Twitter!

I, jmine414 originally entered the Twitter world while I was studying abroad in England. I became very homesick while away and needed a way to connect to home, without writing lengthy emails to my parents, friends, and other randoms. I stumbled onto Twitter and found that I could update people back home, no matter what i was doing. Updating when I go to class or when I went to Paris, either way I was staying connected in a quicker form.

Since joining Twitter, I have used it as a news forum. I am able to find out the latest gossip regarding my favorite celebrities. I follow the moves of each of my college roommates. I can even follow newspapers, allowing me to quickly scan through articles and choose the ones I am interested in. My main use of Twitter has been to stay connected. I use it simply to find out what is going on. Some days I try to connect to others, but I find getting responses back very difficult. As for using Twitter as a professional forum, I have no experienced this yet. As I search for a job in the coming months, I may use it to network and market myself, but I have not started this task.

At the moment I am following 117 people, while 32 people are following me. My top ten people I follow on Twitter are as follows:


1. aayzjer
Aayzjer is my boyfriend, Joe Reeves. He is the first person who introduced me to Twitter. He originally joined to decrease the distance between himself and his favorite band of all time, Blink 182. Since following Blink 182 on Twitter, Reeves has participated in numerous events in which the members of Blink 182 give instructions to their followers, in order for their followers to interact with them on a global scale. One such example would be an event that happened in Nottingham, UK. Mark Hoppus, a band member, left a USB memory stick in a local shop in the city of Nottingham. On the memory stick, there were unreleased songs, photos, and information exclusive to the stick. In order to obtain it, Mark Hoppus left specific instructions for his followers to find it, almost like a scavenger hunt. By doing this, the band then allowed it's fans to feel a part of Blink 182, by owning something that had once belonged to them, with private information, exclusive to that one stick. By following aayzjer, I am able to get fast, brief updates from my boyfriend through out the day, which get sent directly to my phone, allowing the two of us to stay connected at all times.

2. johncmayer
I began following John Mayer because of my sister. Not only is he an amazing musician, he is actually very witty! Updating comical posts such as, "My life on the road is a lot like '70s Fleetwood Mac, except instead of cocaine it's Cinnamon Toast Crunch." He also writes insightful, poetic posts much like his music, tweeting, "And that's what adulthood is: you wake from the nightmare and realize there's no bigger bed to climb into."

3. PerezHilton
Although he can be obnoxious and rude, Perez Hilton is very enjoyable to follow on Twitter. He discusses celebrities from Lady Gaga to Jon Gosling. Reality television, music, entertainment, fashion, and random gossip; it's all there. Perez Hilton has a website as well, however his Twitter account gives updates which read fast, rather than scanning his entire site for what you are looking for. He also offers links to his site, so if an article is worth reading, you can click and go

4. iamdiddy
Although I have never been much of a fan of P. Diddy's, also known as Sean Combs, music, I still enjoy reading his tweets on Twitter. He is very inspirational and uplifting when he writes, " 'Make yourself familiar with the Angels and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.' " He also uses his Twitter account to promote himself when he has a new commercial coming out, a new fragrance, signed a new artist, or simply took some photos of himself.

5. BrittanyLT
Brittany Tronolone, my housemate and a close friend, tweets about her everyday life, which mainly includes her brand new nephew. She includes tweetpics of the newborn and shares his development with the world.

6. KF5689
Kelly Fitzgerald is another of my housemates and close friends. Fitzgerald and Tronolone are the only two of my housemates that actively use Twitter, updating on average about three times a day. Fitzgerald updates about her serving job, her marketing homework, and being deprived of sleep.

7.nytimes
I follow The New York Times on Twitter because of time restraints. As a student, I don't always have the time to sit down and read through the entire paper. By following the newspaper on Twitter, my Tweetdeck alerts me every time The New York Times posts a new article of blog. I can then choose if it I want to read on, past the 140 characters allotted by Twitter. This also proves to be an effective source of a news feed, allowing me to obtain general knowledge of what's happening.

8. rzrachelzoe
Rachel Zoe is a stylist to the stars, a new designers, and a reality television star. She updates her Twitter with style suggestions. She also is one of the best celebrities with responding to replies. Often times she has an hour of question time where followers can ask Zoe fashion advice and she responds straight away.

9. makeupbymario
Mario Dedivanovic is a professional make up artists to the stars. He offers ideas and suggestions on make up through out his Twitter. He also links tutorials on YouTube and other video sites to help his followers in achieving certain looks

10. Sn00ki
As embarrassed as I am to write this, I follow Snooki, whose real name is Nicole Polizzi. She is a newly formed reality star with her appearance on MTV's "Jersey Shore." On the show she made a fool of herself repeatedly by drinking too much and dancing too weirdly. She captivated audiences and still has me following her!