Tag: Twitter Users

Are Twitter Users as Dumb as I Suspect?

Yes, I really do think that many Twitter users are about as intelligent as the rocks that line the bottom of a fish aquarium. Do I think I am better than them? Oh, if I have to go into that, I will just piss you off and show what an arrogant, annoying, and “better-than-you” person I really am. If you really want the truth, I may have to write another book just to explain how much smarter and better I really am. Hmm? I think I will get to work on that one right away, in fact. This is not because it will sell tons of copies, but just so I can get it off my chest and so that I can continue with more self-righteous Twitter use.

WOW! You must think I am biting the hand that feeds me. After all, I wrote a book about Twitter, I have spent a lot of time masterfully deceiving all of those Twitter minions and collecting their precious dollars to further implement my evil plot to take over the world. *Mwah haa haa haa* laughs the evil scientist of social media. “I will exact my revenge upon you and you will now do as I say.” Oh, yes, that is me … the evil social media scientist, plotting my revenge and sucking up your precious nickels-and-dimes-per-book royalties to fund my massive takeover of all things that once existed in your mind. You have no mind now, and your thoughts belong to me.

OK, a little less drama may be in order. Something that I added in that silly little book was “The Antagonist”. What I did not have time to include as I rushed through my semi-masterful plot to take over the planet was that many Twitter users love to argue and mince words to prove that they are right and you are wrong. There you have it … Twitter sucks. Every Twitter user knows it all, and even if they do not, they will bitch and moan to their friends until you give up and let them have their glory.

Am I kidding you? Yes, partially, but not entirely. I encountered a response just moments ago that embodied the minced words and drama of social media. I sent a message with a lot of meaning behind it, and it was met with an unsupported and negative comment from a Twitter user whom I always kind of saw as positive. This time, it was not. I direct messaged him to ask for clarification. I even stated that his message seemed much unlike himself, because I had always considered him a more positive and upbeat person. He asked his users to chastise me because I had replied to him in a direct (private) message asking for clarification. He claimed that he had tried to keep it private but apparently since I made a general statement that I had an antagonist (no names given) that I would like to invite for a live video Webcast, his stupid little boy gloves were off. I wish he had taken me up on that Webcast. The amazing thing was that the only private message I received from him was a single word, and I quote “Yup.” Well now, that was insightful, right?

The dumbness goes on … A few days ago, I held a video Webcast, as I always do on Friday nights, which allowed for others to join in and turn on their Webcam to participate in fun and social discussions.  A woman came in and started extolling her greatness and stated that she had received a million unique visitors to a given tweet. She then overran the whole Webcast with her recommendations of who we should all follow, and blabbed on for a long time about some crap. This was a Webcast that I have hosted for a long time, and I never met this egotistical loudmouth in my life. While this happened, I was receiving private messages asking why I had not cut her video feed off. Yeah, a million unique visitors from one Twitter message … try again! I think I saw that same thing once, but that was after I bumped my head REALLY hard and then I woke up. She was purportedly a friend of a friend, so I tried to avoid confrontation. *Damn dumb Mark.*

Of course, I waved the bullshit flag on her million unique visitors statement, and she back-pedaled to say that a million people could have seen it. Oh yeah, but that was only if they gave a damn about her blah blah blah about yada yada yada. The craziness came in when she started throwing ultimatums to others that if they did not unfollow me that she would block them or whatever such crap. I had a lot of people telling me that it was a huge drama for her, and for her minions. One of them just keeps on begging people to unfollow me for disrespecting her by asking her to leave. It seems funny how his continued defense of her and expected offense to me could get him anywhere he wants to be in life. Note to that dude: “She will still not get naked with you, Chump.”

To all of this, I have to say “Who gives a damn?” I mean, really, if you do not like me, if you think that I am out there to put an endangered spotted owl between a couple pieces of bread for lunch while I make my excursion to go club baby seals and hunt whales while throwing out matches to light forest fires on my way to the “Ruin the World” convention … click your unfollow button and create a better life! You deserve it … really, even if I do not!

To those who seek joy in arguments and take their win from promoting negativity, you really need my latest book! It is titled “Living in the Storm” and it is available for sale TODAY. Get your life straight and stop nagging others for things that really do not matter to your own life. Heck, if you are so desperate for something to do, maybe you should feed your mind instead of only feeding your egotism. Twitter is not your bitching board for showing how screwed up and cynical you are. It has much more positive uses.

One last note for those Twitter knuckleheads: If I am such an awful influence, why do they keep putting stuff like this about me out there on the Internet?

Twitter Success Stories

Do you have a Twitter success story, or do you know somebody who does? If the answer is yes, I want to hear about it.

If you have heard something that gave you a smile, made you cry, or just made you think about why you use Twitter, you are not alone. Every day we see “tweets” that reinforce our belief in people and prove that we are not alone. It may be a story of a restauranteur who was able to bring more smiles with their culinary delights, or the person who found a job and saved their home and kept their family secure.

Some success stories are more profound than others, but they all count. Some of the success stories of Twitter have changed the world for a few, and others have changed the world for many. I want to hear about all of them.

Please take just a moment of your time to tell the story of how Twitter has changed your life, or forward this article to somebody who will. Your story may be submitted as a comment to this blog post. You may also reach me to discuss the story by phone at my direct line, toll free, *REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE* (*REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE*) or by Skype (username murnahan).

I will select stories to be included in my soon to be released book, “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”. If I select your story, I will credit you in the book, and your copy is “on the house”.

Please be sure to include your Twitter username in your comment in the form of http://twitter.com/yourusername.

I do not often push my readers to retweet things, but in this case, I am asking you to spread the word and help me to find positive stories to show the readers of my new book positive and uplifting examples of what can happen when we work together.

Please help me to uncover the Twitter success stories that prove that Twitter really is the great social media resource that so many of us have come to enjoy.

Twitter FollowFriday SPAM

Do you really think that sending a virtual wall of Twitter usernames at everybody you know is going to  be read? This may help you to realize a bit of what you may not have known about the Twitter hashtag #FollowFriday. First, you should know that retweeted FollowFriday endorsements do not count, but if you don’t know what I mean by that, you should read the rest of this before you send a single FollowFriday tweet.

Where FollowFriday Began

FollowFriday began as an idea for endorsing other Twitter users who provide value to your network. Here is the blog post showing where it all got started. At the time, surely nobody suspected that it would cause such a clutter for Twitter users each Friday, the way it is today.

How Does FollowFriday Really Work?

In short, the real benefit of FollowFriday only comes if you are heavily endorsed. It is measured, and it is tracked at TopFollowFriday, TweepleRank, and perhaps others. It can surely not be presumed that you should try to follow each Twitter user that comes to you with a FollowFriday hashtag, as that would be impossible. However, I have wondered what relatively new users, or those unfamiliar with these ranking sites must think when they see that wall of names that is circulated each Friday.

Where is FollowFriday Today?

FollowFriday is largely comprised of Spam. I cannot imagine that you do this, but I certainly do not go through each FollowFriday that comes to me and try to frantically follow each one of those great treasures who received an endorsement. I use TweetDeck to filter out the FollowFriday hashtag. Otherwise I would miss all of the important tweets from friends and colleagues that I wish to read.

Maybe some people try to keep up with all of the so-called endorsements, but surely not for very long. There are following limits set by Twitter regarding how many Twitter feeds you can add in a day. Surely nobody who follows many people can even conceivably follow all of those Twitter feeds, much less actually look at each profile to see what they are getting into.

The hard cap set by Twitter allows you to follow 1000 new people per day, and not to exceed 110% of the people following you. If you have under 2000 followers, the cap for following is the greater of 2000 users or 110% of those following you. Understanding this cap as it relates to the volume of FollowFriday spam, you can see how this becomes unsustainable. FollowFriday becomes as much a crap shoot as just choosing from a random selection of Twitter users.

Don’t Retweet FollowFriday Endorsements!

Retweeting FollowFriday endorsements is where the real spam comes in. First, you should know that retweets do not count toward the measure of FollowFriday popularity as I described above.

By following over 11,000 people on Twitter, (and I mean following … if you tweet me, I will see it) I have a pretty good perspective on FollowFriday. Retweets, in my experience, account for about four tweets to each one endorsement. I find from a random sampling of FollowFriday tweets that many of the people presumably endorsing me are not even following me nor do they know a thing about me. How is that an endorsement? It is NOT! That is why I call it spam.

FollowFriday Done Properly

If you want to give somebody a proper FollowFriday recommendation, make it clear. Include why you think they are a good person to follow. Say something clever or meaningful and make it original. If you see a FollowFriday endorsement from me, it may just say something like “Follow Yoon (@yoonhoum) because he is sharp as a pitchfork”.

It is best if you do not include more than one or two, but maximum of three people in your endorsement. Sending a tweet full of usernames will not do your friends any favors, and it will not make you more popular with most people. Please note that with over 20,000 public tweets sent and 1000 direct messages per day, I use Twitter enough to make this observation.

I welcome your FollowFriday endorsement, and I consider a real endorsement an honor. On the other hand, I consider it a disrespect of the purpose of Twitter as a communication tool when I see a huge wave of tweets from people retweeting something they never even reviewed.

Please Share Thoughts on FollowFriday

I want to hear it from you. What do you think of FollowFriday? Has this changed your perspective any? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Share it with the rest of us and leave your comment here on the blog. Also, please be kind to your fellow Twitter user and click here to retweet this.

Jack Walden Teaches Social Media

Jack Walden Murnahan, Twitter’s youngest user, sent a message to social media yesterday that we should all take heed of. The message that Jack Walden sent at only minutes old was not just as you would think, and it should prove to each of us the greatest of lessons in social media.

Jack Walden’s message was delivered more directly to the heart of social media than even the most cleverly devised sales pitch or news story. It did not need to be spread around the world to every Internet user, and there was no attached agenda. It was simply the sharing of one family’s very excited welcome to their little boy.

The Response to Baby Murnahan Tweeting

The responses have been overwhelming. As I made announcements of progress toward the birth of our son, the outpouring of excitement and love was more than I could possibly keep up with. I sat down today to write a personal thank you to each of the people offering their congratulations and excitement for us. After writing several hundred personal messages of thanks, I started realizing that I was actually losing ground. More messages were coming in by Twitter, Facebook, and email, faster than I could keep up. Beyond just that, I knew that I would soon reach the 1000 direct message daily limit and 100 per hour limit for @ messages on Twitter. I have reached both of these limits before, even without having a new son.

What this incredible outpouring of support for and about Jack Walden teaches is that people really do care about people. Social media provides a means to reach into people’s lives, get to know them, and share in their joys, defeats, likes, dislikes, and more. It allows for unique and often touching insights to people’s lives, and for many of us, it provides great joy to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. The power of friendshinp and caring is something that cannot be described in a single blog post, or in only a few lines. It is built over time, and built with trust.

Even if you skip the rest of this blog post, I hope that you will heed the message that a little boy named Jack Walden Murnahan has come to deliver about sharing in joys and pains of others, and the very deep-reaching power of communications with others that is so greatly enhanced through social media.

I will, however, since so many people have asked, share some of what lead up to Jack’s birth, and give you a story of this piece of my life that has been very touching to me. So read it if you like, and know that I have held your many well wishes and congratulations very dear.

Jack Walden’s Story of Social Media

A while back, I announced that my wife, Peggy (@pegmu) would soon give birth to our new baby. Since so many of our friends are spread around the world, the Internet and social media is clearly the best way to share our excitement and details with our friends and family. It is a lot faster to make a baby announcement using Twitter than to call each person to deliver the great news. Plus, it is a great way to show the new baby photos and video to the people who wish they could be there but cannot.

One of the earlier announcements of our joy was our Twitter Kids video. The video showed how our “human resources department” (Peggy) was working on bringing us more help to keep up with our work. If you have not seen it, you may get a chuckle from it. This was a fun video for all of us to make.

As the pregnancy progressed, I shared it with friends on Twitter and Facebook. On April 1st, I shared that we thought we would be welcoming our new baby that day. This was not an April Fools Day joke. Peggy was having very regular contractions, and they were increasingly strong. However, once she finally got too tired to stand any longer, she went to bed and the contractions subsided.

Several times since April 1st, we were pretty convinced that it was time to meet the little one. It really dragged on for a long time. We were visiting our midwife weekly, and we kept our fingers crossed that we would meet our baby soon. On April 16th, we made yet another a visit to our midwife following a series of contractions that seemed productive and getting closer together. Peggy was having contractions as frequent as every two minutes. Norla, our midwife, promptly put Peggy on a monitor and checked dilation. She sent us home and said that she would not be at all surprised to see us back either that night or the next day. At this point, Jack was already a week late, and we were becoming concerned that we may end up in a hospital where they would require a cesarean section (surgical) delivery, because Peggy had a cesarean section delivery with our first born, Simon. This was a very frightening prospect for Peggy, and she hoped to avoid it.

That night, Peggy did as she had been for days, she paced up and down our street, stayed on her feet, and hoped that gravity would help to enhance the labor, as it should. She finally wore out and had to go to bed. She was completely exhausted. She finally got some good rest, and I did my part to be sure the kids would not wake her too early. I wanted her to rest as much as possible because I was certain that she would have a very exhausting day ahead.

That morning, she walked with her mother around our neighborhood, and went shopping, mostly for the walk. By about 1:00pm, Peggy said that some of the contractions felt stronger, but they were just short ones that went away pretty quick. i suggested that we call Norla just to be safe. We described what was happening, and Norla said to come on in and we would take a look at her. As we left our home, it looked like things were getting more serious. Peggy had a couple of pretty strong contractions.

We arrived at the birth center at about 1:55pm and they checked her blood pressure, pulse, and the baby’s pulse. All of the sudden, Peggy was hit with a really strong contraction … I mean really strong. Of course, I tweeted it with one hand as I held her hand and comforted her. 🙂

It became clear that it would not be very long before we met our son. Norla could tell that things were happening fast, so she told Peggy to go ahead and put on a gown and that we would not be leaving without a baby in our arms. I will save some of the graphic details, but Peggy went from being dilated to 4cm to giving birth in under a half hour. She pushed three times and delivered our son directly into daddy’s waiting hands in under five minutes.

Minutes after his birth, Jack was ready to send his first tweet. Jack’s first official tweet was as follows:

Jack’s 1st tweet: Hi Tweeps. I was born! #baby #twanic #whew (now press enter, Jack)

That message, and the ones leading up to it, caused a huge rush of support and congratulations that I have been shockingly unprepared, I did not expect so many people to listen or care enough to show their interest of compassion for our moments of joy. I feel very honored by the warmth given to our family. As much as I want to respond individually to each person, I have provided this story to tell a bit about what happend for our family, and how deeply thankful I am to each person giving their support and love.

I owe a huge “thank you” to each of you. You really are the reasons that social media is great. You are the people who understand that the very best things in life are the people and relationships that you build. You are my social media rockstars!