Category Archives: Internet culture

Twitter is the new blog

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I really believe that; Twitter is now the most popular way for online women to communicate to a large audience.

As you know, I took an extended leave from Twitter and Facebook from late February to April 9. Not clicking over to Facebook was easy; Twitter I missed terribly. A few times I thought of breaking fast and jumping back in. The chatter, the direct messages, seeing that @ reply in the stream is a real kick in the pants.

And I was lonely. Giving up Twitter, it was like I wasn’t part of the blogging community anymore. I was still here blogging, leaving comments and reading other blogs, but I wasn’t part of the larger group, because they were all still giving their attention to Twitter (imagine that!). All my traffic coming from Twitter, dropped to almost nil. I missed that too. It reminded me of being a newbie, trying to find readers and build up traffic.

It wasn’t that long ago when we would visit blogs to meet each other, now we visit Twitter to meet virtually.

Not only that, but when one of us – and I’m talking moms who blog -  is hurt, suffering or wronged, Twitter takes up the cause. Remember Motrin Moms? Currently, twitter moms are raising money for the March of Dimes in memory of the daughter of a mom blogger. You can do that with a blog, but with Twitter, and the amazing hash tag, it’s so much easier.

So I’m back on Twitter, but this time with a better approach. For one, I’m not going back to that compulsion to constantly send tweets out regarding little snippets of life. I enjoy the word pictures of what people are doing, that’s why I like to tweet that too, but I feel a need to tip the balance toward helpful information. Links folks can use, learn and grow in knowledge.

If you follow me, you may have noticed I’ve been sending out links about women and children in crisis. The more I read about poverty, it’s connection to human trafficking and the sex trade… sad stuff there. That’s the new purpose to my tweets – getting the message out about these precious lives worth far more than the 140 characters I dedicate to them.

Blogs won’t die. But they are no longer the dominate means of social interaction for women on the web.

What do you think? Am I completely crazy or wicked smart? You have up to 140 characters to explain your opinion. Kidding – Twitter humor, of course.

A Woman Inspired: final thoughts

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I say final, because we’ve been chatting all week, haven’t we?

At the A Woman Inspired conference, we learned, laughed, even crying together – all though our Internet access. Who says nothing good can come from cyberspace? Humph. I’d sign up again – and still go back for more. There is nothing like getting encouragement and godly teaching from like-minded sisters.

My final thoughts:

1. Even though I didn’t get to “attend” all the sessions, it’s okay, I’m not freaking out like I lost money. I can download them for listening at my leisure (read: when the kids are in bed and I won’t be interrupted too much).

2. Loved the chat feature. That really made it interactive and not just one gal lecturing at us. Lectures get dull fast, the chat was just enough to keep me engaged without getting distracted. On Monday, the chat wasn’t up yet; I’m so glad it worked for the rest of the week.

3. Twitter. Then when we weren’t listening, chatting and asking questions at the conference site, we were on Twitter with the #awi hash tag to talk even more. How very ladylike of us. Looking for ways to talk. The good thing about the extra place to chat, was that we didn’t fill the conference chat up with too much silliness. Twitter helped us get that out.

4. It wasn’t a conference, it was a Church. My favorite moment of the conference was Tuesday morning when Heather shared her concern about her MRI scheduled the next day. How amazing it was to watch these ladies encourage, pray and love all over this home schooling mama. It was beautiful. From what I remember, there was a bit of  “I’m crying” posted in the chat box (yes, I was teary too.)

Janice had a lot to say regarding depression and taking medication. Natalie told me if I practiced, I could have an accent just like hers. Shelly wrote a book I want to read. Ali and Melissa teamed up to talk blogging, and I heckled Mrs. F from the cheap seats. Too much fun! (FYI: If I tease you, I want to be your friend. I’m weird like that.)

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea – I enjoyed myself.

That’s it for me. What did you like about the conference? What didn’t you care for? Heck, let’s CHAT about the conference some more.

I am a woman inspired

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That was fun! It only took 25 times, with a slight editing tweak, to not sound like a complete doofus. (I think in the final cut, I sound only slightly goofy.) There’s nothing like putting your personality onto YouTube for all of cyberspace to see.

I made this little tribute to my mom for the A Woman Inspired conference.

The A Woman Inspired conference is different than your regular conference – it’s online, a treat for those of us seeking to meet other like-minded women, but without leaving home. And it’s affordable! (I think I literally sighed with relief when I found the website. A few of the speakers are women I “know” via blogs and the Internet, so I’m tickled to be able to virtually rub shoulders with them. They inspire me too!)

Check out the web conference and I hope to “see” you there.