Author: Stuart Witts

Social Media Manager at a national charity. Creator of #Twadvent. Co-founder of #FloweryTweetup. Indissoluble optimist... Stay Happy And Don't Die!
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The path to Tweetvana

Tweetvana


“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi

If today’s Twitterpocalypse is anything to go by, it clearly shows that Tweeters keep a VERY close eye on their follower numbers. I very rarely bother to look at my follower count, so the first I knew about the great #zerofollowers disaster was when I started to see the barrage of confused/angry/comedic (delete as applicable) tweets. All of this linked very nicely with my theory of Twitter types.

I believe that amongst all the various groups and factions there are three distinct types of Tweeter, and each of these individuals are distinguished by how they look at the subject of the follow. I shall share them with you now.

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People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers.

If, after watching that video, you’re wondering what I believe in then read this, or this or maybe even visit the hiproject and discover why I truly believe that social media is the universal good that will make the world a better place.

Huge thank you to @scottgould for making me aware of this great TED talk.

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#Top10Thursday :: Toys of the 80's

For this, the first participatory #Top10Thursday, the topic is toys from the 80’s (thanks to @chrish10) and having scoured my way through the internet reliving all of my childhood dreams I realised that finding a Top 10 was going to be extremely difficult.

Even a simple Google search left me with over 30 playthings with which to sort and categorise. How could I possibly discard some of my most treasured memories? Hard though it was, I have swallowed the bitter pill and made my decisions. I give you @stuartwitts Top 10 Toys of the 80’s…

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Smile for the camera

I like to think of myself as sitting right at the front of the technology bus, but something my daughter said to me over the weekend sent me all the way to the back holding my head in shame.

“Have we got a Webcam?” she asked. “No” I replied.

Now when it comes to social media I’m right in the thick of it. A tweet here, a status update there, but I’d never been one for the real face-to-face digital experience. I knew that somewhere we had an old Sipix Snap digital camera that could double-up as a webcam, but it was probably buried under a mountain of discarded tech and besides it was rubbish anyway. So, without thinking I told her I would get one.

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Learn to love the Top 10

Everyone loves a Top 10… right? Well, not everyone. I find them to be the absolute lowest form of blog link bait. But in the spirit of positivity I have decided to embrace the Top 10 with open arms, give it two air kisses and learn to love it’s peculiar charms. And so in honour of the humble Top 10 I give you…

Top 10 Thursday

I’m hoping that you will all join me in celebrating the terrifically tremendous Top 10 by posting your very own every Thursday at 10:10am and promoting it on Twitter with the hashtag #Top10Thursday. Each weeks topic will be decided in advance via a Twitter vote on the Friday, you will then have until the following Thursday to prepare your list.

For this, the inaugural #Top10Thursday I have prepared a very special Top 10 of Top 10’s for your visual delight…
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We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.

Cofacio x You = Help2

I believe that, deep down, everyone wants to help. But as humans gathered together in larger and larger numbers, this universal understanding was forgotten and we began to see other people as not like us. When we lived together in small communities it was easy to remember as we either saw the helping going on, or we heard about it.

As our global village grew, the conversations were taken over by the broadcasting media and their content twisted to reflect only those events that were negative. No longer would we discover all of the good that people were doing, instead, people were to be distrusted, even feared and suddenly we all felt alone and powerless.

And then along came social networks. Now we could talk directly to these people and discover what it was they really were… the same as us.

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Lies, damned lies, and real-time statistics.

What with their being an election on and all, you’d think that reporting in the media would be more realistic… oh, wait. Scratch that. What I meant to say was infuriatingly biased and incorrect.

Many people, myself included, feel that one of the decisive battles in this election will be fought within the social networks and a recent research report by ‘An Award-Winning PR and Social Media Consultancy’ has got me brow-furrowingly angry.

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The trouble with Talking Carl.

Like any normal geek dad I always feel the kaleidoscope of Butterflies flitting around my stomach whenever one of my children picks up my iPhone. I know that I’m supposed to be leading by example and extolling the virtues of sharing, but it’s hard when all I can see is my beloved phone bouncing off the kitchen tiles and having to spend the next few weeks Tweeting through crazy paving.

This particular dilemma has been made impossibly worse by the recent purchase of Talking Carl. If you’ve not heard about Talking Carl then I shall try to explain. Carl is a beautifully rendered orangey-red square with a funny voice. He laughs, shouts, growls and repeats anything you say via the iPhone’s microphone.

Talking Carl

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That's how winning is done!

My children are always a source of both great amusement and overwhelming frustration, but what strikes me most is there apparent lack of self-belief and determination.

They both certainly have an abundance of confidence, but this mostly manifests itself as arrogance and when faced with an actual challenge they are soon very keen to give up and consider the task impossible. What has happened to lead a generation into such a terrible crisis? I feel as parents that we have always shown them unwavering support in what they have chosen to do and been very careful to make them aware that certain things take time to realise, yet still they get frustrated by the simplest of obstacles.

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