Tweets | Letters From Dan

9/14/09 – The Day of My Twitter Glitch

Posted By: DanRMorris | Tags: account button, blink of an eye, few minutes, glitch, Ironman, ironman wisconsin, journey, tact, thrust, tweets, world tomorrow
Posted in The Social Media Phenomenon

Today, I was jolted from my comfort zone and thrust into something new. I accidentally deleted my Twitter account today, and with it the connections to all my friends in the Twitter-verse. I was in the midst of deciding whether or not to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin. The entry fee for the race is now $576 – up from $350 in 2001. To give myself a few minutes to digest that enormous price tag, I typed www.twitter.com/danrmorris into my browser.

Something jolted my memory of an account I once opened but had never really used. I navigated to that account and found myself at the “Delete This Account” button. I did all the steps: Are Ya Sure? Do you know this is final? and finally “Confirm Here.”

Well, I hadn’t “logged out” of my main Twitter account so in the blink of an eye, both accounts had been deleted. Gone. Nothing. And I knew it the very second I pressed “confirm” that it was gone. Nevertheless, somehow this bundle of hope wound itself up inside of me and I proceed to “reinstate” my account. Whew! I was allowed and it would only take a few minutes. And Then. . .

My 8,900 Twitter-verse friends were gone. I had no connections to anyone else. I wasn’t following anyone and no one was following me. All my tweets, my profile, my replies, my sent file – all in tact. Gone were the connections. And to top misery with defeat, I found out shortly thereafter that a glitch was preventing me from following anyone and anyone following me.

So until that glitch has been fixed – I have no Twitter to converse with the world. Tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that, when the dust has settled and the Twitter Glitch is gone – I will reconnect with that world. And I’ll document for you that journey – the stats and the steps.

Stay Tuned for “Twitter Problem Solutions” at www.twitterglitch.com

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The Live Birth of our Daughter: Millie Virginia

Posted By: DanRMorris | Tags: baby, baby girl, Baby Millie, birth, dad, facebook, hospital, Millie Virginia, My Twitter Clinics, nurse, tweets, Virginia
Posted in Life's Experiences, The Social Media Phenomenon

This was the series of tweets I made “live” during the birth our fourth child, and first baby girl. I’m quite excited for having done this. Without it, memories of the birth seem to fade over time. Here we go, starting the day before.

FROM TWITTER

I’m 48 hrs away from being a baby girl’s dad. My first girl. – 10:08 AM Jun 30th

Inducement Scheduling has changed, now I’m 18 hrs away from being a baby girl’s dad. My first girl. – 7:35 PM Jun 30th

So my wife, who is giving birth in the a.m., is here at Kroger’s shopping for the “people who’ve come to help”. Can’t the relatives get their own cinnamon rolls? – 7:41 PM Jun 30th

Headed to the hospital for the induction of our first baby girl – 5:15 AM July 1st

They’ve started the oxytocin. We should be holding baby Millie in about 3 hours. Yay! – 7:21 AM Jul 1st

@donitabrown I’ll post my “having a baby” video at lettersfromdan.com probably. – 7:43 AM Jul 1st

My wife just told me babies are typically born with blue eyes, then they change later. Is that true? She thinks dogs are that way, too. – 7:44 AM Jul 1st

Contractions are 3 minutes apart now. We’re getting down to the Nitty Gritty. Soon all will be pink. – 8:15 AM Jul 1st

I had to leave the room while the epidural lady is in there. Needles give me the willies. After 3 natural births, my wife is trying painfree – 8:25 AM Jul 1st

@chriscobb thanks. She’s doing fine so far. The epidural is making her feel “warm and fuzzy” right now. And the grandmas are on the way. – 8:37 AM Jul 1st

Our doctor says her cervix is “wildly favorable” for giving birth soon. That “wildly favorable” made me laugh. – 8:44 AM Jul 1st

@OMGchronicles “that wildly favorable is how she got pregnant”, that’s funnier than the doctor’s comment. – 8:51 AM Jul 1st

My wife had her first contraction since the epidural kicked in and said ‘oooh that’s nice. I just had a contraction’ (with a wry smile) – 8:54 AM Jul 1st

@TraciKnoppe you’re right, our doc is not old, she’s a 30 something female with a “wildly favorable” personality. – 8:57 AM Jul 1st

The grandmas have arrived with snacks, sweaters, blankets and smiles. We’re 5 cm, Marcia is comfortable, and 4 minutes apart. – 9:04 AM Jul 1st

@twokidsandamap Grandma just said “oh you’re Tweeting. This will be your first Twitter baby”.9:11 AM Jul 1st

Had a brief “scare”. Marcia’s blood pressure dropped because of the epidural. Now they’re administering ephedrine. – 9:32 AM Jul 1st

Marcia’s blood pressure has normalized and we’re just hanging out. – 9:40 AM Jul 1st

We’re now taking bets on the birth time. Grandma #1 says 2:30 cst, grandma #2 says 12:15, Marcia and I say before noon. Stats next -0 10:13 AM Jul 1st

We’re 5 cm, 80% effaced, 3 – 4 minutes apart, water is broke, epidural in place, Marcia still smiling. – 10:14 AM Jul 1st

July 1st just sounds like a good birthday, doesn’t it? – 10:53 AM Jul 1st

Marcia is comfortably napping at the moment. I can hear the heart beating of the baby via the monitor. Just a pleasant moment. – 11:03 AM Jul 1st

@twokidsandamap at some point, my wife is going to tell me to stop tweeting and to tend to the birth, though the epidural experience is dif. – 11:10 AM Jul 1st

My dad and cousin Nicole are standing by taking care of the baby’s brothers-all 3 of them! – 11:23 AM Jul 1st

We’ve now been in the hospital for 6 hours, on potocin for 4 and now we’re at 6 cm! Yay! – 11:29 AM Jul 1st

My wife is so not in pain she just hummed the Empire Carpet Co. Jingle. – 11:38 AM Jul 1st

@formerfatguy yep, we’re hopefully having the baby in the next hour. – 11:45 AM Jul 1st

@vivavelo I’d certainly be up for letting Twitter name her IF she didn’t already have a name: Millie Virginia Morris – 11:47 AM Jul 1st

Contractions are now 2 minutes apart. (We’re 6 cm, 85% effaced) and she’s still smiling and as beautiful as ever. – 11:50 AM Jul 1st

@jrmoore13 Thanks for the kudos. My wife is still doing fine. Shouldn’t be long now. – 12:17 PM Jul 1st

Marcia went with the epidural (after 3 natural births) in hopes of avoiding the pain of the stitches afterward. Crazy, eh? – 12:18 PM Jul 1st

Contractions are still 2 minutes apart, but she called in the nurse because the . . . Oooh! We’re 10 cm! – 12:51 PM Jul 1st

The doctor is coming, the baby is coming out! – 12:59 PM Jul 1st

Millie Virginia popped out 1 minute ago. Very pretty. No stats yet! – 1:05 PM Jul 1st

Little Millie has the cutest cry. She’s got the pasty cheesy stuff on her skin and real long fingernails. Tiny little cute nose, too. – 1:23 PM Jul 1st

Little Millie weighs 7 lbs 12 ounces, 20.5 inches. I’ll have pics and video up momentarily. – 2:12 PM Jul 1st

So, she weighs 7 lbs, 12.5 ounces is 20″ and was born at 1:04 today. Here’s my video of her immediately after birth – 2:31 PM Jul 1st

It’s so strange to think I have a daughter now. I’m pretty excited and incredulous at the same time. – 4:30 PM Jul 1st

@SusanPreston I posted a link to a video of our baby on Facebook: www.facebook.com/danrmorris – 4:42 PM Jul 1st

Thanks for all the twitter love for our new baby today. Friend me on Facebook, I have posted a video of her. www.facebook.com/danrmorris – 5:52 PM Jul 1st

Headed back to the hospital, I went out to get my wife a smoothie, after having given birth a few hours ago. – 6:49 PM Jul 1st

So, she weighs 7 lbs, 12.5 ounces is 20″ and was born at 1:04 today. Here’s my video of her immediately after birth – 9:20 PM Jul 1st

@virtualcfo Thanks for saving the paper. I got the local Hermitage Daily today, but that’s all I had time to get.Can anyone save me USAToday? – 9:32 PM Jul 1st

@goatflavor I will do my best to be the guy I want her to marry. – 9:33 PM Jul 1st

Baby Millie is doing well, just a few hours away from being one day old. – 9:18 AM Jul 2nd from web

Baby Millie slept through the night other than her 3 feedings. She grasped breast feeding almost immediately, within 20 minutes of birth. – 4:28 PM Jul 2nd

Marcia came out of the epidural quite well. Within 2 hours she had complete feeling back in her legs. Only her back is sore now. – 4:29 PM Jul 2nd

Marcia was up and walking around the hospital wing today. She’s eating fine and loved the 2nd cherry smoothie we brought her. – 4:30 PM Jul 2nd

A lovely patron at the Custard Place on Lebanon Road bought the smoothie for us. Very nice of her. 4:32 PM July 2nd

For some reason, she’s not allowed to leave the hospital till tomorrow at 1:00 – so she’s resting comfortably at the hospital. – 4:30 PM Jul 2nd

We had a lot of help from relatives during the whole thing. My dad and niece helped watch our three boys during delivery. – 4:31 PM Jul 2nd

My mom and Marcia’s mom were in the delivery room with us. They got to be part of the experience and are a tremendous help now. – 4:32 PM Jul 2nd

Alex, our 18 month old, could care less about Millie. He said “hi” and “baby”; otherwise, he’d rather play. – 4:32 PM Jul 2nd

Cameron, our 7 year old, can’t hold Millie enough. He didn’t even want to go out to lunch and to the park. He just wanted to hold her. – 4:34 PM Jul 2nd

Cole, our 5 year old, got to hold Millie today for about 15 minutes. I think he’s hit his “holding the baby ” threshold for a while. – 4:34 PM Jul 2nd

I’m trying hard to divide my time between my 3 boys and my wife. But with help here, I’m also trying to finish some projects before tomorrow – 4:35 PM Jul 2nd

I think the hardest part about having multiple kids is managing to spend time with them all together, and separately. All while working. – 4:35 PM Jul 2nd

Those few moments I get between 5:30 and 7:30 are hard to parse. Between dinner and getting ready for bed, that’s not a lot of quality time. – 4:36 PM Jul 2nd

Anyway, I want to thank all of you for the well wishes you sent. Yesterday I got over 200 messages from you all. It was awesome. – 4:37 PM Jul 2nd

As I said earlier, Baby Millie is doing well, and is now 27 hours old. Thanks again! – 4:38 PM Jul 2nd

I just learned that some of my non-twitter friends joined twitter yesterday to watch our “live birth” tweets. – 5:39 PM Jul 2nd

@cynthiawebster That was her first epidural birth and she absolutely loved it. But, yes, she was a trooper. – 9:00 PM Jul 2nd

@chriscobb Marcia and Millie are doing just fine. Millie is such a mellow baby (fingers crossed) – she just enjoys looking around. – 9:03 PM Jul 2nd

So my new baby girl is much prettier now that she’s been cleaned up. Go to Lettersfromdan.com – 10:03 PM July 2nd

We get to bring baby Millie home today. Yay! (I think I’m more excited that my wife is coming home though). 9:15 AM July 3rd

Headed to the hospital to pick up my wife and new baby girl. 11:08 AM July 3rd

@marylmorris YEP! We all got back around 1:30. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. 8:30 PM Jul 3rd

By the way, Millie’s head is the softest thing in the world. Not a chinchilla or our other 3 boys could beat that softness – 9:15 PM Jul 3rd

And now she’s sleeping in her mother’s arms. Thanks everyone for your love and support during the birth. All the messages we got were fantastic!

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My Tweets on 2009-05-21

Posted By: DanRMorris | Tags: microblog, My Twitter Clinics, tweets
Posted in The Social Media Phenomenon

Headed to D.C. today to hang with my brother and his kids.We’re going to do a Rogaine on Saturday, a race in the woods w/ a compass and map #
@MichealSavoie I actually went to extra effort to make sure the a and e were in the right order. ‘eal’ just looked normal, so I switched ‘em in reply to MichealSavoie #
@JessicaRMurray I wish I could have made it. Maybe you’ll let me buy you lunch and you can tell me about it . in reply to JessicaRMurray #
@MichealSavoie How did you end up seeing it? in reply to MichealSavoie #
@MichealSavoie It was your photo. ?? in reply to MichealSavoie #
Is there a person who will help you create a budget, monitor it, and determine where you can find savings? #
@nashvillest I’ll head there next week and check it out. #
@JessicaRMurray What is this conference about? I’m so out of touch with some of this cool stuff. in reply to JessicaRMurray #
@DreamWildly Yeah, I’m on FB – http://profile.to/danrmorris (we could hang out there, too) in reply to DreamWildly #
@nashvillest For some reason I thought Bubble Tea was a Thai or Korean thing. in reply to nashvillest #
@FeistyRedheadHB You can click on it here & then buy it: http://bit.ly/r5vua in reply to FeistyRedheadHB #
@tolles You’re the topix guy? Cool. I’ve been a Topix.net fan for a long time. in reply to tolles #
@JessicaRMurray Nash Tech Conference? What is that? I really want to go and I don’t know anything about it, but I’m pre-occupied today. in reply to JessicaRMurray #
@DreamWildly Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? I may get one just to video tape myself making peanut butter for Facebook. in reply to DreamWildly #
@morganlevy You’re in Nashville, too? How crazy is that? I figured someone light years away would respond to an American Idol question. cool in reply to morganlevy #
@Kevin_McIntosh_ How do I get in on the Social Media Marketing Journey? Are you coming to the June event? http://sn.im/hkej3 in reply to Kevin_McIntosh_ #
Hey Nashville folks – come hang out at the Music City Internet Marketing Conference next month http://sn.im/hkej3 #
@toddmccalla I’ve had Bubble Tea in Atlanta a few times. I do enjoy that. in reply to toddmccalla #
@nashvillest @toddmccalla It’s been confirmed – Elena’s Cafe. Is that a Korean Place? in reply to nashvillest #
@morganlevy That’s too bad. He seems like he could negotiate a pretty sweet deal at this point. in reply to morganlevy #
Check out this cool peanut butter maker. I’d love that on my counter: http://bit.ly/r5vua #
@toddmccalla Where do you get Bubble Tea in Brentwood? I love that stuff. in reply to toddmccalla #
@toddmccalla It was good meeting you last night. We’ll have to do lunch next week. in reply to toddmccalla #
@designtwit Are you coming to the Geek Breakfast next Thursday? in reply to toddmccalla #
At some point, you get so many followers that you lose touch with your regular twitter friends. I know you’re out there & I miss chatting. #
I bet Adam Lambert is very excited he didn’t win. He avoided that American Idol contract, but got all the exposure. #
@magdastefan You have a link in every tweet, how do you find all these links? in reply to magdastefan #
@gotbreakthrough I think being ready is what separates the men from the boys, the boys are ready – the men are already taking action. in reply to gotbreakthrough #
If American Idol isn’t shown live on both coasts – isn’t that a mistake? Why pay for advertising in the CA mkts if people tune out. #
@FeistyRedheadHB Were you kidding about the American Idol thing? Isn’t that filmed and shown live everywhere? in reply to FeistyRedheadHB #
@ThriftDiva Why do you think that’s the best way to list garage sales? I just found out that craigslist was a good place. in reply to ThriftDiva #
@FeistyRedheadHB It’s very pretty. I like it a lot. in reply to FeistyRedheadHB #
Check this out – An online auction of airfares, vacations, hotel rooms – LIVE RIGHT NOW http://travelshow.ytb.com/ #
@Kevin_McIntosh_ It was nice meeting you at SMC last night. Going to Geek Breakfast? in reply to Kevin_McIntosh_ #
@ChrisGTaylor Hey, it was nice meeting you last night. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon. Geek Breakfast? in reply to ChrisGTaylor #
@morganlevy I don’t think we got to meet at SMC last night. It was a good time. Maybe next time, eh? in reply to morganlevy #
@jenniferhuber Phew! It finally moved to Florida. I thought the rain would never leave here. Thanks for taking it so graciously. in reply to jenniferhuber #
@FeistyRedheadHB Did you change your photo? It looks very similar, but more colorful or something. I like it. in reply to FeistyRedheadHB #
@JohnWEllis Hey I thought SMC was pretty cool last night, look forward to seeing you at the next one. in reply to JohnWEllis #
@bjputtbrese What’s up dude? in reply to bjputtbrese #
@WonderDawg777 Hey , we didn’t get a chance to meet last night at Social Media Club. I hope we do next time. -Dan in reply to WonderDawg777 #
@dbcotton What’s up, man? I enjoyed running into you again at Social Media Club last night. Talk to you soon. in reply to dbcotton #
@JoyHaynes I love the Cocoa Tree. Hey, it was nice meeting you last night. in reply to JoyHaynes #
@marketingdiner Dude, I appreciated your talk last night – and nice meeting you. in reply to marketingdiner #
@designtwit It was nice meeting you last night at Social Media Club. in reply to designtwit #
@MaryWilhite I got that, I was talking about your event. in reply to MaryWilhite #
@SpokaneTracker When I lived there it was near the air force base. I was a kid though – what did I know? in reply to SpokaneTracker #
@Talkback_Site All of them? #

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What is Twitter and How Do You Use It?

Posted By: DanRMorris | Tags: Dan Morris, facebook, internet business, Internet Marketing: My Ph.D., My Twitter Clinics, myspace, social networking, tweets, Twitter & Social Marketing, twollo, web 2.0
Posted in The Social Media Phenomenon

What is Twitter, exactly? Twitter is the ‘status line’ you find on Facebook and on MySpace – but taken to whole new level. Right now you’re pretty much using the status line to be funny, make snide remarks, or just to tell everyone that you’ve just gotten back from the grocery store. All these things are good when you’re just interacting with friends and family. (Check out http://how-to-twitter.info for another angle on that) From a friends and family standpoint, twitter allows you to update your Facebook, MySpace, and Pownce status (among others) from anywhere – like via your phone. Instead of waiting to get home to update your status, send a text message to Twitter while you’re at the grocery store and it’ll do it for you. That’s the level 1 beginner stuff.

But that’s just the tip. . . as they say. Twitter, for me, is a business tool. It’s used by hundreds of thousands of people looking to become smarter at what they do. Get a Twitter account and ‘follow me’. Once you’ve got your account and are logged in go to www.twitter.com/danrmorris and click “follow” under my picture. Then look at the people I am following, a marketing guy at Google, CEO’s of a bunch of small companies, internet marketing millionaires and other internet marketers in my field. I see what they’re talking about all day long.

Then register yourself at Twollo. This is a service that will track conversations for you. Are you looking to become the next internet marketing millionaire? Then tell Twollo you want to follow internet marketing conversations and keep up with the pro’s. The marketing guy at Google might put a link to an article he just wrote, or an article he just read. The finance guys talk about the economy and include links to great YouTube Videos and other Digg articles. I follow Nutraceutical people to see what’s new in health and wellness, to keep up with our OPC Factor business. If you want to stay abreast – get an account and search out everyone in your industry. What are they talking about? What are they reading? Who are they following? Follow them all. Follow your competitors (which you can do by searching for them first on LinkedIn and then on search.twitter.com, by the way).

Suppose you’re looking to put yourself in a leadership position and plan to use twitter to provide useful information to people. Maybe you’re a tech guy and you’ve got lots of tips on installing a home theatre system. Well, come up with a “hash tag” and put it in every one of your posts. A hash tag is the pound sign followed by some letters of your choosing, like #iht (for installing home theatres). Then, when you meet people who are truly interested in installing a home theatre, tell them to go to search.twitter.com and search for #iht. The results will be all the tips you provided on installing home theatres. That’s value.

Following people to learn is one thing – a very important and useful thing. But don’t forget what Perry Belcher says in the meantime. Don’t be a nuisance and reply just to reply. Don’t become a typical used car salesman. Twitter is a chance to absorb what others have learned and to share a little of yourself. It’s a water cooler, a bar stool, a park bench. Twitter is a chance to interact socially with people. Be as much a friend of Twitter as you find from it.

Become better at what you do.

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