Kathi Marquesa has been telling me about working in Chicago’s text-book publishing industry in the early days of media consolidation. But, she says, “I do other things too besides work for a living.” She’s referring to a dance studio she manages in North Center, but there’s barely a breath before she adds: “I don’t know why I don’t get paid for all these other things …”

I have a dance studio that’s flamenco-related. I like to bring together people who have an interest in dance, music—flamenco especially—and see what we can work out, what can we produce, what can we present. I think people in this city collaborate with me because it’s not about me; it’s about flamenco. I like to be behind the scenes. Let me help you look good, and Let me publicize your wacky concert. A lot of artists don’t know how to promote themselves. A lot of it is word of mouth and getting something from a trusted source.

That’s why I’m not so sure I would always trust Twitter. I don’t want people tweeting me stuff, ‘cause why would I be interested in your 42 words? I’d prefer to get a hilarious text message from a friend of mine. That would be better.

Everywhere I go now I see a, Follow us on Facebook!. I’m talking about the the Dunkin’ Donuts. Why? What do I need to know about Dunkin’ Donuts except extra large hazelnut with cream no sugar? I don’t need to know what their new products are. I don’t need to follow them. There’s one on every corner.

But if you don’t do it, then you’re out of it. Like if you have a Facebook page with no picture on it, boy you get a lot of flack. I get so much flack. I set one up and I’m like, I don’t have time for this, and I never put a picture on. I get a message every week saying, How come you don’t have a picture? ‘Cause I don’t want to be friends with you, Click …

I find we have so many ways to access information, I mean: how many email addresses do most people have? At least three. and the telephone still works for me, face to face contact—I’m OK with that. I’m OK with texting because it’s usually someone I know. After you check all those things everyday, and then maybe your favorite blogs, it’s time for bed.

So we are getting a lot of information, but I don’t know if we have the time to sift through it. What I hear people saying all the time is, Oh I just hide all that stuff on my Facebook page. Now you have a Facebook page and you’re not even using it? You’re choosing to hide people that you accepted—why did you accept them? So I don’t know if we have time to act on anything, if we have time to glean through the information to figure out what is important, what is a commercial application, is this someone writing something for someone else or is this a real person? I end up calling people and saying, You need to go to this event or try this thing…