellen and Portia would adopt me...(God I hope that my mother never finds this blog)
5: Wikipedia: I love facts. Maybe it comes from being a historian, maybe it comes from my nosiness (as you can see, I'm working hard to get this character flaw seen as a good thing by y'all. Though it probably isn't working) but I tend to go off on mad tangents, and Google crazy things to find out more about them. I can do this for hours, because every answer presents a question.
These are the main things on the internet that take me away from my writing. What internet distractions do you all have?
Hey Christine,
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is also a time suck for me too. It starts out as honest "research", but inevitably leads down a road of: "Oooh, I never knew that before. I'll finish reading this and then I'll get back to...Oooh, I never knew this before either. I'll finish and then get back...Oooh!"
Hyperlinking is the bane of all productivity.
--Michael
Wikipedia -- YES. Huge time sucker right there! lol
ReplyDeleteOmigod- you are so right about Wikipedia :) And blogger & celebrity sites are two of things me and Pam can't stay away from, too!
ReplyDeleteI had so much trouble narrowing down, too!
ReplyDeleteI talked about Wikipedia too!
ReplyDeleteWith you on Blogger! Most of my time gets sinked into blogs, but it's so much fun! Also: news. And I'm with Micheal:
ReplyDeleteHyperlinking is the bane of all productivity/
QFT!
Oh, I completely forgot Wikipedia on my list! Dang!
ReplyDeleteLike others have said, I open a tab to research something, only to realize 10 minutes later, I have 5 more tabs open - all to Wikipedia - as I find other a-mazing things I just can't live without knowing!
Complete distraction, so agree!
Great list!
Those might be my top five too. The internet is so wicked.
ReplyDeleteblogging definitely takes a lot of my time as well as face book! That is a big time sucker! I haven't done much with Wikipedia, but I probably should!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list of time-suck websites! I don't think #3 is BAD though. It's good to stay on top of the news :) now, #2... haha I used to spend hours on celebrity gossip websites, but I realized I didn't need to know every little fact about a bunch of people I don't even know. And #4 and #5 are great for research ;) ;)
ReplyDelete@ Michael: Yep, it's a never ending circle of distraction!
ReplyDelete@ Holly, Marquita & Alicia: Glad I'm not the only one addicted to the Wiki!
@ Jennifer, Erin, Scribal and Lydia: Think how much we'd get done without all those sites!
@ Jessica: I suppose it's not bad, but it sure is distracting!
@ Heather: I suppose we can argue that as blogging is 'social', it can't be that bad!
Sometimes I shake my fist at myself for starting up a blog. It's a major time suck, but I'm still happy I have it. :)
ReplyDelete