When I first started writing this blog a couple of years ago, I was like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't get enough of the rush that came from expressing myself creatively, getting accolades from you lovely people, and having my words be read by strangers all over the globe. Only a single-digit percentage of people on the planet were writing a blog, and I was one of them. I was the new new thing.
I LOVED it and couldn't imagine EVER not wanting to blog about something at least two or three times a week.
Then, along came Facebook. I was a like a kid in a candy store filled with all my favorite candy. I loved reconnecting with friends, seeing what they were up to and keeping them up to date on what's going on with me. I have Facebook to thank for reuniting me with my sorority sister Anne -- we ended up doing the Danskin Tri in Austin together last year ISidebar: Jo Jo and I are about to do the "5th Annual Jo Jo and Fro Fro at the Danskin Tri" this year. Come join us!) I can also thank Facebook for being the catalyst for last week's Bacon Bacon Bacon Burger -- the idea was hatched when Howie (a college friend) recommended Nueske's bacon as the very best, and my cousin Stacey put in a plug for Zingerman's bacon bread.
It's so much easier to "microblog" than to blog, and my Facebook status update began to overtake my blog in the 24-hour apple pie of my time.
I LOVED it and couldn't imagine EVER not wanting to post pithy updates ay least two or three times a day.
Then along came Twitter. I am now a kid in a candy store filled with all my favorite candy -- and the other kids in the store are my favorite celebrities!
At first I admit I didn't "get" Twitter. Like you, I was asking myself, "What's the point? Do I really need Twitter if I'm already on Facebook? Especially since you can set up your Facebook status to update based on your Twitter tweets (Twitter lexicon for messages) automatically. That's all changed for the following reasons, so to speak:
1. You can follow people on Twitter who are not your friends in real life (as much as you'd like to believe that they are).
For example, I'm following Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) -- so I was getting into the flow of his daily training routine and what he does when he's not about the bike -- directly from Lance himself. Then, the other day when he unfortunately crashed on his bike in Spain and broke his collarbone. So now I can get up-to-the minute updates on his condition, complete with pictures of his freshly sewn scar.
Then, of course, there's the royal first couple of Twitter, Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) and Demi Moore (@mrskutcher). Following these two on Twitter is such a romantic vicarious thrill. Earlier this week, Ashton was on location for his new movie in France, and missing Demi back in La La Land. So he asked the Twitterverse to send a "love bomb" -- he implored his his hundreds of thousands of followers to send a message of love to Demi at 7:45 am Pacific Time, right after she sends the kids off to school -- and we did! She loved it, and it made me smile the rest of the day.
I'm also following some of my favorite celebs of the food world, such as my idol Ruth Reichl (@ruthreichl), Grant Achatz of Chicago's Alinea (@Gachatz), Nate Appleman of A16 (@nappleman), Chris Cosentino of Incanto (@offalchris), Dave Martin of Crave (@chefdavemartin), Daniel Patterson of Coi (@dcpatterson), Gail Simmons (@gailsimmons) and Martha Stewart of Omnimedia (@MarthaStewart).
It really gets good when you observe people interacting with each other:
@dcpatterson: riddle me this: what does one say to a customer who orders bone marrow and then proclaims it "too fatty"?
@offalchris: get the fuck out of my restaurant
@dcpatterson: charming. was thinking of a more positive approach - this is the hospitality biz, right?
@offalchris: yes I know but it does get frustrating
Personally, I think Patterson should have asked the customer if this finger made him look fat. Here's another fun exchange, between NFL and Dancing with the Stars legend Warren Sapp, and Gary Vaynerchuk, wine expert, blogger and Twitterer with quite a large following:
@WarrenSapp: @garyvee I bet I can drink you under the table.. and yes, even wine ;-)
@garyvee: @WarrenSapp joins Twitter and his 2nd tweet ever he talks trash and wants to challenge me to a wine drinking contest! good start ;) lol
One caveat: Some of celebs purportedly hire ghost writers and (gasp!) don't post their own tweets. Shame on them. I loved following @TinaFey ("Am I eating a Caramello bar for lunch? Yes. Yes I am.") but then found out she was a fraud. As you become more Twitter-savvy, it's easier to separate the shams from the silk purses. For one thing, you see how many things they post that only they could. Just spend one day following Ashton, Demi and Robert Luketic (@robluketic), the director of Ashton's next flick, Five Killers, and you'll see what I mean.
2. Speaking of fake, some of your favorite fake people are on Twitter.
Mad Men is one of my favorite TV shows - and there are people who have appropriated the Twitter profiles of some of my favorite characters on the show -- sometimes more than one version. There's Don Draper (@_DonDraper and @don_draper), Betty Draper (@bettydraper), Peggy Olson (@peggyolson and @BadPeggyOlson), Pete Campbell (@pete_campbell), Ken Cosgrove (@ken_cosgrove) and others. Just like they might on the show, Betty throws out the meatloaf that Don doesn't want when he comes home late from another night of working late. A likely story.
3. Speaking of advertising, Twitter is a great word-of-mouth marketing vehicle.
After following the making of Five Killers through the eyes of its star, his spouse, and the director for the next year, you know I'm going to see that movie!
4. You can be followed.
Don't freak; it's a compliment. It's a great feeling when you start to have adoring masses -- you people taught me that! But do be careful. Standard Web vigilance applies.
5. You can be entertained by others' humor and and creativity. In 140 words or less.
Each tweet has a 140-word character limit. It's fun to see what people do with that space.
@chef140 posts recipes -- yes, recipes -- that are all no more than 140 characters. Here's one: "Toss 1lb cookd #pasta w/1.5c #chickpeas, 2.5c frsh #spinach, 8oz crumbld feta, minced grlc clove, 3T lemon jc, 1/4c EVOO, s&p." Take that, Rachael Ray!
@paulfeig, actor, producer, director and writer whose credits include Freaks and Geeks and The Office, writes some terrific tweets on his own and then incites his followers to follow suit. For example, he started #tplays, 140-character mini-dramas. (Find them by searching on #tplays. Or see what others are saying about your favorite subjects by simply searching on those keywords.)
@BstTwt broadcasts the best tweets others have written. To wit: "@nick I invented a device for making people call you for important conversations: a freshly poured bowl of cereal."
As you can see, I LOVE it, and can't imagine EVER not wanting to satisfy my Twitter addiction two or three times an hour.
So until the next new new thing comes along, follow me on Twitter...and try to keep up.
