Twitter Gone Wild!

by Cate Masters
I recently signed up for Twitter, but admit I’m still not tweeting as I should. I haven’t quite figured out what will annoy people, and what’s useful. Unlike Facebook, another “quick-ping media” social application. I love other people’s tweets with great links to articles and other info, but who has time to devote to looking for such links? There must be a trick to it; I just haven’t found it yet.
In the meantime, I’m finding all sorts of cool stuff about Twitter. The New York Times just had an interesting article about the Broadway play, Next to Normal, which sent tweets (shown at left) from characters during portions of play with no dialogue, giving followers teasers to whet their appetite. Pretty ingenious marketing, and it turned viral, going from 30,000 followers in May to more than 550,000 in a recent tally. Using Twitter, the play’s characters marketed themselves unobtrusively, piquing interest without blatantly advertising.
Like the iPhone, developers have gone crazy creating new applications, some tailored specifically for their own use, but the majority for the general population (me excluded, until I can come up to speed). Apparently Twitter connects to Google apps pretty easily, such as Twittercal, which synchs with Google’s calendar to keep track of important dates.
Robert Downey Jr. might like Tweetbeep, which alerts users whenever others send tweets about them. Robert reportedly Googles himself to see who’s been writing about him. We’d love to hear from you, Robert! Leave a comment! And in case you missed the post on my blog, I wrote my recent release, Picture This, with you very vividly in mind. In case you're looking for a new project... You look very elegant in your tux, btw.
For the tech-heads out there, Popular Science has some cool info on how you can use Twitter to track your home’s power consumption or chart your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, turn on lights or open the curtains.
The romantically inclined have also tweeted their proposals. Not quite the same as an in-person, down-on-one-knee romantic, but hey, apparently it works for some people. And others have coordinated GoogleMaps like a proposal treasure hunt or hacked their future spouse’s video games to propose (just an interesting aside).
If you’re one of those who can’t live without a daily dose and the site is down (which happens fairly frequently), then Twiddict is for you. Outages are understandable, given that between 5,000 and 10,000 people open new Twitter accounts every day. Amazing that so many people can fit their thoughts into 140 characters.
Eventually, I’ll get the hang of it. First, maybe I should read the 8 Useful Tips to Become Successful with Twitter. And studying up on the lingo wouldn’t hurt, though Twenglish will translate for tweeters. And then I’ll check out other authors on Twitter who are probably doing a great job of tweeting.
So do you tweet? If so, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/CateMasters and I’ll follow you back! Remember, though, if my tweets begin sounding a bit off, remember that no one—not even President Obama (or Britney Spears)—is immune to hacking.

Images from Popular Science, Twitter, IMDB, Ringoblog, The New York Times

Cate Masters’ novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction appear at epublishers The Wild Rose Press, Eternal Press, Wild Child Publishing/ Freya’s Bower and Shadowfire Press. Her flash and short stories appear at such web zines as Cezanne’s Carrot, The Battered Suitcase, A Long Story Short, Dark Sky Magazine, and The Harrow. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or on Twitter.