Social Networking Postcards

What did I get?

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Courtesy of Jeff Hibbard.

How to become a real Twitter Geek…

Or I’m getting an @ sign from Jeff.

 

TheTruckCam 5/5/2008

Posted to jeffhibbard by jeffhibbard on May 05, 2008

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Yeah, I’m loved. 🙂

 

What do you do?

     People who don’t know you love to ask what you do.  Here in the Midwest that often is asking what you do to earn a living.  With the growing breadth of online tools and toys, more people don’t just ‘do’ their job.

     Ordinary folks like you and I not only do programming, or teach grade schoolers, but we blog, make videos, create social media and network.  We don’t just network either; we inspire, conspire, and admire; we encourage, uplift and share; we are not passive.

     So when I ask my contacts and friends what it is they do, I don’t want to just hear how they bring home the bacon, I want to know all they are in what they do.  I want to know that you write and inspire through your blog, to know that you raise funds for cancer by making videos, or that you raise kids in a digital world.

     In this spirit, I polled my Twitter pals, and here are the answers they gave.  Enjoy.

• I learn, explore, write, communicate, teach, and lead, but I also execute where needed.  Mainly in SEM but also in comedy and music
• I solve mysteries and cure illnesses and create works of art–all done with a keyboard.
• I’m a father and database administrator, and I carry a crazy and frustrating idea that I can be a creative type. That’s what I do.
• I’m the editor of a number of specialist property publications, creative writer, lover of tech and cultural studies, and a gamer.
• i’m a geek, get paid to help content get to people who want to see it and spend my pay on red wine & vodka 🙂
• I’m a creator, a collector, a connector, a communicator, a cancer patient & I help others benefit by what I’ve learned
• run my own ad agency/production company while launching Internet video startup
• I write, read, and think about stuff all day long 🙂
• I help people communicate, which usually involves first convincing them to listen.  All that in a highly niche, technical, market.
• I read, and read some more, and read some more, and talk.
• Try to connect people, enlighten their day. Watch the kids grow and discover their world.  Try to listen and learn. Enjoy life.
• up with dogs, computer, TV, blogging, Twittering, cooking, back to computer, check e-mail, more TV,sleep: my day in 140 characters

     Do you know these folks? Any of this sound familiar? Perhaps one of these is you, or very close.  Note that on one up there does just one thing.  Many have a full life living and doing a variety of things. It’s not a crime to specialize but don’t sell yourself short.  Very few of us wear only one hat.

     Ask yourself today, and be ready to answer when we ask, what do you do?  What do you do?

Social Networking Postcard Project – Week 4

     The postcards have been put out again. As in previous weeks, here and here and here, the opt in was closed on Friday night. The postcards are written, stamped and ready to go out. They should be leaving my local area on Monday, the 28th.

Twitter pals to get postcards this week are:

• Dayngr
• JSpaghetti
• rmsylte
• remarkablogger
• callkathy
• conniereece

     Twitter pals of mine are given the chance on Friday night to DM me and ask for a postcard.  I’ve been of the mind that social networking needs to have more social involved.  In that spirit I’ve been trying to visit in person, talk on the phone, send personal video messages, and doing this postcard project.  At about 6 folks per week, this will take forever but it’s fun.

     I’ve been asking if folks will at least tweet about the postcard or write a blog post.  There’s no obligation though, and I hope no one stops themselves from asking over that worry.

     If you’d like to do the same thing, jump right in.  Whatever you do though, I strongly encourage you to not make Twitter your only social medium.  Get in there and connect with people.  Talk to them, write to them, send them a video or a song, but definitely make the effort.  People will notice.

     What are you doing to connect?

Twitter Search for Bloggers @ St. Louis Bloggers Guild

     Just a quick shout out to an article I posted over at the St. Louis Bloggers Guild, Twitter Search for Bloggers « St. Louis Bloggers Guild.

As Lisa pointed out, Twitter is a powerful tool for communication. It can reach thousands of people in just minutes. Twitter though isn’t just about the instant communication. Twitter is useful even when you aren’t online chatting.

     The article talks about three of my favorite tools for finding cool things and news on Twitter.  Tweetscan, Hashtags and Quotably are highlighted for search and discovery.  There’s a short bit about each tool including examples.

     Please give it a quick look; you might find you like one of those tools.

     *follow me on Twitter.

Twitter Attack?

Social Networking Postcard Project – Week 3

The postcards have been put out again. As in the previous weeks, here and here, the opt in was closed on Friday night. The postcards were written, stamped and dropped off at the post office yesterday. They should be leaving my local area on Monday, the 21st.

Twitter pals to get postcards this week are:

• Hunee
• carseycritter
• moritherapy
• shashib
• revtriste
• gdruckman

Twitter pals of mine are given the chance on Friday night to DM me and ask for a postcard.  I’ve been of the mind that social networking needs to have more social involved.  In that spirit I’ve been trying to visit in person, talk on the phone, send personal video messages, and doing this postcard project.  At about 7 folks per week, this will take forever but it’s fun.

I’ve been asking if folks will at least tweet about the postcard or write a blog post.  There’s no obligation though, and I hope no one stops themselves from asking over that worry.

So how do you get in? Friday night I’ll put out a call on Twitter for folks to DM me and mention postcard and provide an address.  Sometime during the week though, there might be other chances to get in.  I’ve also been taking special requests for friends.

Think you are too far away? I’ve sent cards overseas and to Canada.  Don’t want to give out your home address? I’m okay with a P.O. Box or other safer address.  Don’t want to give your real name? Just tell me how to address it.

I’m anxious to reach out to you too.  How would you feel about an email in reply to your comment? Let me know.

8 random facts

I’ve been tagged to share 8 random facts!

My favorite fact from Change Therapy’s list:

i once seriously considered starting a web site dedicated entirely to caesar salad.

So here’s my 8 random facts:

1. I wear size 10 1/2 wide shoes and on rare occasions, size 11.
2. I’ve been married 24 years as of April 28th.
3. My wife and I have turned in about 140 Pepsi bottle cap codes.
4. I’ve eaten pizza in Rome.
5. I often considered changing my last name to that of my paternal grandfather.
6. I collected comics as a kid.
7. I collected belt buckles as a kid.
8. I have three granddaughters.

     None of those things define me, but they all provide an outline off my life and experiences.  I didn’t share stuff that’s terribly secret or too personal.  I also tried not to share things I’d shared in this post.

     I don’t normally pass these things on, but I’m passing this on to one of my best buds, Paisano.  I do reserve the right to call upon more of my friends to take part though.

     If you want to know more, just ask.  If you want to share, leave me a comment with your 8 things or write your own blog post. I bet there are at least 8 things I don’t know about you.

The Inspiration that is Twitter

Quote:

Ironically, it has managed to spawn more innovations and hype—clients, web applications, memes, contests, meetups—than any of the big, bloated social networks. This is interesting because Twitter is not just a “web application”, which, literally, is an application that exists on and uses the Web. It’s an activity taking on many different forms in scattered locations, whose very nature seems viral, and whose openness seems almost unprecedented.

     That was taken from this fun and informative read, The Inspiration that is Twitter at Wisdump. The article doesn’t just mention what Twitter has inspired but shows ton of great links with snapshots of a good deal of them.

     Links to Twitter inspired services, mashups, and even t-shirts abound in the article. Want to poll your friends? Find the hottest links shared on Twitter? See the latest memes? Find the top followers and followed folks?  Then the links are here in this post.

     All this goodness is well organized into groups, with pictures to highlight quite a few of the services.  My favorite stuff is the Twitter related t-shirts.  Now I’ve got to go buy some.  Do you sell any?!  Give us some links.

     Give this great article a perusal and learn more about Twitter and all the things it’s spawned.