Do You Twitter? Dogs, MLK and Jan. 20

Please help me with this one. I don't "get" Twitter. Who in the world cares what I'm doing every minute of the day? No one I can think of..not even my boss, who probably would wonder why I was doing it at all. Do you Twitter? Follow anyone on Twitter?

This Martin Luther King Day (1/19) the Bethel AME Choir will once again be at the Foundry. This free concert has been going on there for 25 years. It's beautiful and uplifting and will give you a week-long high. The choir travels from Marysville -- 34 miles and a lifetime away from Nevada City. Also, this year it will be in the Stone Hall, but on the stage Mikael  built, so the capacity is about doubled.

There are 3 big inaugural parties I know about. Miners Foundry, Margarita's and The Holbrooke. Details on www.knco.com.

Dogs....I just love dogs. I think every reasonable human being should have a dog. I love my cat, too, but dogs make you laugh all day long. They are so darn funny!! Everything they do is their favorite thing! Jeff Russell is leading the charge to get a Dog Park in Grass Valley. I've never been to the Penn Valley Dog Park...is it good?

Comments

[Aaron Klein]

Thanks!

And by the way, not to pressure you at all, but I never have Twitter send text messages to my phone, because I'm ridiculously cheap. :)

I update it primarily on the web (yes, I can update it from my BlackBerry, but I rarely have time when I'm on the go). So that could be a way to dip your toes in!

Aaron

[Dixie Redfearn]

Aaron,
I haven't signed up yet because I am still figuring it out. And I don't think my phone is Web capable. I just got into texting because my grandkids don't even e-mail (too old fashioned) Watch for a post on a potential social networking site for Nevada County. Thanks for the info! I like the pix of your family on your Web site!

[Zuri Berry]

I didn't want to shamelessly promote before, and I still don't want to, but I suggest following news organizations to get a feel for different ways of using twitter. A good example is the Sacramento Bee (@sacbee_news or twitter.com/sacbee_news). They post pretty much any breaking news that happens with a link to the story on their Web site. It's good for folks who have web capable phones or for those that follow along closely online with third-party applications (anythiing other than their cell phones or using the Web site). It's not just about posting what you're doing, although that adds to the fun, but it's a great tool for promotion (which can be annoying to some but beneficial to others). I think of it as another entry point to what we do as an organization — selling information.

But to drill down to your original question (what does it do and how does it work?), it sends your messages to your "followers." Followers, yourself included, can receive that message directly on their cell phones or just on the Web site. You can determine your level of involvement by getting messages to your phone from only certain people while blocking others. Let me know if you need more info. You can always just check out the Web site's about section.

Cheers.

[Aaron Klein]

Hi Dixie,

Yes, people share articles. You post links with tinyurl.com so the link fits.

I also "follow" NYT Business, Politico and several other publications on Twitter, so their headlines are mixed in with tweets from friends and thought leaders I follow.

I haven't seen your tweets, but you need to post your Twitter name so people can find and follow you. :)

Aaron

[Laurie Sanchez]

Thanks for the intro to everyone! Funny that Zuri is a sports writer, because that's what prompted the conversation I've been having about Twitter -- we were talking about the great implications for sports writers, who can report from a game and give, literally, a play-by-play to anyone who's interested. My son wants to be a sports writer, but he's got two years yet until he STARTS college, and I just wonder how different the job will be in five to seven years. I don't even know what to tell him yet. ... The times they are a-changin' ... : )

[Dixie Redfearn]

Zuri, Aaron and Laurie,
OK...but I still don't understand how it works. Zuri, do other Twitters turn you on to interesting Web sites? Give me an example. You, too Aaron!
And Laurie, since you're 500 miles away, Zuri is a sports reporter, columnist, web manager for the newspaper and Aaron is on the board of Sierra College. I bookmarked a Tweet of 10 miles from Nevada City but didn't see you guys on it. And the page has been down for a couple days.

[Pamela Gorman]

Yes, Dogs make you laugh, love,unconditionally...they teach you everyday..so do cats, please go to one of the Animal Shelters and adopt your new best friend/family member...they are waiting to get out of a confined kennel... they are full full full.

Thank you !!

[Zuri Berry]

Hey Dixie,

I'm on Twitter. And I can admit to you, I didn't want anything to do with any other social networking site when I signed up for it. But I've come to love it and have incorporated into a lot what I do personally and professionally — all in 140 characters at a time. It's use is beyong what you're doing at the moment and what's on your mind, but a tool to quickly link to interesting articles, news and whatever other zaniness the web has to offer. And then some. I guess when you've warmed up to it like I have, you start to evangelize it too.

Cheers.

P.S. twitter.com/addisports

[Aaron Klein]

Hey Dixie,

I'm on Twitter (www.twitter.com/aaronklein). I avoided it for a long time for the same reason you stated, but now I'm warming up to it.

Think of Twitter like a "microblog". It forces brevity -- only 140 characters. It's much more interesting to tweet about what you're thinking than what you're doing -- your above post might have been "Why Twitter? Who wants to know what I'm doing every minute of the day?"

Aaron

[Laurie Sanchez]

As we speak ... my coworker just sent me links to jkrums twitter page. He's just some regular guy who was on a ferry on the Hudson, but he sent the first news and first photo (from his phone) of the plane that went down. (Average citizens become reporters!) Anyway, if reporters make greater use of this, the news will feel fresher and more "connected" to what's happening. Here's the link:

Twitter breaking news once again…

http://twitter.com/jkrums/status/1121915133

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/us-airways-crash-rescue-picture-citizen-jouralism-twitter-at-work

[Laurie Sanchez]

The inaugural parties sound fun! I'm not on Twitter yet, but it seems like it may be the wave of the future for news and sports reporters and such. They can give live, moment-by-moment or play-by-play news to their followers. ...