Absolute favorite Tweet this week

My absolute favorite Tweet this week ... and I've seen a lot!

This Perfect Moment shared .. well, you know, that passes on the perfect nature of it. Compound interest.

Harvey and I strode recklessly into the wilderness today. http://t.co/uvNOh631jv
— Ryan V Lower (@beautyislikeyea) September 19, 2013

Our hearts go out to everyone in Boston today

If you see a runner, ask if you can help. Temp is dropping and a lot of out-of-towners have nowhere to go.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) April 15, 2013

When I first saw this Tweet about 15 minutes after it was first published by Billy Baker, reporter for the Boston Globe, it had been retweeted 371 times. No wonder.

One quote I remember hearing during the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings was in answer to "Where do you find good in such things?" The answer: "Look toward the people running in to help."

We all want to help today... again. I'd be happy to open my doors to a stunned and lonely runner. I want to keep my eyes on the helpers.

Robin, Phoenix

Photo: Boston Globe sports | After I wrote this post, I saw this article about the runner in this photo. He's OK.

Happy Twitter Birthday to me

My friend Judy, @Judy_Kinney, sent me a note yesterday to point out that today is my 2nd anniversary on Twitter.

I created my @RobinJP Twitter account two years ago today. I think that's like 12 years of Social Media experience in Twitter years.

So happy anniversary to me. And my buddy Twitter. I've had some great highlights during the last two years.

The biggest: I now have a world of powerful people at my fingertips.

TWO DEGREES OF SEPARATION

I've got a network of smart, chatty, funny people who I can reach out to for questions like "Anybody in Denver know a techie who I can trust to go into my mom's home and fix her computer?" That question was answered in about 30 minutes. Two degrees of separation and voila!

My friend @LavLuz who I met almost immediately after signing up for Twitter, shared my plea with her followers. @ashleykingsley recommended someone who worked out just perfectly.


Also in my network:

My buddy @marcusod is a journalist and educator who lives in Australia. We've got a lot in common and Twitter makes the distance negligible.

@misterfonzie who was then @blackfonzie helped me get a new job.

I like following @danamo and her glamorous Manhattan life but really enjoy when she announces that she's homeward-bound with a "BK bound" Tweet.

@kk is an awesome photographer. I like Twitter-eavesdropping on his love affair with @FierceKitty. And because I follow him, I'm reminded to slow down my day and check out his photos every once in a while.

And I follow @johncpiercy cause everyone needs a firefighter in their life and he's mine.

SMART WOMEN

Judy, who was @flourishingjudy then, and I started #swbc a Twitter chat called Smart Women Bar & Cafe. We drew a lot of attention for a short while... were even a Trending Topic during a few of the early evenings. Smart women from all over the country jumped in to chat, meet new people, break off and start new friendships. That chat ran its course and, in part because we conflicted with The Rachel @maddow Show. It was hard to compete.

#wjchat

Then came #wjchat: Web Journalism Chat. Inspired by the very popular #journchat, this new Twitter conversation focuses solely on Web journalism. I joined the #wjchat team about four hours after the idea for it was formed during a #journchat.

The first #wjchat was on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. PST. The inaugural topic: What is the job of a Web Journalist & what skills do you need? We just held the 22nd #wjchat and are going strong.

IRL FRIENDS

A very small percentage of my Twitter friends are people I have met in person. A small handful of the people I've met in person and fewer family members have joined Twitter. But a couple of Twitter friends have turned into in real life friends: @Judy_Kinney and @LavLuz are two. Another dozen or two Twitter friends are people I feel comfortable turning to for info or support either on Twitter or by moving the conversation to email or phone.

VENN DIAGRAM OF ME

When I started on Twitter, I began following people who I thought would educate me, entertain me, inspire me. We were in the middle of a fascinating Presidential election and Twitter is where we talked about it. I followed runners and stuck with those who had something more to say too. There were Twitter superstars and entertainment superstars who jumped onto Twitter. And there were those who just cracked me up.

But the ones who stick, who I make a point of checking on as if they were elderly neighbors on a hot summer's day are those who engage, who chat back, who share.

And, of course, I'm still drawn to those who just crack me up.

7,220 Tweets, two jobs, thousands of acquaintances later and I'm living in a whole new world. So is Twitter.

Thanks for the reminder, Judy.

Happy Birthday to me and Happy Anniversary, Twitter. Where shall we go to dinner?

Robin, Tempe

Favrd closes but Twitter wiseguys live on

I was so amused this morning at people on Twitter crying about @textism closing down Favrd.

So I created a way to keep up with all the most funny .. or most Favrd Tweets on Twitter: @zeldman, @phyllisstein, @CcSteff, @badbannana and the gang are still working it.

=>=>=> And you can find them at @Textism Is Following.

That's just me being a little silly, but why not follow the people who Dean Allen, creator of Favrd, follows? It's as good a way as any to keep track of some of the funnier people on Twitter.

What I really liked this morning about this Social Media social phenomenon is that in closing down the Favrd page, Dean Allen urged us all to do what most of us came to Twitter (and Facebook and Posterous and Tumblr and.. ) to do. And that is to interact. To engage.

Here are his words:

Alas, stars on Twitter have become mere take-out menus hung on the doors of other restaurants.

There are still lots of clever and funny things to read every day, but finding these is no longer a challenge – you already follow your sources. Sites like this one now serve mainly as fuel for emotional up-fuckedness in the guise of a game.

Just an idea: next time you see something you like, write the person who made it a note telling them so. Even better, explain why.

Take care!

– dca

Thanks for the reminder, Dean. Au revoir.

John Gruber said it well on Daring Fireball.

... oh, if you're still with me: And this is one reason I love Social Media. The story of Favrd led me to this Vancouver Sun story of the romance of Dean Allen and Gail Armstrong, a true Internet love story.

Robin, Tempe

Roz Savage lands on terra firma

People often look confused when I talk about my passion for social media .. not really Facebook, but definitely Twitter.
I have met several people on Twitter who have become friends, some in real life (IRL), some from afar, but nonetheless good friends.

One friend has become a weekly touchstone. Another has helped me professionally as I changed jobs recently. Others are people I know to be available if I need them.

Today I was able to watch (from very afar) a wonderful Perfect Moment for an acquaintance on Twitter. Roz Savage doesn't know me. She doesn't even follow me. But I've been there for her as she rowed ... really rowed, paddled, moved over the water under her own steam .. across the Pacific.

Today, Roz Savage landed on the island of Tarawa. Or maybe it's tomorrow. There's that funny dateline issue.

You have to read Roz's description of landing on, er, land.. after 105 days on the water. She pushed off from the Hawaiian Islands before the summer began. And today, she touched land.

Her land legs were a little shaky, and as Roz writes, she was quickly lifted off that sandy beach:

Then two big hunky men in traditional island outfits approached and 
knelt in front of me, forming a cradle with their arms. “Thank heavens 
for local tradition” I thought, as I sank gratefully onto the 
proffered cradle.

So glad to see Roz safe and sound. Near the end of her journey, strong easterly winds made her final miles very difficult. Overexcited and pushing hard to the finish, she expressed her concern near the end in .. what else.. a Twitter to her followers.


This journey wasn't just a personal challenge. Roz is rowing toward a greener future. Check out her thoughts on the environment.

And for more on her travels the past 105 days, check out the Roz tracker.

Roz may not know what I did this summer. But I certainly know what she was up to.

And I'm cool with that.

Robin, Tempe