Random follow #288 - @v8cortinagirl

Just putting it out there - the Cortina was and still is - a magnificent car.  Having owned one I can attest just how great they are to drive.  Smooth, silent and incredibly reliable.  Also you could pretty much fit everyone and everything into a Cortina - they were designed for families.

@v8cortinagirl embodies a number of these traits and qualities in the way that she approaches life and also social media.  She is smooth, reliable and all about the family.  Qualities that make for an all round excellent person.

Karen is really new to the whole twitter scene and yet has managed to make a really good start.  And in being new there is a real niceness and freshness about what she says and thinks.  So far in her first sub 100 tweets she has expressed lots of encouragement, lovely words and a positive outlook on life.

Karen is a beach type girl.  Being from the beautiful Hibiscus Coast life is a little more laid back up those ways.  Its like living in Auckland but still being far enough away to have the coastal lifestyle.  It really is the best of both worlds.

So here are a couple of interesting things about Karen - 

1.  She is about the same age as most of the people I know and follow on twitter.  So that means all the teenie boy band  tweets will continue but they won't be coming from her.  Cos she has fantastic taste - 

"Listening to #Davedobbyn right now along with some other 80's music, he's such a great talent. #reminiscing #whaling #th'dudes"

2.  @v8cortinagirl enjoys the finer things in life and knows how to kick back and just take it easy.

"Sitting on the deck enjoying the summer sun, glass of wine in hand...then the neighbours start up their chainsaw. #fail #noisyneighbours"

3.  Her priorities are in the right place.  Celebrating Christmas, family and food.

"Meri kirihimete everyone. 13 sleeps to go!"

Not only those things - there are also a few things I think we will get treated to in time.  Things like - cars, beach photos and more genuine happiness.

So what little I know of @v8cortinagirl is that she is really polite. very pretty, loves family and really is a truly genuine person.  Long may these qualities last and may others follow her example and be inspired by her.

Random follow #151 - @PaekakarikiNZ

Quite a few New Zealand families have a special place that they like to go to most years for a holiday.  Its a special place that you keep going back to over and over again.  It feels like home away from home.  For some people they travel to the Coromandel.  Other people go to Gisborne or Nelson.  Each year for the past 5 years or so our family has packed up the car and headed south in search of the ideal holiday spot.  And ladies and gentlemen we believe we have found it.

Located approximately 45 minutes drive north of Wellington Paekakariki is a super family friendly place to stay and swim.  In other years we have stayed up at the road a bit at Raumati Beach but this year pushed a little bit further south.  And the extra 10 minutes drive was totally worth it.

Paekakariki is a small, quiet and peaceful seaside town that has its own school, surf club, beach, a pub, post office, tattoo parlor and a real estate agency.  They also have a train station.  This is not something to be scoffed at because Paekakariki has one of the original NZ train stations still maintained and showing all its beauty.  Plus there is a superb camping ground for people on holiday.  It really is quite something.  And guess what???  They have their very own twitter account!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you - The one! The only! @PaekakarikiNZ!!

Yes.  So what does a beautiful little town tweet like?  

"Walk outside and have a look at the moon and stars tonight - amazing! #stars #nightsky #incredible #astronomy" or

"Loving the sound of the rain on the roof tonight #rain #winter "

The @PaekakarikiNZ also shares some beautiful photography and local news stories for upcoming happenings.  This account is someone's hobby so you won't get bombarded with endless tweets.  The tweet rate for this account pretty accurately reflects the town.  Quaint, peaceful, idyllic and all round beautiful with a little touch of quirky.

At the moment this account has 35 followers.  John Campbell (TV3) is one of them.  Plus another couple of more minor celebs like @KendallForbes and @BenJStrang (but they are celebs none the less). So here is your chance to start following a twitter account that is destined for big things!  Big things I tell you!  

Anyway, if you are in Wellington or are passing through Paekakariki heading either North or South stop and say hello.  The locals are really friendly.  And they serve a really good coffee at the cafe too.

Random follow #62 - @_GlennCollier

What I have found so far during this project is that there tend to pockets of tweeters around New Zealand.  That is there are heavier concentrations of users of twitter in particular areas.  For example - Wellington, Taranaki and Auckland have plenty of twitter users.  Other places are Christchurch and Hamilton (although I  don't think I have profiled anyone from The Tron yet).

Anyway today's tweeter comes to you from one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand.  Mount Maunganui (The Mount) is located in Tauranga and has some of the best beach lifestyle ever.  But where you live does not define you.  It certainly influences what people may think about you but at the end of the day you choose to be who you are.   

@_GlennCollier is one person who has the great fortune to be able to live in such an amazing place.  And even better than that is the fact that his mate Raglan gets to share it with him.  Seriously what are the chances of a person who lives at The Mount (one great surf beach) having a dog named after another New Zealand surf mecca?  Completely uncanny if you ask me.

Tauranga and surfing are two loves in Glenn's life.  And if you know anything about the surfer or his lifestyle then you would know they like time to themselves and tend not to rush things in life.  Maybe that explains why the number of tweeters from that part of the country are a bit lower per head than the remainder of the country.  Either that or they are all bust at the beach!

You can tell someone is serious about social media when they admit to doing things like this - "almost sent a txt to a mate with a hash tag! #addictedtotwitter".  While his tweet count is a little low and he has yet to crack 400 I would say this twitter newbie certainly has found his feet.  A lot of his tweets are conversational and easy to digest.

A word of warning though.  If you don't live near the beach and pictures of the beach give you a bit of angst then you may wish to follow someone else who lives in a far more boring place.

And he has a really great sense of humor.  Check it out - 

"Tomorrow I am going to buy a huge paella pan, then i will invite all my neighbors for a most excellent paella, or just hang it on the wall?"

"#ATM rage, just queued up behind a triple card dipper!" or this one...

"Frujus are $2.80 at my BP Garage...That's not fair, how do they justify the extra .30c? Bastards!"

What impresses me most about @_GlennCollier is that he has been very quick to follow and interact with a lot of the great people of twitter.  If you scroll through his timeline you will see a whole plethora of names of people you may know.  I certainly spotted quite a few lovely people in that timeline.

Well there isn't too much else to say really.  Except to ask the question - is he a long boarder or a short boarder?  You can follow along with his twitter journey and maybe you'll get the chance to find out.