Tweet Tweet

Twitter, unless you have been living under a rock covered with moss where a fat bullfrog has planted his butt to sit....
...you know that Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. (Thank you Wikipedia for that good explanation)

Twitter has opened up a new world of tiny conversations, passing of news and irritating people 140 characters at a time. Let me tell you something, for people who are long winded like me; 140 characters is hard to put your thoughts into. Then there is the whole hashtag thing. A hashtag looks like this #hashtag and is used to categorize thoughts that are similar. Some of today's trending hashtags are #justwannaknowwhy #aprilfools #aprilwish #dontyouhatewhen. If you go to Twitter's main page you can click on these and see everyone's tweets that contain that phrase. So if I wanted to participate in the trending hashtags, I might type...

"my child is trying to fit a penny in her ear #justwannaknowwhy"

or

"#dontyouhatewhen you go to a public restroom and forget to check for toilet paper"

See how that works? Then you have a small group of people (I will call them friends) that make up their own crazy hashtags just to illicit humor. #itmakesmelaughharder

Hashtags have also been used to save lives, send prayer requests, hold contests (OK let me interrupt myself...I can't get my italics turned off #dontyouhatewhen that happens) I read a story just yesterday (can't find it again, if anyone knows what I am talking about; please contact me so I can credit the source) about a mom who could no longer afford a special milk using to keep her daughter alive. She sent out a tweet and within HOURS had enough in donations to get the milk, plus legislators and medical personnel started working together to insure she didn't go without again.

So if you don't Tweet, please lift that rock and come into the light. I promise it won't hurt and I would love to see you in the Twittersphere so I can annoy you 140 characters at a time.

There are some rules though as found at THIS site of things you don't Tweet about (thank you Lucy Jones for your help!). Because...

1. Your wife is wearing a white bikini. You post a revealing picture of her. Your wife is Demi Moore. You look like a prat.

2. “Going for a jog before breakfast” or “forgot to brush my teeth today” does not need to be typed. We don’t care.

3. “Just been interviewed by a total hotty” is not going to help your employment prospects.

4. You’re a surgeon, you’re about to go and operate on someone’s cerebral cortex and you’re hungover. Don’t tweet: “waiting to go into the operating theatre, think I’m going to vom!!!”

5. Or: “Should I tell my girlfriend I cheated with her twin sister?!”

6. Or: “I hate my boss”

7. So you’ve been “pumping iron loads recently”? Posting a twitpic of your new muscles or pouting in your bedroom isn’t necessary. Especially if you are “Kim Kardashian”.

8. “Just smoked a doobie at work and my boss doesn’t have a clue! ROFL!!

9. “On my first date with Bob. Really sweet but seriously bad acne!”

10. “Baby is coming out! So slimey! Here’s a twitpic”. I don’t care if you’re the wife of Twitter’s CEO or Erykah Badu – no one wants to see it.

So what are some things you think you shouldn't tweet about...
What are some of your favorite tweets...
Where have you seen Twitter help someone in need....