Ah inspiration! It’s truly the answer to inaction. I hadn’t posted for a few days and here is the second one on consecutive days.
Early Thursday morning, it became evident that the weather was going to be the hot topic for the day. The NWS had issued a high wind warning for most of the state and rumors were swirling (much like the predicted wind) that danger was imminent. Harking back to the 12/26 blackout, I thought it would be prudent to establish a hashtag for the event.
I bravely sent out my APB to the twitterverse asking for suggested monikers. Nothing. In about 15 minutes (an eternity in Twitter-time), I got 2 responses and it seemed that we had agreed that #makani (the Hawaiian word for wind) was a good choice. I thought I’d done my good deed for the day and went on with my business. I was sadly mistaken.
No news is usually good news and a lack of weather-related tweets were a welcome absence. Then the tweets started and many were either sans hashtag or suddenly sporting new and unrelated versions. It was plainly evident that my “army” of Twitter followers was just a delusion of grandeur! I could have spent a great deal of time replying a reminder to use the “agreed upon” hashtag, but it didn’t seem to be a polite thing to do. In spite of my crushed feelings, weather tweets abounded and the eventual closure of schools and government offices made the rounds. Despite the fact that it turned out to be a pseudo-cane, information had gotten to the people it needed to get to.
Reflecting on these events, I’m going to have to step back and re-think my initial enthusiasm regarding Twitter as an effective method of information dissemination. Then again, perhaps I need to re-evaluate my impact on the data flow and how I can be more effective. I can promise that there will be more on this topic in future posts!
So That's Life? 
Are You Experienced?
01/23/2009Twittermania came to television last night as Andy Bumatai (@Andy_Bumatai for Tweeters out there) broadcast a show dedicated to Twitter and social networking. Guests on the show included tech businessman Lincoln Jacobe, Internet marketing specialist Arleen Anderson (@AlohaArleen), and Twitter guru Deborah Micek (@CoachDeb).
What really surprised me was the audience turnout. Now I’m fairly new to Twitter and haven’t had the opportunity to meet many fellow Tweeters IRL (in real life). There were approximately 30 (I should have taken an actual count) who showed up to watch the taping and they filled every available seat. It was like a geek truckstop and it was quite a sight to see everyone sitting there with their mobile devices, tweeting and snapping pictures to post.
The taping went by very quickly because it is shot in real time. Commercial breaks allow for a pause but there are no re-takes and Andy really keeps things moving. Thirty minutes went by in a flash.
What struck me as being significant was how easy it was to move from online personalities to face to face interaction. I definitely didn’t know (follow in Twitterese) at least half of the people there, but it was second nature to introduce myself and my online persona, @avharris. Before the evening was over, I’d guess that I’d requested “follows” from nearly all of the attendees. Naturally, I’m hoping that they will reciprocate and follow me but it isn’t really that important in the scheme of things.
As it pertains to the theme of my blog, I was exposed to a widening world of online personalities. I heard stories of potential blockbuster online opportunities as well as vignettes of people who were surprised that an event in their life had become common knowledge. I saw that a personal connection can be made from the initial online ovetures. I also saw the power of celebrity and how a small community of Twitter users in Hawaii can potentially demonstrate the power of effective social networing to the public at large.
Posted in Blogroll, commentary, tech | Tagged Andy Bumatai, commentary, tech, Twitter | 2 Comments »