TA TALKS BACK: TWILIGHT TWITTERS

Ta fan Leslie G writes about her thoughts on Twilight Twittering:

If you are like me and read any of the 4038375475 Twilight blogs, follow E! Online’s resident rumor-mill churner Ted Casablanca, or are a social media guru who is proficient in all tweet-related goings-on, you’ve probably heard the recent tales of Twilight cast members who regularly post to their supposed Twitter accounts.

I’ve been reading about these for awhile and I think it’s time to address it. I readily admit to lacking any solid insight, considering the closest I’ve ever been to one of the cast is a spacious 2-degrees-of-mutual-acquaintance separation from “OC”-cutie turned reluctant-veggie-vampire Jackson Rathbone (my friend was in a movie with him *cue undeserved applause*). But let’s take a look at both sides:

Yup, They’re Taking a Bite:

1). VAMPIRES ARE PEOPLE TOO – our New Moon beauties have real-person lives outside of the sparkle infested Twilight black hole. They are clearly friends with each other, not to mention the social network that *shock* exists in their private lives. They are also relatively young, which means they, like many of us, have and still are growing up in the computer age. Who are we to think they don’t partake in a little gratuitous social media exchange now and then? Plenty of celebs do (thanks, John Mayer). Plus, I’ve seen Kristen Stewart with a Blackberry. And they don’t call that hellish device a “CrackBerry” for nothing. It probably Twitters for you whether you like it or not.

2). “YOU’RE VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO READ” – the most plausible Twitter accounts I’ve heard about for each cast member (and there are multiple for each) are for the majority set to “Private,” meaning their tweets are hidden from everyone except those they deem worthy of being privy to their innermost web musings. The ones that aren’t hidden (supposedly Ms. Stewart’s) sound relatively appropriate content-wise, with a few expletives thrown in for good measure, and are updated in chunks with days or weeks missing at a time (travel? filming? endless hours of torturous contact-lens-sizing?). Plus the least charlatan-sounding ones are all networked with each other. Perhaps it’s just a well-organized group of fame hungry über-Twihards starved for attention, but if that was the case then why wouldn’t they just let everyone see it? Kind of shoots a hole in that logic. The Cullen Family was hidden in plain sight at Forks High School, so why can’t their human counterparts virtually dabble in like fashion?

3). “BELLA YOU HIT YOUR HEAD, I THINK YOU’RE CONFUSED” – Twitter is simultaneously the most public and most private social media available. You have limited space to say anything, you don’t need to fill out a profile detailing inane personal minutia á la Facebook, and once your profile is hidden, that’s it, Harry Potter couldn’t read it if he worked all his inexplicable necromancy on it until he was blue in the face. If I was a Twilight kid who wanted some web-lovin’ with a built-in shield I’d go the tweet-route, too. In addition, while a lot of people may know about Twitter, many abstain, still cowering in an intimidating shadow of confusion. Sound familiar? Twitter, thy name is Jane.

Nope, Wouldn’t Go Near It With a Garlic-Laced Stake

1). “WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION!?” – Between New Moon rehearsals, costume fittings, ciggie-break bonding, shameless karaoke stints and countless Starbucks runs, do we really expect RPatz and crew to have time to navigate the murky ocean that is Twitter.com, text every 15 minutes to take fan questions or tweet their fellow castmates who are likely just one StarWagon over, getting their hair gelled to cement-like consistency?

Probably not.

2). “I CHOSE MY STAGE WELL” – Their PR-platform monitoring reps have repeatedly stated their various clients don’t have “online presence.” Though that’s exactly what I would say, too, because do I really think Kellan Lutz is going to tell a reporter, “Yeah, I totally have a Twitter! KellanCLutz. Check me out!” No. a). It’s blocked anyway, and b). between the camera-snapping at various global airports and the incessant interrogation about their personal lives I’m sure the last thing any of these guys wants to do is expose themselves further to a public who, let’s admit, gets more than our fair share anyway. We’ve all heard them interviewed – they may be relatively green when it comes to the hordes of public adoration and bizarre bite-me requests, but they are a savvy, smart bunch with plenty of self-respect. If Kristen Stewart wanted to tell you she isn’t dating her co-star, she would do it publicly. Oh wait, she did. (Thanks, Nylon!)

3). “I’M THE ONE WITH THE WICKED CURVEBALL” – After endless stories of people moonlighting as Twilight cast members online (remember Rob’s “facebook”?), it’s hard to trust anyone these days. Are we so ready to believe anything a dubiously-originated web message might say? It could be coming from a Rivers- Cuomo-esque basement dweller taking swigs from a gin bottle and cackling deviously as they post tweets about jetting to Tokyo at unGodly hours, or the trials and tribulations of morphing into a wolf with a limited CGI budget. Unless it’s notarized or Taylor Lautner pops by to tell me otherwise, I just don’t see it…My personal belief? With no solid proof that these accounts are real, any claims about Twilight Twitters should be taken with a grain of salt, like any gossip column would or should. It’s quasi-creepy (ok, REALLY creepy) to want to stalk their every move, which is what consistent Twitter updates allow. I think we should give the cast the respect their obvious integrity deserves, because part of being a fan is knowing where to draw the line.

And if I’m wrong, then Rob – that’s a sweet pic of Van Morrison on your profile.

Talk back to us….what do you think?