I asked in the office if we had any “twits.” One person said she remembered her mother called her one at appropriate times during her younger life. That probably happened to me too but that’s the wrong kind of twit. I was looking for officially registered “tweeters.” There were a few but I was by far the oldest in the office.
Is this new to you? The Nielsen Company recently did a small survey and found that www.twitter.com is the fastest growing member community message Web site in the country. During the past year, it has grown nearly 1,400 percent. There are now over seven million members. When you sign up, you can then post moment to moment anything from your day. Other members can sign up to follow you and your posts or you can ask to follow other members. Either of you can block the other from following.
David Gregory, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” lets you in on his day and gives other “twits” the opportunity to offer suggestions for questions.
If you want to know who some of the seven million members are, you go to www.wefollow.com and find members divided by categories — music, politics, technology, etc. You won’t find me at this Web site but you will find President Obama, Senator John McCain, Brittney Spears, The Shaq, MC Hammer, CNN, New York Times, Al Gore and Lance Armstrong to name a few. You won’t find us listed at this site but The Valdosta Daily Times is there as VDTimes. Search Valdosta and you will get a number of us.
The President is the number two “tweeter” in the country behind CNN with 510,071 followers. Joe Biden is 174 and 200 is a math teacher with over 12,000 followers.
In the office as we talked about this new phenomenon, one Times staffer sent me a link to a modern art painting from 1922 by artist Paul Klee called “The Twittering Machine.” The painting is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the painting, four birds are on a wire with their beaks open and to the right is a hand crank. Like some type of weird music box, the crank would obviously be used to make the birds tweet. Paul Klee’s painting is almost like a time machine of something he glimpsed from the future.
Today, the twittering machine is a real happening. It is more than a painting on the wall. You can turn the crank with a Web browser and a key board. Try it for yourself. It is easy to become a tweeter. Go to www.twitter.com and sign up. You can then follow, be followed and tweet to your heart’s content.
What We Think
From the publisher: Are you a twit? Or a tweeter? I am. It’s official
- What We Think
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Shame in Berrien County
Unfortunately for Sherrie Williams of the Berrien County school-based health clinic, she talked to The Times and praised the program that she oversees. This pride in her work led to the loss of her job.
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Grading policy: A second chance?
In clarifying the Lowndes County Schools’ controversial grading policy, Superintendent Dr. Steve Smith spoke of second chances.
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Be up to any weather challenge
Georgia’s Severe Weather Awareness Week starts today and runs through Friday. The idea behind the week is to prepare Georgians for weather emergencies and how to keep these situations from becoming tragedies.
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Parents and schools
There is a lot of talk lately about school systems and grading policies, and how all of a child's problems come back to a lack of parenting. But is it really that simple? Can it be a case where the school systems are so focused on the problem few that the majority of students are ignored?
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To Brooks County High School engineering and technology teacher Don Morgan and his students. They recently received national attention for their work with biodiesel fuel. They collect used cooking oil from area fast-food restaurants then process this oil into biodiesel. Morgan hopes to next interest the Brooks County school buses into running on the fuel created in his class. This classroom not only prepares students for the future but may prepare all of us for an alternative energy source.
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Take me out to the ball park
The Valdosta State baseball season begins today. The Blazers host Lindenwood at 2:30 p.m. Nothing beats quality baseball played in warm weather with a great venue like Billy Grant Field.
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What We Think: Signing Day
Wednesday was National Signing Day, the day when high school athletes across the country make official announcements about what school they’ve chosen to sign with.
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School policy fails expectations
Lowndes County Schools recently implemented new grading guidelines for students. These guidelines have left many parents upset ...
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Just the facts, please
The Times has taken some hits this weekend following the reporting of the Rev. Floyd Rose’ rally on Saturday concerning the car which drove into a home, killing an infant on New Year’s, and an incident at Pinevale Learning Center. Some police officers think the VDT is not being fair, and Rose accused the VDT of not printing the facts, but the facts are as follows:
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Fathers teaching daughters
It began as a small gathering for fathers and daughters. It has become one of Valdosta’s most popular social events of the year.
Several years ago, Jeff Stewart co-founded the event with his wife, Becky, as a way for him to give a special night to his two daughters. Other fathers of First Presbyterian Church liked the idea and the Father-Daughter Valentine Dance was born. - More What We Think Headlines
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Shame in Berrien County
