Twitter Away

My universe has been all a-Twitter lately. Literally.

You see, I'm about to become the Twitterer in Chief at my office.

My company is finally putting up a website, something that's been talked about for several years but never completed.  This summer, we hired a professional web design company and they've put together a site for us that will "go live" by mid-September.

I haven't been involved in the process until very recently, when I was asked to give my opinion on the prototype.  I noticed the designer had built in space for a live Twitter feed, and included a cute little "Follow Us" button on the toolbar. My initial reaction was negative.  What in the world would be Tweet about?  Ordered Panera for lunch three days running? Just got a new supply of bond paper from Costco?  Copy machine's down again - repair needed Stat!  Those were about the most exciting things that happen around our little office.  The really good stuff happens to our clients, but their adventures are completely protected by HIPAA laws (mores the pity).

But after conversing with some Social Media Experts at that infamous fund raising event a few weeks ago, I was persuaded to think differently.  Apparently Twitter has become quite the efficient (and free!) marketing tool, giving you the ability to publicize (for free!) your business' activities and keep in contact (for free!) with other people in your field.  It's sort of like a big cocktail party in cyber space, with all sorts of name dropping and reciprocal Tweeting and Re-Tweeting going on.

Like Mad Men, 21st century style (minus the cocktails, cigarettes, and rampant sex, which makes it the perfect kind of marketing activity for little old me).

I've been practicing with my own Twitter account (@RavenousReader if you'd like to follow along) which has been lying nearly dormant for quite some time.   I'm beginning to see how Twitter can be quite effective for people in the arts and entertainment fields, or for those with services and products to offer.   Could there be any benefit for us, a private medical case management company?

Amazingly, quite a few of the medical service providers we work with have Twitter accounts.  Simply by "following" them, our company name gets a pinprick on their radar.  Also, updating Twitter regularly somehow gives our website a bit more "street cred" in the SEO (that's search engine optimization) department.  Plus, having that cute little Twitter symbol on the website makes us appear more friendly to those individual consumers who might find us in their search for geriatric care, which is a new service we're promoting.

The powers that be at my office are eager to try this (Free!) marketing tool, hoping it will give us an extra (Free!) marketing boost, and be an easy (and Free!) way to direct some extra traffic to our web site.  Who am I to argue? At any rate, it seems like a nice break from the mundane medical records and paper shuffling I'm used to doing.

So if you're looking for me, I'm likely Twittering away.  Fly by and give me a tweet.

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Turning the Tide

Meteorological statisticians tell us we're enduring the hottest, most humid summer in the past 94 years.  They don't need to work very hard to convince me.  I've been chafing, both literally and figuratively, at being kept inside the house with air conditioning running nonstop and all the windows bolted shut. So today was literally a breath of fresh air - overnight temperatures were down to 59 degrees, and the overcast skies lent a definite nip to the air.  My bike ride was almost chilly this morning, especially when I turned toward the north and the wind hit my face.

In spite of the long, hot summer, I really don't feel ready for fall.  There's a poignant sadness to the season which I don't feel prepared to embrace at the moment, even though I love sweaters, and fires, and curling up with hot coffee, blankets, and books.

I'd like to keep the tides of summer flowing a bit longer...just cool them down a little, please.

The Responsibility of Freedom

Eons ago, when I first got my driving license and started out in my little blue Chevy Nova, eager to exercise this new found freedom to navigate the wide world all on my own, my parents sat me down for a little talk on responsibility. "Freedom to come and go as you please is  exciting," they granted, "but with this newfound freedom of yours comes a responsibility - and not just the responsibility of driving safely and carefully.   Part of your responsibility, now that you're able to be going places and doing things on your own, is being aware of your family's feelings and keeping us informed about your plans and your whereabouts.  It's not that we're trying to control you, or prevent you from doing things you might want to to.  It's just that we care about you being safe, and we also need to know how your activities impact the rest of the family.  Don't keep us waiting dinner for you if you're planning on eating out with your friends.  Call first and let us know.  If you're running late, call and let us know.  It's simple courtesy.  Being mindful of other's feelings is one of the most important responsibilities that come with freedom."

Lately, with all the debate about building a mosque near Ground Zero, I've been recalling that discussion.  I consider myself a proponent of religious freedom, and believe with all my heart that people living peaceably here in America should be allowed to freely practice their faith, whatever it might be.  It might sound overly simplified, but it seems to me that the whole concept of building a mosque in that particular place has a lot to do with the idea my parents were talking to me about lo those many years ago.

"Being mindful of other's feelings is one of the most important responsibilities that come with freedom."

So many people have such strong feelings about Ground Zero, feelings that it is a sacred place, that it's a reminder of a terrible wrong wreaked upon our nation and on totally innocent individuals.  It seems as if building a mosque anywhere near there, especially one as large as the one being proposed, is a bit like rubbing salt into that wound.  Are there not other suitable locations in New York City?  Why must this particular building be constructed in this particular place?

The situation is obviously very complicated, and I'm sure my homespun philosophy is hardly the answer to what has become a huge dilemma.  Still, perhaps it's a concept worth pondering.  Sometimes consideration and compromise can go a long way toward making peace.

And that's definitely a concept worth working for.

The Ides of August

True to the dire connotations of this phrase (thanks to Will Shakespeare), I always start feeling restless and edgy about the middle of August.  This year is certainly no different, and probably worse than most because I'm so completely fed up with the heat and humidity that has plagued us here in the midwest all summer.  As my husband keeps telling me, we might as well be in Florida.   Yes we might, except for the one hundred and one reasons we have to be here.  But that's another story.

My irritation with August usually stems from being bored.  If you know me, you'll know that's a word I rarely use.  I always have so many projects simmering on the burners of my little brain, and usually never enough time to pick and choose which one to work on.  But in August, my impetus to begin any of those projects simply disappears.  I wander around the house (in which I've become a virtual prisoner thanks to the aforementioned heat and humidity) exasperated with myself, which quickly turns into exasperation with everyone else around me.

So August is an edgy month for me.   I'm prickly in the heat, like the dried edges of the lawn that look ready to burst into flame given the barest spark. I haven't seen any of my friends in too long, work is slow and rather dull, I'm tired of coddling the flowers in the garden.  I'm irritated with the world in general, particularly with the news media who have jumped on the bandwagon of "stalled economic recovery," doing their best to sway public opinion practically insuring it will happen, and taking away some of the hopeful optimism that was starting to spread through the country.

I'm ready for the cool winds of  change to blow through.

How about you?   Are you more restless at certain times of year than others?

Cafe Writing: Summertime Calling

No other season - except perhaps Christmas - can call forth my inner child like the summer season.  Whether it's the long hours of daylight, the sense of freedom from the daily grind, the notion that it's acceptable to loll around reading for an hour after lunch, or just the vestiges of childhood's inner calendar which associates warm, sunny days with being young, foolish, and free - summer is the season when I find myself yearning to be young again. I've found that connecting with one's inner child becomes more difficult with each passing year.  No surprise, I suppose, because our childhood selves retreat further and further into the shadows of our experience.  Particularly for those of us without young children anywhere in the family, it's easy to sink into the cynical stodginess that seems to grow like an arrant weed in the garden of our middle-aged mind.  Thank goodness for our dogs, who demand that we spend at least a certain amount of time jumping around with and acting silly - playing, in other words. 

Perhaps that's the thing about summer which most summons my inner child.  It makes me want to play - to ride my bike, to throw a ball around, to run through the sprinkler.  To abandon the serious, workaday world, and just revel in the sunshine and freedom.  Summertime not only gives us permission to play, it practically demands that we do, rather like my two little dogs who are perpetually child-like  in so many ways.

August is half gone already, and with it will go that heady sense of freedom summer brings. 

I believe I hear my inner child calling now - time to go out and play.

For this month's Cafe Writing  Option 3: Pick 3 words.