Like all writers, I love words. I like to play with them and caress them, putting just the right ones in the right combinations to tease the senses or trick the mind. My fiction is sprinkled with phrases that linger between poetry and prose. I also like to write pithy, straight forward facts and opinions expressed directly, with no frills, no icing on the cake. That’s the style of my magazine blog sandraoffthestrip. com.
But it’s on Twitter where I’m supercharged. Tweeting your point can be challenging; it requires new skills. You have to get creative. 140 characters isn’t much. No space or time to babble on. Get in. Make your point. Get out.
It’s not as hard as it might seem; think of it as techno-Haiku. Need some examples?
“Seems like one long blur with spikes of joy. Can’t imagine what it’s like for ppl of Libya.” Still 50 left.
“The right chemistry needs a movement w/ a leader. A leader can make a movement. But can a movement succeed w/out a leader?” 18 spaces short of 140.
Or here’s a tweet not directed to everyone, but to a dear follower in Holland.
“@hilliewelp Here’s a pic of the strawberry meringue tarte from last night.http://twitpic.com/4iwujz.”
Still 40 spaces left and Hillie can link to a photo of the pie I uploaded to twitpic.
Some people tweet about their dogs, their next seminars, their thoughts for the day. But for me, the power of Twitter is my chance to help shape the world, one tweet at a time. Twitter with purpose.
I touch the world and the world touches me. Twitter connects me to news articles, websites, blogs, maps, poems, songs, Facebook pages, YouTube, Livestream, Audioboo – all the tools that get the message out, whatever that message is. Weight loss, daily prayer, marketing ideas, or nuclear disaster in Japan? Earthquake and Tsunami? I didn’t wait for American TV, but went straight to the source and followed English Japanese TV HNK through a tweeted link with live feed.
Because of a tweet, I watched a young man named Mo start a pirate TV station in Benghazi on his laptop. He moved every couple of hours those first days to elude capture. When TV Libya Alhurra linked to satellite hookup, I was there in the international chat room. And I got the heartbreaking tweet the night Mo was assassinated by Gaddafi snipers one month to the day from his first broadcast. A future leader, a courageous young voice silenced forever.
My Mo story was the first on the net. That’s how my blog and Twitter work together. Material for my posts comes from Twitter. Google gives my blog high ranking for original content and I also drive traffic to my site by tweeting links to my blog.
I didn’t write Mo’s story for web stats, but because I cared for him and what he stood for. I had watched him every day and followed his bravery. I had watched him grow. His loss was deeply personal. Many of my twitter connections are closer in an odd way than to the people I see in the real world. We share the same interests. We have the same passion.
I’m just one of thousands of “citizen journalists” who tweet. My followers come from every continent – all ages and all professions. Some of them are most unlikely, but they follow me because they like what I say, learn from my connections and trust me as a reliable source. Trust is always a huge factor in human relationships, virtual or real.
Active followers “retweet” my tweets to their own web of followers, sometimes adding comments. Passive connections are readers who just want to be in the know. But active or passive, there’s a place for everyone in the Twittersphere. What are you passionate about? Get a handle. Change the world a little. Start tweeting with purpose.
Follow me at my handle @LVview. Note: Although Twitter was designed for cell phone use, hence the 140 character restrictions of texting, you don’t need a Blackberry or iPhone. I tweet on my laptop.
To read some of the hundreds of tweets from all over the world the day after Mo’s death go to: Twitter Tribute to Mohammed Mo Nabbous | Off the Strip for free thinkers and adventurers.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Here’s link to the original article “Twitter with a Purpose” published in As the Pages Turn.
July 15, 2011 at 9:50 pm
I love to cook and my favorite approach is to make something out of whatever ingredients I have in the fridge.
Today I prepared some Tilapia fillets which were on special in the fish department of the local supermarket.
After sauteeing slim rondelles of white onions and small, whole garlic wedges in olive oil, I tossed in the last of my yellow baby bell peppers, sliced also in rondelles.
Next came sprigs of fresh thyme from my herb garden.
I scraped the veggies to the side and put the tilapia in the pan, turning gently after one minute. Remember, these are fillets and very thin and delicate.
Of course, I salt & pepper to taste before adding a generous amount of dry white wine to cover. A Charles Shaw Chardonnay is just fine for cooking this dish. Why spend more? Let simmer very gently to boil off the alcohol from wine and reduce sauce. DO NOT overcook fish.
At the last minute, I sprinkled with cubed papaya which warmed slightly by the time I got the pan to the table and served. This really turned out delicious and was so fast, simple and cheap.
I served the tilapia with steamed green beans and a romaine salad with a vinaigrette and chunks of fresh parsley. The parsley also comes from my herb garden. We’re trying to watch calorie intake, so I didn’t serve any bread or rice. Obviously both would be great with this.
The white wine is Panilonco, a Chardonnay from Chile – crisp, dry and very reasonable at $4-5 a bottle.
Bon appetit! Velbekomme! Guten Appetit! Buon appetito! Smacznego! Bom apetite! Dobru chut! Smaklig maltid! Buen provecho! Bonum appetitionem!
July 14, 2011 at 6:47 pm
I’ll be doing a fun radio interview on Sex and the Zen of Shopping with Michelle Phillips, radio hostess, celebrity make-up artist, life coach and author. Woo Hoo. We should have a ball talking about the mysteries of the Universe and how they relate to shopping and self-esteem.
Michelle’s radio show is “The Beauty Blueprint”
LIVE at www.hayhouseradio.com
Time and Date: Next Monday, July 18 at 12:35 EDT, 9:35 am PDT
If you miss it, you can listen any time during the week after at this link: http://www.hayhouseradio.com/show_details.php?show_id=216&episode_type=0.
I’d love for you to tune in “live,” but there’s always the archive if you can’t. The show will only be available from July 18th thru the 25th, so if you want to listen, tune in during that week.
HAYHOUSE Radio is billed as “radio for your soul.” Denise Linn, spiritual coach and Feng Shui master, is one of the many turned on and high-level consciousness radio hosts. HAYHOUSE Radio also has outlets in the UK, Australia and India.
Michelle Phillips, radio show hostess, celebrity make-up artist, life coach, author, speaker, wife and mother
Michelle Phillips is just another multi-talented, dynamic, beautiful wife, mother and superstar! Sigh. Are you green with envy yet? OK – Here’s the whammy: Her new book “The Beauty Blueprint” is due out soon. Go girls! We are good!
Check her out at: www.michellephillips.com and Michele Phillips Fan Page.
And don’t forget to tune in to our interview: Sex and the Zen of Shopping. Woo Hoo!
July 12, 2011 at 5:40 pm
I’ll be doing a fun radio interview on Sex and the Zen of Shopping with Michelle Phillips, radio hostess, celebrity make-up artist, life coach and author. Woo Hoo. We should have a ball talking about the mysteries of the Universe and how they relate to shopping and self-esteem.
S. L. Gore 
Twitter with Purpose
But it’s on Twitter where I’m supercharged. Tweeting your point can be challenging; it requires new skills. You have to get creative. 140 characters isn’t much. No space or time to babble on. Get in. Make your point. Get out.
It’s not as hard as it might seem; think of it as techno-Haiku. Need some examples?
“Seems like one long blur with spikes of joy. Can’t imagine what it’s like for ppl of Libya.” Still 50 left.
“The right chemistry needs a movement w/ a leader. A leader can make a movement. But can a movement succeed w/out a leader?” 18 spaces short of 140.
Or here’s a tweet not directed to everyone, but to a dear follower in Holland.
“@hilliewelp Here’s a pic of the strawberry meringue tarte from last night.http://twitpic.com/4iwujz.”
Still 40 spaces left and Hillie can link to a photo of the pie I uploaded to twitpic.
Some people tweet about their dogs, their next seminars, their thoughts for the day. But for me, the power of Twitter is my chance to help shape the world, one tweet at a time. Twitter with purpose.
I touch the world and the world touches me. Twitter connects me to news articles, websites, blogs, maps, poems, songs, Facebook pages, YouTube, Livestream, Audioboo – all the tools that get the message out, whatever that message is. Weight loss, daily prayer, marketing ideas, or nuclear disaster in Japan? Earthquake and Tsunami? I didn’t wait for American TV, but went straight to the source and followed English Japanese TV HNK through a tweeted link with live feed.
Because of a tweet, I watched a young man named Mo start a pirate TV station in Benghazi on his laptop. He moved every couple of hours those first days to elude capture. When TV Libya Alhurra linked to satellite hookup, I was there in the international chat room. And I got the heartbreaking tweet the night Mo was assassinated by Gaddafi snipers one month to the day from his first broadcast. A future leader, a courageous young voice silenced forever.
My Mo story was the first on the net. That’s how my blog and Twitter work together. Material for my posts comes from Twitter. Google gives my blog high ranking for original content and I also drive traffic to my site by tweeting links to my blog.
I didn’t write Mo’s story for web stats, but because I cared for him and what he stood for. I had watched him every day and followed his bravery. I had watched him grow. His loss was deeply personal. Many of my twitter connections are closer in an odd way than to the people I see in the real world. We share the same interests. We have the same passion.
I’m just one of thousands of “citizen journalists” who tweet. My followers come from every continent – all ages and all professions. Some of them are most unlikely, but they follow me because they like what I say, learn from my connections and trust me as a reliable source. Trust is always a huge factor in human relationships, virtual or real.
Active followers “retweet” my tweets to their own web of followers, sometimes adding comments. Passive connections are readers who just want to be in the know. But active or passive, there’s a place for everyone in the Twittersphere. What are you passionate about? Get a handle. Change the world a little. Start tweeting with purpose.
Follow me at my handle @LVview. Note: Although Twitter was designed for cell phone use, hence the 140 character restrictions of texting, you don’t need a Blackberry or iPhone. I tweet on my laptop.
To read some of the hundreds of tweets from all over the world the day after Mo’s death go to: Twitter Tribute to Mohammed Mo Nabbous | Off the Strip for free thinkers and adventurers.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Here’s link to the original article “Twitter with a Purpose” published in As the Pages Turn.
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July 15, 2011 at 9:50 pm Leave a comment