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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Elections: Creating a two-party region?
Twenty years ago, most area elections were decided during the primaries. Then, almost every candidate qualified as a Democrat. While there may be plenty of challengers on the ballot, many seats were decided in July or a few weeks later during the primary run-off.
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To South Georgians making fine impressions on television singing competitions. Phillip Phillips of Leesburg won “American Idol” this week. Meanwhile, Lowndes High School graduate Stacia Watkins participated in the new ABC show “Duets.” Well done!
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Farewell to the vanishing ace
Donald S. “Bush” Bryan was not only a rare individual. He was part of a vanishing breed.
An Adel resident for the past 30 years, Bryan was a World War II flying ace. Not just an ace but a double ace. A pilot must down five enemy aircraft to become an ace; Bryan downed 13.3 enemy planes in Europe. The fractions represent planes downed with other pilots. -
A widespread mosquito alert
In announcing the discovery of a mosquito carrying the West Nile Virus strain, city and health officials did not include the specific location of the discovery.
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Of Guantanamo Bay and a Founding Father
Some readers may wonder how a Valdosta High School graduate could bring himself as an attorney to represent a Guantanamo Bay prisoner charged in connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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Congratulations, VSU Softball!
This weekend, Valdosta State University Blazers Softball became the latest team to add to Valdosta’s TitleTown legacy.
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School’s out so watch out!
Summer is a time of rest, vacations and trips. It is a time when school is out, when people take time off from work, when people may stay out a little later. It is a time of swimming, trying new things, and seeking adventure.
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Qualifiers are next leaders
While the national media focuses attention on the presidential election, it should be remembered that we will also choose our local leaders this year.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To the 2011-12 arts season. Theatre Guild Valdosta’s rollicking comedy, “Caught in the Net,” officially brings to a close a magnificent schedule of shows ranging from theatre to opera to concerts to art exhibits and more from a variety of area venues. Theatre Guild will also open the 2012-13 season this summer with the musical “Into the Woods.” Until then, arts lovers can soon enjoy a new series of exhibits from the year-round Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and three musicals starting in two weeks from Peach State Summer Theatre.
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Events that get things done
Finding something that repeatedly attracts the public is difficult enough, but finding an event that accomplishes that feat while also promoting your organization and helping others … well, in many places, that’s a rarity.
Not so for the Valdosta area. - More What We Think Headlines
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Elections: Creating a two-party region?
