I sympathize with the OffBeat staffer whose attitude towards Twitter ranges from scornful to disdainful to curious to hostile. This week, Tales of the Cocktail seemed to defeat one of Twitter’s charms – the individual voices  – as the posts attached to that name clearly came from a number of posters, making the collected posts feel like hype instead of one person’s great time.

Me – I can overlook a lot on Twitter, but even I feel awkward about it and facebook when network news people and NPR correspondents talk about it, either with a leering tone because they’re a consonant away from saying “Tit-er”, or as if being late to the party for them means the party just started.

Clearly, people are in the process of negotiating their relationship with the social media tool. For the Twitter-curious, there will be a free Twitter 101 seminar at Loyola’s Nunemaker Hall Saturday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., with refreshments courtesy of Naked Pizza. Seats are limited so click here to RSVP.