Tweeting People is Easy on Twitter.Com

A confession: I'm the kind of person who waits before jumping onto the latest trend or new idea. Aside from music, I'm usually not ahead of the curve. I'm the kind of guy that hops on when it seems that the curve won't be ending in a steep drop off an expansive cliff. Some examples: it took me a good few years to invest in an iPod; I usually wait for a price drop on the next generation of video game platforms (although maybe it's just that I'm being economical); I didn't immediately sign up for a Myspace, Facebook or Twitter account when those social-network platforms sky rocketed in popularity. Go ahead; call me a "Bandwagon Jumper", but at least I don't have any broken ankles from jumping off when a fad goes bust.

Eventually I did join Myspace and Facebook, but it wasn't until this Associated Content contest that it became a "gotcha" moment to join Twitter. Now I am indeed a naturalized citizen of Twitter Nation, onboard and riding the trail of "followers" and "followings", of "Tweets" and "Trending Topics". Here is a look at my ever-evolving experience with the twitter.com phenomenon:

Wednesday, September 16^th, 2009

I have my twitter URL after biting the bullet and deciding to go through the (easy) sign-up (http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein; keepin' it simple). The gnomes who live inside the internets give me recommendations for people, none of whom I want to follow. In fact, aside from Danny Glover and John Mayer, I can't stand the people and the things recommended to me. I mean, Newt Gingrich? The Philadelphia Phillies? Come on, I'm from New York! Strike one, Twitter peeps.

As far as being able to get an immediate lock on my tastes in music, they are so far away they should just as well send a telegram. Sister Hazel? Really, they want me to follow Sister Hazel. "Wonder if I'll always be with you, words can't say, I can't do, it's all for you" Sister Hazel. No, no, hell-freaking-no.

The remainder of the initial start up process includes finding actual people who I want to follow-starting with friends from New York City and some of my fellow writers from 411Mania-which is a website where I've been regularly contributing columns going on five years now.

I also spend some time experimenting with changing the design and colors of the background-now this is where the real fun begins. I enjoyed fooling around and tweaking the look of my page, but ultimately decided on keeping the clouds up top-for now. I'll eventually find something else closer to my personal tastes, but you know what? If you're just beginning the Twitter.com experience, you may as well do it up with the standard bearer design.

Monday, September 21^st, 2009

The first major event that I'm sharing with others in the Twitter community is a special Michelle Branch (http://twitter.com/michellebranch) "U-Stream" webcast. This is done to promote her new album "Everything Comes and Goes". You can log into with your account to chat with Branch, which is pretty cool. Branch was "trending" at number eight by the middle of the event, with those not even aware of the performance and chat learning about and discussing her. The power of the tweet is not a myth! I have more than enough material to write a column on the Michelle Branch webcast, which went up a few days later on associatedcontent.com.

Saturday, September 26^th, 2009

I'm in attendance for Ring of Honor wrestling at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. I have been following ROH since 2003 and have written my Column of Honor about the promotion since 2005 ). Professional wrestling is one of my longtime hobbies (which at times has been both a blessing and a curse, but I digress). I discovered ROH in the midst of living through some really horrible programming from WWE. I found ROH to be the more, ah, "professional" professional wrestling product-with a focus on quality in-ring action, logical and not insulting storylines and having a ton of more respect for their (then)underground fanbase. Since then, ROH has gone quasi-mainstream, with a television series on HDNet. There is a huge spike in interest on my twitter.com account during this weekend, with the most "@" messages yet, in part due to this event.

Tuesday, September 29^th, 2009

I am on a huge writing spree thanks to attending concerts as well as reviewing some new albums. I publish a review of the new Paramore album Brand New Eyes on AC and add on lead singer Hayley Williams to my "following" list. Spreading the word of my review on Twitter during the day of release was definitely the right call as the album easily makes it to the top of the "Trending" list for the day.

While I'm at it, I have decided to try again with Twitter's "Find People" suggestions. This time around, Twitter.com is far more accurate with their picks. Among others, I add my favorite film director, Kevin Smith who is always internet-savvy and on the cusp of the next big e-communication platforms; Rachel Maddow, the snarky but on-point political commentator who is a current fave of mine; Sara Bareilles who doesn't want to write you a love tweet; Dana White, UFC DUDE extraordinaire, also big on tweeting during his ultimate fighting shows; and Al Yankovic, my childhood hero (yes, I know how strange that makes me sound).

I also follow A Fine Frenzy, a.k.a. Allison Sudol. Sudol was one of the first to really take advantage of twitter.com to spread her music. She now has a million followers, which is pretty gosh darn impressive since I've got um...30 something? Yeah, well, at least I'm trying.

Friday, October 9^th, 2009

NCIS quickly became one of my favorite shows when I began to follow reruns in 2008. I finally decide to bite the bullet and add on a review and recap for the NCIS Season 7 through associatedcontent.com. I am spreading the word through Facebook and Twitter, cross posting with the NCIS pages as well. These quickly become my most-often viewed articles. It's a daunting task, but I have every intention of following up on writing weekly reviews of the show and Now I'm four weeks in and still going strong.

I am also noticing that quite a few writers from Associated Content are now following me. It a pretty good feeling, but also humbling that people I don't even know are deciding to add my name to their list. In my opinion, that's a decent measure of progress.

Conclusion (The One-Forty on My Twitter.com Experience)

So at the end of four weeks, I'm at 38 following, 34 followers and approximately 48 tweets. I'd imagine there are others who bested that mark, but I'll call it a good start. It's not so much about the number of tweets for me as much as applying a "sure-and-steady" approach. I think that makes sense coming from the guy who waits a few beats before joining in on the claps.

The norm when I adapt to what is "new" in the world of mass media is that I realize the new trend isn't so bad after all. I often use the analogy of a child who can't stand eating their veggies but will develop a taste for it as he or she ages. It happened with my insatiable appetite for tomatoes, my trusty iPod, and now with twitter.com.

However, a word of advice to the Twitter internet gnomes: I WILL "Gibbs Slap" you the next time you suggest that I follow the Philadelphia Phillies.