a Global Bridge

Now there's an understatement!

UPDATE: 4:00 p.m. - Depending on where you live Twitter was up an hour ago, just now, or not at all...

Best Tweet of the Day

@EV tweeted There is a crapload of people in my back yard. about 4 hours ago

Well, it's here the #3T - or what I call Twitter Trouble Thursdays (seems like more than once it's occured on a Thursday).  There's currently a delay in the Tweet stream of an hour plus for some users (most of my followers who were on were having the same problem that I was).  But I noticed new users did not seem to be affected.  Not sure what the prob is - no official word yet.  And even though everyone is talking about it from LA to the UK, it hasn't hit the trending topics yet (that hashtag is something I just made up - you won't find that). But I'll keep you posted on what the skinny is!

Now, if I could just find something to do to occupy myself without Twitter... hmm....

UPDATE 11:15 a.m. - Twitter seems to be down majorly! I did a search of @Lukester (Twitter support) and @Ev (who else) and their Twitter accounts are being blown up with complaints! Now many accounts are showing a zero followers/following count!  More soon...

So today officially marks 30 days of active tweeting for me.  I've had a Twitter account since May of this year, but I didn't get it, didn't use it, didn't want to get it - for months.  Over time, I found that so many people that I ran across in the social networking circles were using Twitter and referring to certain Twitter-isms that I knew I would be left behind.  You may have seen the RT yesterday "It's easier to keep up than to catch up."  So on August 11 with 75 followers, I dove in head first.

I made all of the usual rookie mistakes on Twitter.  Drive-by comments.  Not knowing when to re-tweet someone.  DMs to each new follower, and including a link to my blog to boot!  Of course, I'm not selling anything, or spamming, but still I was unaware of the "rules of engagement."  Speaking of engagement, are you engaging the people you encounter on Twitter or are you just yelling at passersby?  Thankfully, the Twitter police don't issue tickets and I'm the kind of person that jumps into a crowd, sink or swim, and tries to "get with the program."  So, with Twitter, that's what I did.  I'm not a tweleb, but I'm happy to say that I've increased my Twitter following exponentially in a month - currently I'm at 740+ followers (in 30 days) and without any of the cheesy "get more followers" systems.  Those were tempting early on, and I started to try one, but quickly backed out when I realized that wasn't going to provide me with followers who cared about me, that was just going to dump a pool of numbers at my feet.  That's no good!  So here I am.  I am working my way up, the hard way, and thanks to some wonderful friends I cultivated along the way.

I'm on a mission to share my experiences with you and bring social networking to a "get real" level for the rest of us.  Which brings us to today's blog post - how do you find your voice on Twitter?  It's a very important question because once you find it, "they" will come.

Be authentic!  This is the golden rule of Twitter.  Your personality online shows through more than you might think.  You absolutely must be yourself if you want to garner support and success.

Share, share, share.  Share information, data, links, and people that you think your followers will care about.  Talk more about them, and less about you!

Decide what sort of Twitter style suits you best.  There are four types of tweeters: The All About Business Tweeter, The Quotations Tweeter; The Informative Tweeter and the Uber Tweeter. 

• The All About Business Tweeter, just as it sounds, is all about business.  And this is a category that should be reserved for "official" business Twitter accounts.  If you're an individual (even an entrepreneur) I highly suggest you steer away from this category.  All About Business Tweeters have a difficult time being engaging on Twitter.  Why?  Because they are all about business and Twitter is a "social" network.  Oh social.. That's right.  The most successful business Tweeters, like @GuyKawasaki, came to Twitter with a huge following in tow (if that's not you, forget about this category).
• The Quotations Tweeter is the master of re-tweets and loves to share thoughts/quotes regularly and often (as in every 10-20 minutes, they can get away with this because they're darn good at it).  Two good examples of this type of Tweeter are Cheryl of @urbancrafter and Gilly of @CraftyJan. 
• The Informative Tweeter is the Data Manager on Twitter, he/she will keep you abreast of all the latest and greatest information online relative to their field.  These are the people who are the first to tweet a link to Mashable or the latest news on Apple or the latest gossip online.  Good examples of this type of Tweeter are Dan Schwabel (author of Me 2.0) @danschwabel and Susan Elaine of @BuzzEdition.
• The Uber Tweeter. No, this is not a "celebrity," rather the Uber Tweeter is the MC of their Twitter set.  The Uber Tweeter is someone who manages to find their own unique style of tweeting sans rules and people love it!  The best two examples that I've seen of the Uber Tweeter are @BobWarren and @BillZucker.  They are funny, but not too funny.  Engaging in their unique ways.  And they take the time to reach out to a large portion of their followers.

Of course, the one category I left out is the standard "celebrity" Tweeter.  I've found that very few of these tweeters have an "authentic" voice on Twitter and hardly any bother to "engage" their followers.  So many celebrity tweeters have a gazillion followers and they're following, like, 20 people.  That is not engaging by any stretch of the imagination.  As with all things in life though, the rules that apply to me and you don't apply in their world  So, ok.  A few notable exceptions are @JohnCleese, @frandresher and @collective_soul, but they are truly unique.  Contrary to popular belief, Social Media "gurus" and the like are not "celebrity" Tweeters.  If you aspire to be such a person, you must find your place on Twitter amongst the four categories I've mentioned above.

There is a subset of Tweeters whom I'll refer to as the "Feel Good" Tweeters.  And it is their mission to make you feel good about things 24/7.  But I've found that even these types of Tweeters can be categorized into one of the major Tweeting groups.

Whatever style you choose, don't over do it!  Relax.  Be yourself and have fun!

What's my Twitter style?  Well, follow me on Twitter (@aglobalbridge) and let me know what you think!

Morning.  Here's the first list of my latest followers on Twitter to support my tweet 4 a cause!

@eisenhofer           @StartupPro

@tgates48              @CharleneBlacer

@Kethy_Lin808      @jonah_lupton

@GbrilliantQ           @TheComedyShop

@DaveMalby           @MazzoniRoberto

@aanour                 @danschawbel

@douglasi               @FitnessLover75

@KenShimizu          @novime

@almitrab                @iggypintado

@PatWest               @AmericanStroke

Thanks to these tweeters for their support!  Remember, during the tweet 4 a cause period, all followers must be real people who come in the spirit of good humanity!  If you're on the list and you haven't voted for your charity hour yet - please do so here.

Want to join in the fun - follow me!

Thanks to you all for your support!  Tell your friends.  Spread the word.  Support two good causes - the American Red Cross and the American Stroke Foundation!

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm excited you're here!

Today I'm kicking off a promotion to support two worthwhile causes  - the American Stroke Foundation and the American Red Cross of Kansas City.

The question is:  How many followers can I gain in a week on Twitter?

The way it works:  For every Twitter user who follows @aglobalbridge from today until next Friday at 9 a.m. (CST), I will donate one hour to charity.  Each follower will be able to cast their vote once online for where they would like their charity hour to go.  Also, I will be publishing the names of all of my new followers here on my blog (updated once daily at the end of the day). 

The fine print:  I will donate my time over the course of the next 12 months (from 09/01/2009 to 08/30/2010) up to 1000 charity hours.  In the event that more than 1000 followers/charities hours are accumulated, my family and friends will volunteer their time as well to compensate for the extra hours.  Please note that I do not work for these charities, and the views expressed here in my blog and on my Twitter site are solely mine.  Also, all new followers must be real people using Twitter, and must have Twitter accounts that come in the spirit of good humanity.  If you unfollow @aglobalbridge during the promotion period, your vote will not count.  But why would you do that??

So, here goes:

1.    Follow me here @aglobalbridge on Twitter.

2.    Cast your vote for one charity hour here on KwikSurveys.com.

3.    Check back each day to see how things are rolling along.

4.    Tell your friends to come on over and show their support!

DO YOU ALREADY FOLLOW ME? - If you already follow me on Twitter, no need to unfollow/refollow, simply take the survey (step 2) and if you meet the terms & conditions, I will count your vote as well!

Thanks for dropping by and helping me support two wonderful organizations.

If you've frequented the hotspots of Social Media blogging lately, as I have, you'll notice the usual trend.  Dismisal by the technology heavy-hitters of any newcomers to the playing field.  Often it's done in jest, oh just kidding, you know...  But as with all things techie and fun, the true Techies don't like having to share their playground with "the rest of us."

I've often referred to myself as Techie Lite - I know more than many of my family and friends (with the exception of my brother) but much less than any self-identified Geek.  I can change a hard drive and wire a basic network, but I'm not a Geek.  I'm not an expert.  I'm just a gal blogging about things that interest me.  I'm an aspiring entrepreneur.  I love computers, love technology, love to write and love to socialize.  So here I am.

Is there a place for people like me in the vast new world that is being called Social Media?  I think so.  Of course, that gets back to the heart of blogging.  We all think we have something important to say.  Success is when a bunch of other people agree with you.  Social networking really isn't new (I was networking online in the 90s in a variety of venues), but it's new for a lot of folks.  Social Media is more than just technology, that's the whole point.  When someone tweets to his network about losing his job, he's less concerned with the underlying technology and more concerned with making an emotional connection to those who care.   Social Media is about allowing us, as a human species, to connect with each other on a deeper level even as our world becomes more and more wired!

Recently Wayne Sutton, of SocialWayne.com, wrote a blog post about Why People Hate Self-proclaimed Social Media Gurus.  And I agree with his post wholeheartedly.  However, I think the real trouble lies in the disconnect between the Techie Jet Set and the Entrepreneurial Jet Set.  True techies are anti-establishment (in the good sense), worship Apple, had 3g before you or I knew what it was, and they were using web 2.0 long before we were socializing through Twitter.  Meanwhile, the Entrepreneurial bunch won't touch a product until they've answer the question "what will this do for me and my bottom-line."  Techies tend to be introverted.  Entrepreneurs tend to be extroverted.  Of course, some of the most successful Internet ventures have been started by those who manage to strattle the fence between a love of all things OS-driven and a love of Napoleon Hill!  Anyway, I've noticed that very few Techie blogs are free of advertising.  In the end, no one minds making a buck, do they?

Techies need to be more welcoming of those who hopped on board the coolness train, and business-types need to be more mindful that, for some, technology is a passion not a dollar sign.

Maybe they'll all just pick up their marbles and go home.  But they should remember, the true fun in playing is enjoying the environment.

Well, Twitter is up and working, wait, it's down, no it's working.  Oh whatever.

If you still have patience for Twitter, and you're still diligently Tweeting away, then...

There are some Tweeters you should be following on this day, some famous, some not so famous, all interesting. 

There's Doug Ulman, CEO of Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong foundation [@livestrongCEO].  There's Karen Bell, a positive thinking blogger who runs the site KtotheB [@ktotheb].  There's Corvida, self-proclaimed "Oprah of the Web, who runs the blog SheGeeks.net [@corvida]. Jeff Jarvis, who runs a site called BuzzMachine, is a journalism professor at City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism and author of "What Would Google Do?"  (Harper Collins, 2009) [@jeffjarvis].  You might even check into Ryan Rowland-Smith, Pitcher for the Seattle Mariners and the only known Tweeter on the team [@hyphen18].

The most famous Tweeter on this day, however, is Drew Olanoff, an active Twitter user who is currently battling cancer.  His blog site is DrewOlanoff.com.  But what's interesting today is that Drew and his friends have been running a BlameDrewsCancer campaign via Twitter.  And today they anticipate reaching the 9,999 person to "Blame Drew's Cancer."  You can use the hashtag #BlameDrewsCancer and tweet something interesting (and relevant I hope).  He can be found on Twitter @Drew and @DrewsCancer.

Who says the Internet can't be enlightening and thought-provoking??