Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category

STEP ONE: view this video with your volume turned way the fuck up…

is it up??? like UP??? like you’re bustin out, doin ::the sprinkler:: UP??

k. good. we’re gettin the engine started…

STEP TWO: grab yourself a cocktail, it doesn’t need to contain alcohol and you will not be made fun of for drinking non-alcoholic beverages… unless it’s o’doul’s, in which case, you may just wanna keep that info to yourself. if you’re indecisive when it comes to beverages, scope these puppies out by clicking here and here for some yummy suggestions.

STEP THREE: try not to be scurred. you don’t even have to look at us, if you don’t want to. we’re not goin all BIG BROTHER on your ass and scoping you out, tracking your IP address, your blog (if you have one), your twitter account, your stats, etc. hell, i can’t even scope my own out without the help of @PrincessJenn. point being, we just wanna build community and hang with people who aren’t attending BlogHer in NYC for whatever reason. that’s it. you don’t have to have a blog yourself in order to leave comments here. you don’t have to have a twitter account, though it would help you out when it comes time to launch this bitch… but when it all comes down to it, this wee-babe was created last year on a whim and for shits and giggles and fun. our dazzling hosts this year are all about paying it forward. bottom line: we’re just here to hang, connect with people and get good dirt on one another.

STEP FOUR: participate. DUR… this means we want you to subscribe to our feed, leave comments, tells us who you are, get in on the kickass giveaways we have this year. and ps- can i just say that it’s incredible to have so many amazing people and businesses getting involved with us this year?!?! because last year, i had to write this post in order to get some shit. and it’s kinda nice knowing that i don’t have to go back to moonlighting this year. i’m just sayin…

STEP FIVE: let us know if you want to guest post on here. if you’re new to BlogHer@Home and want to put yourself out there with a post that says, “I DON’T FUCKING GET IT!!!” for cripes’ sake, speak up. contact us. no, seriously. please do because that means i’ll have less posts to write.

STEP SIX: patience dear grasshoppas… the actual BlogHer conference isn’t taking place for a few more weeks, which means that you have plenty of time to do a little research on here, see how things went down last year and get updates on how it’ll go down this year. follow BlogHer@Home on twitter for updates as well as for fun chatty time with us. hell, you don’t even have to wear pants. we won’t know!!! unless you tell us… hehehe…

in conclusion, this is your brain on BlogHer@Home. any questions?

We have asked you guys for input for what kind of content you would like to see and learn from on this space.  After all, it’s all about you guys and making the most of it for you.  We got a lot of response from people who are new bloggers and/or fairly new to twitter wanting to know how to make more of their experience.  How to have more of a presence on twitter.  A lot of people just don’t feel like part of the “in” crowd, on many levels. We’ll get to that.

OK, so now that Jen has got you logged on to Twitter I am going to give you the nitty gritty.  I mean I do come from the school of Hard Knock as Jay-Z would say.

It’s true, so I have no problem giving it to you straight.  I am not a guru or expert of any sort, so I am just trying to give you some normal perspective.  I am just a really cool chick who wound up stuck on the couch because of an ankle surgery who joined twitter to see what all the hub bub was about.

I have to say in the beginning I was like WTF is this?  After some intensive googling I got the hang of the basics.  And I just went for it.  I can totally see how some people would be confused and “not get it.”  Once you do, oh boy, YOU’RE HOOKED.  So I will just tell you how I went from 0 followers to over 1100.

And NO I don’t care about how many followers I have, just showing how fast you can get sucked in! LOL  It’s more about the people YOU follow.  I mean let’s be real here, I mean who knows how many of those 1100 are spam, gurus, scammers, porn bots, you name it.  It’s about what fill up your stream with.  Those people should interest you and make you think, spur conversation.  Or maybe you follow the local news, or your favorite blogger that only tweets out new posts.  Everyone uses twitter differently and you just have to figure out what you want out of it.

Since I was fresh out of ankle surgery. I started looking on wefollow.com for people who seemed like they were suffering and pilled up like me.  Well, that didn’t work out so well, so I went with the biggest characteristic about me and what I like to talk about…so I started following moms.   Some actually started following me back.  Some still follow me.  Those are the crazy ones. Heh.  Then I just started looking at who they talked to and so on…then it just started happening…people were tweeting things in my stream that I could relate to. Fussy, defiant kids, snuggles, play-dates, pre-school, poop, ya know, speaking my language. Some men are insightful and hilarious.  Sometimes I really love seeing their point of view.  You know I even follow some awesome ETSY sellers and usually they sucker me with some kind of twitter deal and I end up with this or this. So cute right? (Also, check out Apron Frenzy on our sponsors page. She has become a bloggy friend, twitter buddy, and has made me an AWESOME apron for my mom for Mother’s Day!)

Anyway, all you have to do is ENGAGE. I know, I know you are afraid…well get over it.  Twitter is fun and shouldn’t be taken so seriously, really.  At least not in my world.  Maybe to the “big-timers-of-the-day” but not me.  Sometimes there are streams of dramas that flow through twitter that will get the blogosphere in an upheaval or vice versa. You know what, I usually find out about it after the fact, if I ever even do.  It’s not what I like to do with my twitter time.  I follow some totally rad people from all over the world and the experience is amazing.

You know, I didn’t start blogging until after I started tweeting.  People wanted to know more about me. *CRAZIES* Ialso had some stuff to work through, and so off I went…and now here I am!  Ok well in that picture I am at Chuck E. Cheese, but you know what I mean.

The support on twitter has got to be one of he most amazing things I have EVER seen in my life.   Whether it’s a tough day at work, whiny kids, ankle pain *COUGH*, or something really serious like the passing of a child, twitter will band together.  Twitter can be something very powerful and positive.  Being a part of that is so amazing.  I think so anyway. And what I think matters most.

Everyone has their own twitter style.  Some people like me who have over 18,000 tweets (I only joined a year ago *ahem*) use it as an IM sort of way.  I might have a series of several tweets to one person, or a group of people even.  Which is why it’s nice to use a third-party twitter clients like these.

Anyway if at any point during a conversation you like, if you have something to add, JUMP IN.  That is the whole point .  Don’t be worried that you don’t ‘know’ people.  You would be really surprised what kind of connections you can make with people just from ONE tweet.  Now you are connected, and will probably start following some people they follow and so on.

As far as I am concerned there are no real ‘rules.’  The more you hang around the more you will get what is cool and what’s not.  When it’s not some jack-ass will probably tell you, so don’t worry.  Just don’t let that scare you away.  You can’t get too emotionally attached to tweets.  Seriously.  Yes, words hurt and there are people on the receiving end of the computer that are real, and have real feelings BUT you have to remember you may be misunderstanding the tone.  Or maybe that person has a super dry personality.  Or maybe you just need to unfollow them because they turned out to not be your cup of tea.  Or maybe they are a douche-canoe, who knows.  It’s your twitter, follow and unfollow at your own will.

I tend to tweet a lot while high on my meds from ankle surgery.  This seems to be a favorite of my friends’.  Nothing like a god laugh at my excuse!  I also, vent, learn, bond, and laugh at others, not just myself. Heh. Some people quit following me because I reply and chat A LOT.  Well it’s my twitter and I will reply if I want to!  It’s fun to chat with tons of people at once.  Some days I am too busy, but I spend a lot of time icing my ankle, and on twitter…so if you don’t like it…Ciao!

Some people really get their feathers ruffled when the “big timers” don’t tweet back.  I have even been there myself and a friend explained to me that I shouldn’t take it personal.  Some people have thousands and thousands of followers.  They can’t possibly manage  to respond to every single one.  And that makes total sense.  That doesn’t mean they didn’t appreciate your response, or even get a chuckle out of it…they just don’t have time to respond to 350 tweets individually, so most of the time, they just don’t respond to anyone.

Shoot sometimes I might tweet out something or a picture while I am on the go and get TONS (10-20) of responses but not be able to get back to everyone.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tweet me again, I might just be busy with the pool boy the family and just can’t.  Also, I wouldn’t want to respond to one or two and not all, so I will just send out another tweet thanking everyone at once.  One thing that is awesome is that if I have a question or problem I can tweet it out and get a bunch of responses and help. IT ROCKS.  My tweeps are the best.  Seriously.

Plus you have to keep in mind that these groups of big bloggers started out just like us, they started going to tweet-ups and conferences and they are friends in real life too.   I am not saying they won’t even be your friend, I am just saying if you are my friend you are just as cool so don’t sweat it.  Friend me here. *SNORT*

Twitter for me is a place where I meet up and talk to my friends.  Some are moms, some are just super awesome people in general, and there is a certain time in the morning when we all seem to log on.  It’s coffee-talk hour of sorts.  Who’s kids are sick, who is overwhelmed, someone’s significant other is always being an arse, who’s so tired they can’t see straight, who wrote a new blog post, current events…you know, the usual.  These are women (and some men) that I have come to know through their blogs, some on Facebook, some email, text, stalk, in other words, really well.  Some better than others, but my morning twitter talk is always fun, and may sometimes involves Bailey’s, medication, coffee and breakfast.

I also follow and have people following me that I don’t really talk to.  Some are the busy bloggers that I enjoy reading their posts, but we don’t really know each other.  Some people just tweet out hilarious zingers that I end up RTing.  That’s all they are there for is laughter and favorite stars. Some are tweeting information I find useful, articles, links to stuff happening in my ‘hood or around the world.  Some are really awesome people and bloggers that we only talk every once and a while, but at some point they tweeted something I found interesting and we found a common ground.  So I don’t talk to them daily…but it’s all good.

If you can’t handle the ups and downs, being ‘accepted’ or not then maybe twitter in not for you. So many people refer to twitter being clique-ish and like high school, and to me it’s really not.  I talk to people from all “cliques” and walks of life, for hundreds of different reasons.  There are always people (IRL and on the internets) that are just (as I mentioned before) douche-canoes, and they always will be.  So to them I quote Jay Z again “Y’all should grow the f*ck up, come here let me coach you.”

There will always be something that will make you sit uneasy.  Just close twitter for the day, or unfollow that person.  No biggie, just let it go.  Or write a scathing blog post blasting them, I don’t care.

Now, if you follow me and at ANYTIME you like what you see, jump in.   Add something to the conversation.  Open up. Share.  Engage.

That’s what the hokey pokey twitter is all about.

P.S.  We would still like to invite you to link up with a post introducing yourself.  We will also be using this as a roll-call of sorts.  It’s an easy post SO DO IT!  Love ya, mean it!

Hello, and welcome to Twitter 101, with your resident unqualified social! media! guru! Be sure to pay attention, as I am assigning homework at the end. ;)

So a few posts back, we looked briefly at joining twitter, and of course, you all rushed out and signed up immediately, right? Let me have my delusions, people!

And then your resident social! media! guru! left you hanging. *ahem* Moving on….

Now that you have a twitter account, you’re kind of wondering what the bloody heck you should be doing with it, no?

What should you be writing, or “tweeting”? Should you be promoting your own blog, and how often is it okay to link to it? Who do you follow? How do you GET followed? Who is @BJBritney and why does she keep offering to send you naked pictures?

All of these are very compelling questions. Let’s start with what you should be tweeting:

Anything you want.

TaDa! You may leave tips in the jar there.

What? Not helpful enough? *sigh* Alright. FINE….

Yes, you can say anything you want, and you should ABSOLUTELY be yourself! That being said, you might want to keep a few thoughts and uses in mind.

1)Think Before You Type Everything you say is at least semi-public

You can lock your twitter stream, so that only approved people can read your tweets. But you can’t control who those approved people might e-mail or tell your tweet to, make sense?

2) Be Original ReTweeting is awesome and annoying

Awesome in that it’s a good tool to spread a link or message that you really enjoyed. But if the vast majority of tweets coming from you are just things that other people already said? You’re going to see followers start to jump ship. Why follow you when they could just follow the people who said it in the first place?

3)Promote Your Writing/Store/Project, but you don’t need to do it 20 times in one hour.

Twitter is a great way to alert your readers (or buyers) that you have posted new stuff. But if you flood their twit-stream with your links, you risk annoying the heck out of them. Which is the opposite of what you wanted to do, right? Personally, I try to limit my linking to 2-3x per item. I aim for AM, PM, and then either one late night, or one the next day.

4)Seeking/Giving Support Twitter has been a virtual support network for many going through a hard time. To be honest, for me, this is one of the biggest draws.

It may seem silly now, but after using twitter for awhile, and connecting with people over it, you’ll find yourself tweeting about your craptastic day, and getting teary-eyed from the virtual hugs and supportive-ness being sent your way. And you, in turn, will see a frustrated tweet from someone, and have this urge to reach through your computer and make them feel better. It’s mind-blowing.

5)Don’t Take It To Personally If someone doesn’t reply to you, it’s likely not because they hate you ever-so-much, it’s more likely they’re busy, or missed your tweet.

As strange as it may seems, I have actually seen people complain that some big name blogger and/or celeb didn’t respond to their tweet. Never mind that the person is question has approximately 200,000 people following them, and @-ing them at any given time…

Okay, I think that’s enough to think about for today. If you have any questions about twitter that you’d like to see answered eventually, or any tips/hints you’d like to add, please leave them in the comments.

In the meantime, you see that Mr. Linky below? That’s for your homework assignment. I want to hear what/why/how you use twitter. Do you use it for keeping track of friends? Promoting your own projects? Is it your support network? Go write it down, post it and then come back and link up so we can see what you’re using twitter for!

Since I have been so busy in my home life, vacation, ankle problems, a new puppy, and laundry that won’t wash itself Jen has so graciously been holding things up around here.  Isn’t she great guys?  I know, totally.

So, so, so….it’s time for more about me. Please hold all applause until the end.

My approach this time shall be a random list of things some of which you might know, some may surprise you.

• I am first generation Italian-American.  My father was run out of Italy by some pretty um, not nice dude for getting one of their daughters pregnant out of wedlock.  This was like the 40′s in Rome, Italy.  That shit was NOT cool back then.  So I have a brother over there I don’t know.  Then when my Papa got to the U.S. he went to Philly for some reason, where he met and married a woman and had two sons.  They later divorced but Papa kept in touch with those sons until his death in ’86.  I haven’t seen either one of those brothers since.  Mike keeps telling me I should search for them, but I don’t know. All I do know is one of them played for the Steelers for a while.  I guess we know where Mason gets his stature from, my Papa had large sons, and grandsons.
• I feel weird sometimes co-hosting this site and conference because I don’t much feel like a blogger.  I have been around here for about a year.  I think Jenn just asked me because I am a complete loud mouth on Twitter and I am totally ok with that.  My blog is pretty whiny,sometimes depressing, sad, and splashes of happiness all mixed in.  I really am a lot more happy and light-hearted on a daily basis.  My blog is the place where I take the hurt and whining and release it.  It works for me because so far I have broken a handful of therapists, but no server errors yet.  So the blog is winning.
• I can be the life of the party. Sober or not. I love people, music, dancing, and just being happy with friends.  In the summertime we keep the front door open and have a constant pool party going on.  It’s a lot of fun.  Especially during nap time when mama can have a frosty drink in the pool.  Ahhhhh.
• I swear I have the body of a 180 year old.  I have had so many surgeries, the latest being two on my ankle last year that I am still trying to recover from.  One more slip up and I am getting a peg leg and a parrot.
• I love horses and grew up having one most of my life.  Nothing is more freeing than getting on the back of a horse and letting the horse loose as fast as it will take you, to no particular place.
• I have chronic migraine disorder.  It’s about as fun as it sounds. I was once on 15 medications to try and control it.  That didn’t work.
• I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.  I got kicked out of college and when I went to return my life went in another direction un-expectedly.  So I started doing food and beverage in a country club.  I became a manager pretty quickly. Planning and running weddings and LARGE events.  I do love it.  But the schedule is not great for someone with a small kid.  So for now I will stick it out in the family shipping business that allows me to put him first.  I like that.  It’s nice to work somewhere that when your kid is sick, they care as much as you do.  Maybe someday I will move onto something else.  Maybe I won’t. Who knows.
• I can never remember how old I am.  Anyone else have that problem?  It’s weird.  I guess it’s because I don’t care.  It’s just weird. I always knew when I was a kid. LOL

I think that is enough MIND BLOWING information for now.  I am highly medicated and am started to go cross-eyed. (See ankle recovery link for info on that. Heh.)

A big thank you to Jen for holding things down around here.  I am really looking forward to getting know more of my BHAH tweeps so if I am not following you on twitter please let me know!  Soon we are going to start lining up a few guests posts, Mr.Linky for info on you guys, and polling you all on what you would like to learn about during the weeks leading up to the conference and during.

Twitter

I know a good chunk of you already use twitter. I know this because I harass follow you, and you follow me and we’re a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won’t you say you…er, sorry. Acid flashbacks.

Anywho…Twitter. It’s a like a micro-blog. You have 140 characters to share your thoughts, feelings and emotions. To connect, inspire, amuse and infuriate. That can be kind of intimidating. Until you realize that people are tweeting things like:
“I had poptarts for lunch!”
and
“I’m tweeting from my TOILET!”

But be not afraid, my dear ones, for you see, I am merely a few seventy followers away from the random number I pulled from you-know-where magical number that will bestow upon me the title of Social Media Guru!
So CLEARLY I am qualified to help you navigate the sea of random thoughts, profound quotes and spam that is twitter!

Today’s lesson will be brief.
How to Be A Twit
If you are already on twitter, this is where you get to skip to the end.

Go here

Fill in your desired name. HINT choose wisely. Use your blog’s name, or your normal screen name (i.e. Mine is @thepsychobabble, because that’s the name I use EVERYWHERE!) I prefer to use just one name all over teh internetz. It solidifies my reputation for people to know I’m the same here, here, here, and everywhere else. Plus, I totally feel important when I google myself then. Moving on….

After you’ve signed up and signed in, head over to the Settings link at the top of your screen. Once you’re under settings, go ahead and select Profile. This is where you build your, well, profile. Go ahead and put in your fake name and pretend location (or do like I did and say “Bring it stalkers!” and use your real info. I know. I’m a moron rebel)
Upload your photo while you’re here, too. (Almost done for today, I swear)

Then follow this link here, and hit the follow button.

THEN (last step, I promise!) come back here, and leave a comment with your new twitter ID, so we can find you amongst the sea of tweeple.

Whew. Who knew being a Social! Media! Guru! who’s only qualification is having both a twitter AND a facebook account was such hard work??

Share your twitter ID in the comments! Also, does anyone know the pay rate for Social! Media! Guru! ? Because I think I’m getting shafted here.