The Wall Street Journal published an article on Tuesday about how many unemployed people are turning to Twitter, blogs and online games to take their minds off their money anxieties. They compared spending several hours a day playing games and using social networks to the 5-cent movie houses of the Great Depression when unemployed workers spent the afternoon watching Charlie Chaplin movies.
What an incredible opportunity to get some practice time in. The really smart folks will spend the extra time honing their blogging and twittering skills, all the while connecting with people who may be able to help them out when the economy takes an upswing. The smart people will craft their writing, experiment a little boldly, edit tighter and be able to offer employers the benefit of their practice time. The smart people are building a portfolio of writing samples for when opportunity knocks.
And then, of course, we will have those who will know how to play online games better, will have tweeted out banal crap and will emerge out of this recession/depression with no more marketable skills than when they went in.
Which are you?
