Posts tagged Twitter
Excuse me, I’m having a #jellymoment
May 19th
Today was Jelly day once again at The Old Church School in Frome, and having discovered Jelly was happening at the same time in both Cardiff and Coalport, I racked my brains for a way of connecting us all.
It was A who came up with the brilliant idea of having a #jellymoment on Twitter like the #watercoolermoment Enterprise Nation run at 11 am every morning. We decided on 12 as the start time, and despite a few grumbling stomachs demanding lunch, got such a good response that we reached 3rd in UK trending, as you can see on the left. Not at all bad for a first attempt!
Are you a freeformer?
May 5th
It’s been a busy week, what with making ourselves at home in the new house and firing up the brain cells, which have got rather too used to operating on Spanish time. Fortunately we got broadband in time for me to hear through Twitter – where I seem to hear all the best stuff – about a talk last night at Bath University by James Alexander, one of the founders of Zopa.
Zopa isn’t a bank, it’s an ‘online place where people can lend and borrow money’ and was established following extensive research that showed the emergence of a new category of people known as freeformers. Freeformers have lost faith in the old systems to look after them, believe in self-reliance and collaboration, and value community and transparency. The kind of people who tend to be freelancers and home workers, in other words.
I came home feeling uplifted that there are people creating businesses like this, even when the ‘experts’ say it’s not possible. And feeling much more hopeful having heard James’ advice to ask for help and you will be surprised by how much you get.
I know the isolation of the home worker has become a bit of a cliche, but that’s because it’s so true, and it applies to me as much as anyone. Working by yourself at home can make you spiral further and further into yourself and your own resources without even realising what’s happening. I’m now intent on reaching out to find more likeminded people and I’d love to hear if you’ve had any good results from doing so.
I’ll be back…w/c 19 April
Apr 7th
It’s unlikely I’ll be posting here until I’ve moved into my new home office, so apologies in advance for the disruption to normal home working service. In the meantime you might like to visit a few of my online friends to fill the gap:
San Sharma is the friendly host of #watercoolermoment every weekday at 11 am. Home workers meet on Twitter for an online coffee break to chew over home business issues of the highest importance, such as if you had a Tardis, where would you go?
Emily Cagle’s blog offers thoughtful, well-written posts on marketing and communications, as well as guest posts from other experts, including, ahem, me in the near future if I’m not mistaken.
David Wike has a dry sense of humour that makes me laugh out loud and his new blog The Watercooler (yes, not entirely unrelated to the above) is a collection of snippets of his (very) random thoughts. Give him a try and please tell him I sent you.
Well, that’s all I’ve got time for before A pulls the plug and packs up the computer, so bye for now and see you soo
Unexpected pleasures
Mar 31st
A and I have noticed before that it’s amazing what can happen when you let go of trying hard, and go off and do something else entirely. I’ve been doing a lot of work lately on content for the site and articles for other websites and blogs. But with the move coming up next week, like it or not, I’ve now got no choice but to spend time on packing and getting organised.
We were busy with this yesterday morning and part of the afternoon, but when I arrived home and looked at my Twitter account, I discovered that in my absence Work from Home had been recommended by Enterprise Nation members and put on their Amazon Wish List! Quite made my day, if not my whole week.
And a welcome reminder right now that good things happen all by themselves without planning, strategising or my direct involvement. Phew, long exhale, shoulders down…
The tweetometer stands at 1000
Jan 31st
My observant coworking friend Lee Cottier pointed out the other day that I have now sent out more than 1000 tweets. I wasn’t keeping count, so the total was a surprise. It would be good if you could attach a tweetometer to the side of your computer and watch the tweets roll up, just like the miles on a car!
Passing 1000 tweets made me think back on all the people and information Twitter has brought me in just over five months. For a start, it was where I found out about Jelly and then met or connected with many interesting people who can see the possibilities in coworking. I now have lots of Jelly information on the site and it’s exciting to know that it’s being read, and recommended, by coworking spaces in the US where Jelly originated.
I find it quite staggering that I can tweet a short message from the West Country here in the UK that is instantly picked up by like-minded people on the west coast of America. This really is the best time in history to be starting and running a business.
The twilight zone
Dec 28th
This is a very peculiar time of year, a sort of twilight between Christmas and New Year in which nothing much happens. It’s a good time to do a clear-out of your home office ready for the new start after the January 1 Bank Holiday. I find jobs like getting rid of old paperwork are perfect for bridging the gap and making me feel ready for another year.
One thing I always do is go through my old diary and make a list of all the things I’ve achieved this year. It’s always far longer than I remember and makes me feel grateful for everything that’s happened, and positive about the future. This year’s list includes moving into a light and spacious house perfect for home working, the publication of my book, learning how to use Twitter, discovering Jelly and meeting some really helpful and inspiring people, including Mark Shaw (Twitter), Lee Cottier (coworking and Jelly) and Louise Billington (creative coach).
Next year will I hope include moving into another light and spacious house perfect for home working (sadly, our landlords have decided to sell up), developing some exciting products and services to help home workers be more successful, speaking to more groups about the joys of working from home and meeting yet more amazing people.
What do you want to achieve in 2010?
Newsflash – page about Jelly
Dec 9th
I’ve just added a new page about Jelly that includes a couple of videos from the first Frome Jelly in November. New pages are listed under Tips on the menu bar and also in the right-hand column under my tweets.
Joining the Twitterverse
Sep 3rd
Work on the website has been on hold for the time being, as recently I attended a Twitter training course and I’ve been practising what I learnt. Our immensely knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher was Mark Shaw and thanks to him I have been able to dip a toe into the world of social media. There is absolutely no chance I would have done it on my own by just signing up for an account and trying to figure it out for myself.
I have to admit that when I first heard about Twitter, I wondered why on earth anyone would bother to write messages of 140 characters or less about what they were doing, and even more why anyone would be sad enough to read them. What I have discovered is that by being discerning about what you write and who you follow, you can pick up the very latest news on any topic and make contact with people who are experts in their field and are willing to share tips.
If you want to embark on Twitter or improve your skills, I highly recommend you follow Mark Shaw, who sends out regular tips and bulletins throughout the day. And of course you can follow me on http://twitter.com/judyheminsley
A glimpse of the future?
May 22nd
I must confess that until now the idea of Web 2.0 has left me cold. (If Web 2.0 is an alien concept to you, as it was to me, you might like to know that according to Wikipedia ‘Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities…such as social-networking sites, videosharing sites, wikis, blogs…’). Blogs I can see the point of – you choose to read the ones that mean something to you and comment if you feel you have something to add.
But my experiences just of book and film reviews on Amazon had led me to believe that the type of people with the time and inclination to share their opinions were precisely the type of people whose views I didn’t want to hear! My response to those choosing to answer the Twitter question ‘What are you doing?’ is ‘So what and who cares?’ Unless you’re a celebrity with a devoted following, does anybody really want to know?
But I’ve just seen an inspiring film at www.usnowfilm.com about the possibilities created by sites where people who were previously strangers share information. The examples I particularly liked were couchsurfing.com where travellers can find someone willing to put them up on the sofa for the night, and mumsnet.com where parents share the kind of information they apparently used to pick up from relatives and neighbours. Now that bankers and MPs have shown themselves to be greedy and not particularly clever, could this kind of openness of information enable a more truly democratic society?
This is the key question debated in the film, which lasts for an hour and is the most heartening message I’ve heard in a long time. (Although I’m no more enthusiastic about going on Facebook…)
