The Seed Is Down

Rainbow Over Wheat Fields – Moray, Scotland

Photographer – John Bracegirdle

purchased from – http://www.accessible-imagesjohnbracegirdle.com

Some hard-line realists easily dismiss poetry as emotional blather and lies.  They would say  it’s a form of distorting or masking the truth.  They may even unconsciously resort to poetry while denying it’s value.   It’s their loss in any case – a self imposed loss of subtlety in exchange for absolute certainty.

I understand inflexible positions where logic comes first and foremost.  I suppose everyone has a little bit of Commander Spock inside.  Unfortunately, realists are too unreal, too certain, and too, too right.

A poem, using metaphor, allegory, or rhyme, can simplify things, ideas, or emotions that are too complicated or long winded otherwise.

Logic, in a way, is a unique form of poetry or thought that points to itself.  It simplifies complex ideas using precise symbols and equations.

Logic or reason finds itself to be a part of everything we do as conscious humans for better or worse.

It’s the unavoidable result of thinking and thought itself.

Poetry is also another form of thought using a neo-logic.
A logic that’s self aware – pointing to itself, anywhere, everywhere, or nowhere.

The link below is to a poem and a fine one at that.  I found it last night while blog surfing.  It’s a gift from Ken Woolcock, poet and fellow traveler.
Meditation Basics From The Beach

Pitch

Marketing turns on reason, imagination, and the subliminal,
creating a spontaneous reflex to come closer or to retreat.

You have the right to remain silent.
You have the right to express yourself.
Anything you say can and will be.
You have the right to proceed alone.
Should you decide not to proceed alone,
You may appoint your mentor.
One sooner than later the better.

“If you learn from the best, you can become the best.”
John Thornhill’s Monthly Mentorship

Building A Lemonade Empire!

Inbox, Outbox, Jelly or Jam!

In the beginning I was lost or so I thought.  The walls were closing in around me and the wolves were smacking their lips on my backside.  I wanted to escape from it all but there were no exits, no escapes.  I stared into the looking glass of my computer for answers until I was numb or asleep.

Time warps, transitions, dreams and e-missions, questions and answers from every position culminated, integrated and separated.  Soon I was confronting a league of subjects.  Each one describing a possible solution to problems that I’d known or ignored and each one offering some form of escape from financial strife.

My Email If Printed

I stumbled upon one such subject containing a small box with an artistic cover.  It contained a zip file which I unzipped and many smaller boxes came pouring out.  A man’s voice popped out of an audio box and began to tell me things I’d never heard before.

His voice was fine, self assured, humorous and he imparted a sense of confidence, passion, and commitment as he spoke.  “This ain’t rocket science”, he said every so often.  “Anyone can do this”, he went on to say.  “Find a hungry target market and satisfy that market.”

The subject’s name was “Shawn-i-pop-outa-things” and the thing that “anyone can do” was called “internet marketing”.  He gave me everything in the box for free and called it “Internet Marketing In a Box”.  It made perfect sense to me, the title anyway.  I then owned my first set of PDF ebooks but not my last.

I could hear Shawn-i-pop-outa-things but he couldn’t hear me.  I knew he was much more powerful than I as I became very curious to know how it was that he could appear in my looking glass.  His email address was “do-not-reply”  Yet before he said goodbye he shared a link to one particular tool and source of his many powers known as Pappa-wanna-pay-pal.

I followed his advice and registered for an account.  I then joined an excellent marketing products membership site of his using my new account and away we went. Shawn-i-pop-outa-things expressed a very positive influence over me, so much so that I didn’t hesitate to pursue “the thing that anyone can do”.

In exchange for the free internet course I granted him permission to share my looking glass address with his best friends.  There was Eric Uber-rocks, Hairy Hey-fuhgit-about-it, Tallman Like-building,  Phannie To-die-for, and Elizabeth-among-others.  They all introduced me to their friends and to their friends and so on.

Each one would share excellent advice, reports, ebooks, and video lessons with me for which I was most grateful.  They also shared promotional links to their products and to their affiliates products and I purchased as many as I could afford at the time.  You might say that I was “information driven”.

Yet, it took months to sort out the league of subjects and solutions that were forming settlements around me.  I believe that I opted-in to email lists a few too many times like a few too many oysters or ales.   I didn’t have the time or an adequate solution for managing twenty or more emails a day when I was new to the internet.

So I opened more email accounts to handle the many new emails I was getting every month.  My inboxes became my new home for over 6 months.  Finally, I was so overwhelmed with solutions and information that I began to transition away from reading and buying all the time.  I began to do something.

-Japanese proverb-

If internet marketing could possibly be contained in one sentence then
“Find a hungry target market and satisfy that market” would be an excellent choice.  The sentence alone however is only a description of something that could easily require months or years to fully implement and accomplish.

Can it be done in days or weeks?  Only if you’re a machine or an alien.  If so then yes, of course.  If you’ve a steady stream of instructions to follow and you were to follow them as directed and you were limited only by the time it takes to sleep, eat, and socialize then it could be done.  Yes, I know  HAL 9000;  you don’t need to do any of those things. You can amass great wealth in 12 hours flat.

We’re not machines though.  We process and proceed as our human hearts and minds see fit.  We also have families, friends, responsibilities and commitments.  The only time I actually think like a computer is when I’m operating or programming one.  Developing an understanding of the capabilities and scope of the computer via the internet has been arduous but valuable.

The endless nightmare before the looking glass is vanishing.
The hounds on my rear are losing ground as I progress through my work.
The tasks before me everyday are more definite and purposeful.
Many things that were so difficult to understand early on are now clear to me.
I look forward to every day with renewed anticipation.

I feel immense gratitude for all of the support, friendship, and coaching I’ve received on my journey on “the road to find out”.  Moments before posting this article I stopped by Mandy Allen’s place.  One particular article there is titled “Set in Stone” and it contains one of the finest parables I’ve ever read.  Upon reaching the end of Mandy’s story I was delighted to find a phrase that reflects a sentiment that I feel as well.  “Do not value the things you have in your life, but value who you have in your life.”

My dear mom, now passed on, cherished her family and was an extraordinary hospital nurse.   We, her kids, often recall mom’s response to us anytime we were having priority issues.   She would say emphatically;  “Things don’t matter, people do”, her emphasis on the word people.  Some lessons last a lifetime.

A thing is no more than the thing itself …even this diamond heirloom?  Hmmmm, yes, even that. … …

-Excerpt from the Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu.

Photographs by Jane English.

Anatomy of a Twitter Website

I must present a disclaimer here.  I don’t have a degree in medicine. Otherwise there would be a picture for each description. Instead, I came up with these links for you.  Pick anyone you like and you’ll see the details as you follow along.

• Pearl Jam
• Collective Soul
• National Lampoon
• Openzine
• Dusty Edwards

In this article I tried to be thorough without over doing it. I used blue highlighting to indicate information that’s unique to the page in view.

The Sidebar is on the first five pages listed here but certain links on the Sidebar are unique to the page in view and those are highlighted as well.

There are 7 main pages that are unique to your twitter site:

UPDATES, FOLLOWING, FOLLOWERS, and FAVORITES pages may be viewed by everyone, members and non-members.

HOME, @USERNAME, and DIRECT MESSAGES pages  are only seen by you.

==== Special Note ==== >>> I’m using the term @username instead of @reply that’s more commonly used because @username is  more accurate for this article.

1. UPDATES – This is the page every member or visitor sees when clicking     on your twitter link, i.e.  – http://twitter.com/username – It contains:

a.Your photo/avatar with Follow button

b. Main content window shows:

1. your most recent tweets
2. your most recent re-tweets
3. your most recent @username tweets

c. Sidebar shows

>>> 5 anchored text-links <<<

*. your Bio (optional but highly recommended)
1. your website – (optional) – http://stevedeerfield.com
2. following – ( http://twitter.com/username/friends )
3. followers – ( http://twitter.com/username/followers )
4. UPDATES – ( http://twitter.com/username ) also the page we’re     on now
5. favorites – ( http://twitter.com/username/favorites )

d. Icon photo/avatars – page link array

1. alternate direct linking by avatar to the UPDATES page of those     who follow you

e. Header menu & footer menu

2. HOME - This is the page you see when you “sign in” and it contains:

a. Update window – Type or copy & paste the text or links you’d like to tweet here

b. Main content window shows:

1. your on-going twitter feed or all of your tweets
2. the on-going twitter feed of those you follow

c. Sidebar shows the following:

>>>7 anchored text-links <<<

1. following – to link directory of those you follow
2. followers – to link directory of those who follow you
3. UPDATES -  link to your tweets, retweets, and @username tweets
4. HOME – this is the page you’re on now.
5. @USERNAME – link to all the tweets with your @username in the     tweet
6. Direct Messages – link to all the tweets that were sent directly     to you alone
7. favorites -  link to your favorite tweets

d. Trending Topics - page link array

1. each link is to an aggregate twitter feed based on a trending topic     of the day

e. Icon photo/avatars – page link array

1. alternate direct linking by avatar to the UPDATES page of those you     follow

f. Header menu & footer menu

3. @USERNAME – This page contains:

a. Update window – Type or copy & paste the text or links you’d like to tweet here

b. Main content window shows:

1. @username tweets that are meant for you but are also seen by anyone else who is following the person who sent the message
2. any tweets that contain your @username in the text – either as an RT re-tweet or as a reference to you

c. All of the same Sidebar links as your HOME page

4. DIRECT MESSAGES – This page contains:

a. Direct Message window – type or copy & paste your DM or direct message here

b. Main content window with 2 tabs contains:

1. Inbox – this tab shows all the direct messages sent to you
2. Sent – this tab shows all the direct messages that you’ve sent

c. All of the same Sidebar links as your HOME page

5. FAVOURITES – This page contains:

a. Update window – Type or copy & paste the text or links you’d like to tweet here

b. Main Content window shows:

1. an aggregate feed of all the tweets you’ve favoured when     selecting the yellow star button of that tweet

c. All of the same Sidebar links as your UPDATES page

6. FOLLOWING – This page is one window, no Sidebar, and it contains:

a. Link directory of those you follow

1. If there is a >direct message< link next to an avatar then that     person is also following you.
2. If there is no >direct message< link next to the avatar then that     person hasn’t followed you as yet or has chosen not to follow.

7. FOLLOWERS – This page is also one window, no Sidebar, and it contains:

a. Link directory of those who follow you

1. If there’s a green check box next to the avatar than you’re     following that member.
2. If there’s a follow button next to the avatar than you’ve not yet     or already have chosen not to follow that person.

>>> SPECIAL NOTES <<<

* It’s a good idea to often review your Following and Followers pages for two reasons.
1. In case you’ve missed any email notifications of a new follower and you’d     like to follow back.
2. In case you’d like to “prune” or remove someone from those you follow.

* Twitter does NOT automatically refresh your HOME page twitter feed or your     @USERNAME twitter feed or any twitter feed for that matter unless you refresh your browser window manually.  Programs like TweetDeck, Seesmic, and Peoplebrowsr will automatically refresh the twitter feed according  to your preferences.

>>> HIDDEN PAGES <<<

I found this page by accident and I couldn’t retrace my clicks but I did save the page address: http://twitter.com/public_timeline

The public_timeline page contains:

a. Update window – this is where you insert your text, and or a link to     tweet

b. Main content window shows:

1. Everyone’s on-going tweets or public_timeline twitter feed.
It’s the best way to catch an immediate glimpse of a wider range     of participants and tweets and another opportunity to follow     anyone you like.

c. All of the same Sidebar links as your HOME page

This concludes Part 3 of PTFT.  Next week I’ll cover the ever popular twitter tool known as TweetDeck.  In the meantime relax and enjoy yourself on twitter.  It’s a no pressure zone, an oasis on the edge of town and it’s whatever you make of it.  I hope this outline is helpful to you.  Please feel free to comment.

Software Connections

The more interesting people I follow and the longer I’ve been actively using Twitter the more I like it.   Since August, 2006 there’s been many people who feel the same way.  Soon developers began implementing the API for Twitter and producing the many applications that everyone’s been tweetin’ ’bout.

Which brings us to Page 7 of your Twitter Settings Panel:  Connections
When you first sign up with Twitter there won’t be anything on your Connections page.  It’s time to make a key connection.

Wefollow

Wefollow,  a free to join twitter directory site,  is one of  many useful resources that we have.  In it’s simplest terms, Wefollow is a database or directory of Twitter members who have added their twitter link, avatar, and profiles to WeFollow.

What makes WeFollow useful is that it’s a multi-directory,  subdivided into 20 broad topics;  i.e. blogs, media, marketing, travel, etcetera.   When you first sign up on Wefollow you’re asked to select your favorite three topics of  interest.  Upon doing so your twitter link, photo and profile are displayed on Wefollow in all three categories that you’ve chosen.  That’s why Wefollow is so, dare I tweet, coo-coo-cool.

Secondly, you’re asked to pick the top ten tweeters, chosen from those you already follow.  Your choices are then sent out as a tweet.  This, in turn, compels others to check out your top ten list and on it goes.

Thirdly, you may choose to follow anyone you like in the Wefollow database in any of the 20 categories.  In this way, it’s easily possible to create a large following simply by following people that interst you.

It’s interesting how something simple can seem complicated at first.  Social networking is like that.  It’s really a skill in the art of communication and that depends on what it is you’d like to share with someone, everyone, or anyone who’s listening.  Twitter and other social media sites are all an exercise of, or an experiment in free speech as granted through the 1st amendment of our Constitution.  Free speech is the corner stone our society.  Enjoy it, practice it, share it, and protect it.  It’s priceless.

Basic Twitter Communications

Twitter is a social network communications platform.  The network is designed around two distinct types of communication:

Type 1. The following tweets are seen by everyone who follows you.

- there are three of this type:

• 1. the  tweet
  

————————————————————

• 2. the RT or retweet
  ————————————————————
• 3.  the @username tweet ( or @ reply is the term that’s used more often)
  

————————————————————

Type 2. You may send a direct message to any member of Twitter and only your intended receiver will see it.  It’s a strictly private message.

- there is one of this type:

1.   DM or direct message

In the twitter-sphere on our home page we’re only 2 clicks and a tweet away from each other.  Still, it’s important to note that Twitter functions as an instant bulletin board feed and as a conversational platform.  It really depends on the individual.  My sense is that people enjoy using @username (@replies) tweets and seeing others @username tweets because it gives an impression of your personality.

When I say @username or @ replies I mean tweets that are public and that are seen by all your followers but are directed towards a specific member.  The @username tweet is utilized quite often as a  method of engaging in conversation or light banter on twitter at least from my experience so far. It’s “relatively direct” and open at the same time thus allowing others to listen in or join in your conversation.

The DM or ‘direct message’ allows us to send private greetings or messages to anyone who follows us.   Some tweeters have no interest in using twitter’s DM feature and others use it to send a personal “thank you for following” message or to carry on a more personal dialogue with someone.

Since the DM is a private message there’s no way to tell how much it’s being used on twitter.  The important thing is that it is a feature option and it’s nice to have it.

For some, twitter is either a broadcast site or it’s a two-way communication site and  for others it’s both in various measure – a little bit a this and  a little bit a that.

Twitter folks are finding new friends, building new relationships, learning new ideas, sharing pics, videos, thoughts, famous and not so famous quotes and whatever comes to mind or the news on any given day.  In 60’s speak, twitter’s a blast!

If  you’d like to check out twitter just click on the blue bird at the top of this page and also please read Part One of Prime Time for Twitter as you’re going through the sign up.  It’ll help.

In Part 3 of PTFT I’ll cover all the other useful links on your twitter home page excluding the Settings Panel link that I’ve already covered in Part One.

In Part 4 of PTFT I ‘m planning to review another free Twitter application known as TweetDeck.  It comes highly recommended.  It allows users to manage various aspects of Twitter.  It also provides continuous feeds in customized groupings on a customized dashboard.

If you’re already up to speed with using Twitter on your Twitter web site and you can’t wait to try out TweetDeck then I highly recommend the perfect starter video done by a wonderful lady known as the Twitter Fairy.  It’s called TweetDeck – Making Twitter Fun.  It’s a must see for anyone planning to use Twitter on regular basis.

I’ll close here with one more key recommendation.  Gary McCaffrey, one of my favorite internet marketers  came out with his free TweeterGetter viral software tool this year.  I used it only once and I went from 20 followers to 200 in 1 month.  I added 200 more just by searching for people that are interesting or share similar interests and following other member recommendations.

*(Make sure you have at least 10 followers before implementing Gary’s application.  Otherwise it won’t have much effect.)  Simply enter your twitter username and password and in a short time you’ll begin to see more followers.  It’s that easy.  In addition to that, you’ll get your own viral link for TweeterGetter and that link if used effectively on a regular basis can produce more followers than a bear has fur.

Part One

Introduction      

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I first joined Twitter but I had a good feeling about it because friends and business associates had been steadily recommending it.  I wasn’t disappointed.

Micro History of Twitter

On August 8th of 2006 a bookmark for Twitter.com appeared on del.icio.us. and by the end of the day there we’re over4,500 more.  >twitterfacts<

Important Reminder!
If you haven’t opened a Twitter account yet please read all of the following before you do.  You’ll be glad that you did.

As soon as you’ve finished opening your new Twitter account you’re taken to the Twitter Directory Page.   This is where you’re given the opportunity to follow anyone you like.  Make sure you follow at least 20 people right off the bat.
This is because as soon as you’ve made your initial selection and returned to your twitter home page and hit refresh, you’ll see a tweet by tweet feed coming from everyone that you chose to follow.   In a very short time, at least one if not many of those you followed will follow you right back.

Now that your account is open and active you can sit back, relax and get a close look at your Settings panel.

The Settings panel has 7 menu tabs:

Account Password Devices Notices Picture Design Connections

1st Page – The Account page opens first and it contains 9 fields.  All 9 fields may be edited or updated anytime.  You’re even allowed to change your Twitter username without losing information related to your prior username.  The only required field is of course the username.  The other 8 fields may be omitted.  However, if you’re interested in developing a large following or any following, it’s important, at least,  to fill out the Bio field with an accurate description of yourself and your interests.  I like to fill in every
field on the Account page because it signifies some level of transparency to everyone.

2nd Page – Password - Change your password on this page anytime you like.

3rd Page – Devices – The Devices page gives you the ability to bring your cell phone into the twitter-sphere.  You have the option of turning twitter text feeds Off or On anytime and the ability to send tweets from your cell.  Twitter doesn’t charge for this service feature but your cell phone service provider will count all your tweets as SMS text messages.

4th Page - Notices -  This page is self explanatory but make sure that you check the email notification box so that you’ll receive an email every time someone follows you or sends a direct message to you.

5th Page – Picture – Here you can upload your photo.   If you’d rather upload an unique icon or image that’s okay to.  Some tweeters have excellent custom icons instead of head shots and they can make quite an impression if done well.

6th Page - Design - This is the fun part.  Twitter has included a sweet and easy site design panel.  You may choose from a dozen stock themes for your background image or you may upload any background image of your own.
Also, instead of using a full screen image you may upload a tiled image that can be repeated to create a full screen background.  You may also choose the background color and font color of your homepage sidebar.

This concludes Part one of Prime Time for Twitter.  Part Two will cover the 7th page of the Settings panel – Connections and the importance of utilizing Twitter software and resources.

If you’d like to read an excellent in-depth view of Twitter check out Randy Gage’s article,  Twitter Manifesto.