Why I LOVE Twitter.....

I have been planning to write this piece for a while, and today it seemed more pertinent as I found out this morning it is my 2 year anniversary on Twitter! 


In that time, I have sent 19523 tweets, which equates to an average of 26.7 tweets per day. That's roughly 351,000 words!! or about 936 sides of A4 Paper!!!!


This seems a lot, but from a mobile device, (I prefer Dabr from my mobile phone) it soon mounts up. I use the PC when at home, and tend to use the phone when the kids are busy on the computer, or if I am out. 


Whether telling people what I am up to, @ replying to people, or posting a picture, they all add up, and I have had so much joy and use from it all! Amongst my memorable interactions on twitter, I have:

• Live tweeted (the backing of the amazing  Kevin Cecil  or @kevcecil as I know him) a Christmas recipe, while Twitter folk (Including a few celebs!) cooked along with me. I'm aware that Sainsburys now provide this service, however I DID IT FIRST!! Grrrr damn you supermarket!!
• Provided countless snippets of advice to fellow twitterers about cooking, ingredients and recipes etc.
• Live tweeted info of road closures, traffic build up etc to the local radio station to be read out to the listeners.
• Joined in conversations about a particular event at that time using. #HashTags.  It's like being in the biggest pub in the world, socialising with like minded people about a common denominating factor. Now that sounds posh, but that factor could be that nights Coronation Street, A seasonal greeting, or an uprising in another country, such as we have just witnessed in Egypt. The beauty of it is, you have a virtually unlimited source of opinion at the click of a mouse. Where else could you get such diverse instant interaction?
• I have received live football match updates through the medium of Twitter whilst in the middle of a shopping centre, and tweeted live football updates from my own PC for those in similar situations!
• I have sought advice, from a dodgy washing machine to the best place to buy the latest iPod, and I have at my disposal Millions of people (The power of re-tweeting) to offer me their opinion on what I need!
• I have been cheered up when I'm feeling down, laughed at the comical offerings of my "friends" and done the same for my "Followers"! when the situation dictated. 
• I have riled people with my opinion, had my ideas scoffed at, and most definitely done the same to others! But that's healthy idea sharing and two way conversation. It'd be no fun if we were all the same now would it? 
• I get short snippets of information, and links to the information I want to read. As a subscriber, or "Follower" I choose whether or not to read someone's updates, or "Tweets" and I can read them at my leisure. Whether that be updates from my chosen football teams, or BBC News, I can keep up to date at the click of a button.
• I have linked other parts of my on line world to Twitter. By following me on twitter you can now see What I am Listening to (Last.FM) or on Spotify , you can see what I am Photographing to share with the world, you can also see my Project 365 Photographs  as when I interact with these other sites, they interact with YOU via my Twitter feed! 
• I have chatted to a few celebrities on Twitter, exchanged opinions on subjects ranging from "The Apprentice" (Jonathan Ross) to performing at a local venue (Jason Manford) who's tweets have now sadly disappeared, but we'll not go in to that! I have had feedback on my live tweet recipe from Tony Gardner  too! There are lots of people who just use Twitter to "Stalk" celebs, and that's fine, but it does not float my boat. In my opinion they rarely interact (Unless you are bombarding them with mentions until they do!) and are not good "Value for money" twitterers. I would much rather exchange opinion with like minded normal folk! In fact at the last time of checking, I think I only "Follow" around 3 celebrities from my list of 450 "Friends" on Twitter! 

I have found so much use for Twitter I probably could not live without it! If that is an addiction, well I'll manage it! But until then, when I hit publish post at the bottom of this blog entry I will be adding to my ever growing list of online drivel that nobody ever reads..... ;-) .....Although secretly I REALLY hope they do, and I hope they like it too!