Twitter & My Friday 5

BEHOLD TWITTER!

So what's up with Twitter these days? Plenty it seems. Twitter has exploded on to the scene in recent weeks with a lot of people saying they're using it, they're on it, they tweet and so forth. Many corporations and groups have their own Twitter pages or streams.

Media companies have found that Twitter is a great place to post breaking news items. In Hawaii most if not all of the major TV stations and newspapers are using Twitter.

Breaking news lie not only with the media firms of course. With Twitter anyone can report breaking news at anytime and from anywhere. Twitter and other Web 2.0 applications are having a big impact on how information is distributed and who is distributing it. Twitter has opened the timely flow of information to everyone. All you need is a computer and/or a mobile computing device. It's free to use Twitter.

Twitter is a personal web application that almost requires you to post your "tweets" yourself in order to make it personal. Most people post their own "tweets", though it can be assumed that businesses and organizations probably have teams of people posting to their streams. Some people and big name celebrities have hired "ghost writers" to maintain their Twitter streams. This is not good.

Of course as Twitter has grown in popularity problems have arisen regarding forged identities, fake friends and spam. Twitter users should carefully choose your "friends" and "followers". Check Twitter streams before you decide to follow anyone. Check your followers streams too. Prune and block the ones you don't want following you. Options are available on Twitter for you to control your presence, followers and stream.

Lastly you can follow me on my Twitter stream at: http://twitter.com/macpro.

My first posts to Twitter were made in late 2006. A new website called MyTweet16 can pull most Twitter users first posts. Here are mine, from November 2006.

fell asleep watching a B5 DVD. Woke up @ 1:15 and caught up on Ryan's U2 postings. 4:29 AM Dec 10th 2006

stayed home all day. Doing mundane stuff like laundry. Going nowhere as usual. 7:51 PM Dec 9th 2006

just got through watching the KFVE News @ 9. Listening to music. 12:27 AM Dec 8th 2006

can't decide what to buy for his neice this Christmas. Testing Twitter gmail chat. 10:30 PM Dec 6th 2006

checked out the ongoing bankruptcy sale at Tower Records Keeaumoku. 50% off all CDs. Slim pickings. More than 1/2 store is empty. 12:04 AM Dec 5th 2006

made an update to this twitter page and service. 6:55 PM Dec 3rd 2006

Did my laundry, getting rid of 3 old computers (1 already spoken for) and typing this. 6:48 PM Dec 3rd 2006

I am up at 2:27 in the morning and made a post to my blog. http://macprohawaii.blogspot.com/2006/12/island-air-cuts-back.html 5:30 AM Dec 2nd 2006

Just got off the phone talking to my boss on the subject of Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies. 4:39 PM Nov 30th 2006

I'm watching part 2 of the TV series "Boston Legal." Will Shirley Schmidt survive the kidnapping? 12:49 AM Nov 29th 2006

Watching the KFVE TV News at 9 tonight. No one can find the source of yesterday's earthquake hoax. 12:09 AM Nov 28th 2006

Those without mobile devices like me, tend to post computer related tasks here. I forgot to twit yesterday. So today I get 2 twits. 11:52 PM Nov 27th 2006

I went to the Hawaii Kai Christmas parade this morning. Christmas is in the air! 5:55 PM Nov 25th 2006

Just finished writing my blog entry on "Flying Go!" http://macprohawaii.blogspot.com/2006/11/i-flew-go.html 9:03 PM Nov 24th 2006

Posting to websites and sending emails out about the damn earthquake we had this morning on the Big island of Hawaii. 1:05 PM Nov 23rd 2006

Signing up for this service. There will be only one twit a day. 4:49 PM Nov 21st 2006

MY FRIDAY 5 FOR MARCH 27

Moving on from Twitter to the Friday 5. Here are my short answers to this week's inquiry:

1. To whom do you normally turn when you need to complain about something?

This blog or mutter to myself.

2. Which annual season-turning do you enjoy the most?

End of the Christmas shopping season knowing that I can put all of that off for another 360 days.

3. Where can you get a really good turnover?

I think Kafe Europa may have some baked goods that could qualify as turnovers. Can’t remember the names of them. The desserts are not on their website, but believe me, any dessert item they make "is to die for"!!!!

4. What’s employee turnover like where you work?

Seasonal… we get a regular influx of new workers at the start of the season and lose most of them at the end of the season.

5. One of the Wonder Twins could turn into any form of water, while the other could turn into any animal. Which of these powers would be more useful to you?

I have never watched the Wonder Twins. I don’t know what their powers are. That said I think I’d take water as a power source because in some places water can be used to power an entire electrical grid. Water powers us. The average human body contains about 55 to 60% water.

And that's my Friday 5 which I will definitely be Twittering this link to.