Random follow #228 - @MattNippert

Business, finance and the art of making of money.  All noble goals and ways to have a career.  Some people do it well.  Some people don't.  Other people make a living out of being able to observe and keep track of what is happening in the realms of big business.  People like @MattNippert.  He has the role of being a journalist whose job it is to keep up to date with both the high rollers as well as the small mum and dad operators who work hard to make a living.

Matt plies his writing skills and trade with Stuff.co.nz.  Thats no little fish.  Having the opportunity to publish stories on such a major platform for current events and news in New Zealand is pretty special.  When it comes to twitter Matt writes his own tweets.  And they're his tweets.  Not RTs of his employer etc.  And to be fair - he tweets some pretty cool stuff!

Here take a look - 

"Fist-pumptastic: That moment when a source emails through an mp3 of hard-news comedy gold. #winning"

"New Kids on the Trot(sky) #LabourBoyBands" and,

"Downloaded free dinosaur app for 2-year-old to play with. Every three mins program exited to load Tui beer ads. Wtf? That's poor targeting."

Matt is also a man of many other talents too.  Most importantly he is a dad.  You can hear him on National Radio every now and then sharing his opinions and thoughts of current events.

There really is a lot to like about @MattNippert.  His ability to keep it real.  If tweets were able to be valued (like on the currency market) then Matts tweets would be a very solid investment with good returns.  His value doesn't wildly swing from one extreme to another but he manages to keep his value up through interaction with other heavy hitters in the journalism trade.

This well priced and high value tweeter is definitely worth following (and trading if that were a possibility).

It wouldn't be a blog about business if there weren't some sort of mention of business or a transaction of some sort occurring.  So I leave you today with this little snippet from The Godfather: Part 2.

Random follow #96 - @catconnor

The great twitter bio. A place where you get a limited number of characters in which to tell the world about who you are and why they may or may not want to follow you.  Some people are a bit dull and don't really tell you a lot.  Other people have a creative flair and ability to spark something in your imagination that makes you stop, think twice and wonder.

@catconnor has definitely mastered the art of the twitter bio.  The few words that really strike me as being brilliant are these ones - "Knows where to hide the body".  Given that in twitter (usually) the person at the other end of the line is someone you have never met before makes these words that mush more interesting and intriguing.

But to take those words alone and form an opinion or a minds eye picture of Cat would not be doing her justice.  Why?  because she is a write of thrillers.  So you need to take it all together and discover all the goodness that is @catconnor.   This wonderful lady takes her writing very seriously.  So seriously that she currently has six books published in a crime/thriller series.  And that is no mean feat.  How do I know?

"Exciting!! Just got an email from my fab publishers with my kindle and ePub copies of soundbyte attached. :D #soundbyte"

It is that wild and creative imagination that helps to make her tweets both interesting, thought provoking and funny.  For example -

"Further to the light saber tweet - Just heard sirens. Most unusual considering where I am. Suspect Action Man is playing with his phone lol"  Right..............

"hahahaha Action Man text to say he just tried to move his desk (at work) and it fell apart."  Action Man?  Cute ;)


"I'll wake them after Bon Jovi. @DaveSmarty or I could turn this up and piss the moron neighbor off .... and wake the kids up. #2birds"

So there you go.  One lovely lady who has a couple of kids and a partner.  A lady who writes, tweets, cooks, makes coffee and drinks wine. Simply all the est things in life.  And if you want to you can check out one of her blogs over here.

Random follow #80 - @Sportsfreakconz

"I love sports. Anytime I can combine sports with a film I'm a happy guy. It's such a natural fit, because sports always seems to be a metaphor for life. Always, always, always." Dean Cain

There are many, many, many films which tell the various stories of sports teams who overcame adversity, triumphed over evil, r just generally managed to beat the snot out of the opposition.  Here are a few examples that automatically spring to mind - Happy Gilmour, Mighty Ducks and Any Given Sunday.

Each of these movies has something in common.  The little guy, the one that can't win, the under dog or the dark horse come through and win.  There is something to both like and love about those stories.  But those stories occur far more than just in the movies.  They occur everyday in lots of places around the world.  

@Sportsfreakconz is one kiwi tweeter who has a HUGE interest in seeing those stories played out in real time.  He is to be fair - sports mad.  Not just one sport but all sports.  He is a man of varied taste who is happy to venture into a conversation about any sport, at any time with anyone.  Now that is no mean feat.  Discussing the virtues of NCAA lacrosse is probably an easy thing to do but if anyone can its him.

Here are a few (interesting) facts I have been able to piece together about the man and what makes him a good sports journalist -

A good sports journo has to have a long memory. "A goal for Judas".  To put some context around this tweet Judas is the nickname given to a former player for the Wellington Phoenix who decided that playing in Australia would be a better career move than playing on for the club that gave him a chance.  That event occurred some two or three years ago but football fans never forget.

@Sportsfreakconz is a blogger.  Any sports journo who is worth anything must have a soap box or platform from which to share their opinions of everything. If you head over to http://www.sportsfreak.co.nz you'll discover a treasure trove of thoughts, general knowledge and an endless barrage of personal opinions.

A sports journo isn't just about all the sports.  From time to time he is able to shed light on other topics of interest to him such as "#NW Jesus Christ Superstar. It really is one a fantastic time capsule. Some great licks though"  which begs the question - WHY was he NOT watching rugby????

A good sports journo has a story for every occasion. "Twice in my life I have been urinated on (deliberately) at a sporting event. 1983 and 95. Both times in Chch."

Every good tweeter, like every good sports journalist, has a brain filled with memories they can recall in an instant.  They have an ability to create an argument - settle a dispute - and negotiate a deal where no one else can.  They also are very personal, conversational and take the time to listen to others and consider their opinion even if they don't necessarily agree.  And those traits right there are what makes @Sportsfreakconz a bloody good bloke.

Random follow #51 - @quitesimplykell

I was told once that I don’t mention my wife and family enough in my social media interactions.  Well that isn’t an issue for today’s random tweeter.  Well it is a little because @quitesimplykell is the wife in the relationship as opposed to the husband.  But she most definitely tweets a lot about those whom she loves the most.

She doesn’t give too much away about said husband but it is easy to see in her tweets a genuine love and appreciation of her man.  Except for this tweet “ I shouldn't laugh when Daisy jumps on her Daddy's balls. But I can't help it. #painface”

The next greatest love in her life after her husband is her wee little girl.  “Today I am still D's primary source of food, tomorrow it will all change. My wee girl is growing up. #breastfeeding #eightmonthsold #solids”.  

Being a mum is no easy task and any lady that commits herself to being one gets both my applause and my sympathies.  Because the contributions that mums make are quite often overlooked or under rated.

@quitesimplykell shares in a number of her tweets her journey being a mum.  More of the ups than the downs which is really nice.  And it sounds lie she is a natural at it too “The war against the dummy last night was a success. Took half an hour to get D to sleep but she slept til 6am. #rested #happy”.  

And then there are those days.  The days when everything you try just isn’t happening and you can get a bit overwhelmed.  And all you really need, whether you realise it or not, is just some plain old good advice like this “Just had my first cry on the phone to @plunketnz and they were amazing. Wish I'd swallowed my pride and called earlier. Thanks Plunket!”

Kellie is able to laugh at herself in an honest and self-reflective way.  “Why are so many of the dresses on ASOS so short? I have nearly 34 year old Kiwi Chick thighs damn it!! And cellulite. #thetruthcomesout” But she didn’t let that didn’t hold her back because “Woohoo, two successful online purchases from ASOS. Love my tops!!”

And there is her dental hygiene “The best bit about corn season is that it forces me to floss my teeth. My dentist who has not seen me in three years would be proud.”

I may be a little wrong on this one but I get the sense that is also a talented writer.  I haven’t been following her long enough and have not been so blunt as to ask the question “What do you write?” or “Are you famous” but I am sure Kellie is.  And we’re not talking little bits of writing.  Oh no we are talking about some serious work “That moment where you send off a manuscript and you kind of want to vomit from the hope/stress/tension of it all.”

Once she gets on a roll on a particular topic @quitesimplykell is able to bust out some very funny tweets.  And like whole series of them.  She strings together a number of tweets on a topic and manages to keep you the reader enthralled.  The best examples of these were the tweets relating to the Pope.   

Try these on –

“I like that the Pope has to give four weeks notice when he resigns, just like the rest of us do.”

“I also like that the pope knows when he's shit at his job. Not all managers do.”

“I hope that the hot looking Cardinal dude gets to become Pope. I could watch him talk faith all day.”

“The Pope lasted eight years in his job, that's three years more than I've ever managed to last. That's dedication. #Pope”

So there you go.  In a little over 600 words, many of them actually being Kellie’s own, I think I managed to build a very good argument to follow a very likeable lady who is full of great ideas.  The choice is over to you now.  “To follow.  Or not to follow.  That is the question”.

Oh and just to sum it all up - @quitesimplykel is cool.

Random follow #32 - @AmyBowie

Flair, imagination and a passion for color are the hallmarks of a creative person.  The ability to differentiate oneself in a crowd and yet still be part of the whole is not an easy thing.  @AmyBowie is just this type of person.  There is something unique about her. 

Amy's profile picture I believe encapsulates her artistic spirit and individuality.  What is it about the picture?  The hat.  Bold, bright and beautiful.  The hat stands out and captures your eye straight away.  The red stands out and says 'Hey! Look at me!" but not in such a way as to be all in your face.  It is just there.

In much the same way that Amy is just there.  In amongst a crowd of a billion tweeters her voice is there to be heard by those who take the time to listen and notice that she has something to offer.

Amy brings her own voice to the world.  And with that voice she can raise a challenge, such as this tweet -

"Question: If you could hear any song done with solo accordion and voice... what would it be?"

And she can also provide amusement of this tweet really cracked me up -

"Page 105 of 1030 of self-taught audio engineering crash course. Now. For some practical experimentation."

It is that have-a-go, do-it-yourself attitude that is so alluring and yet that is where the creative spirit finds its release.  Seeking both solutions as well as new ways of doing things.  Not taking no for an answer.

Amy also has a number of creative outlets that you can discover for yourself if you take the time to head over to her twitter page and read up on who she is and what her passions are.  She is a singer, a teacher of others and also a writer and a creator of prose.

@AmyBowie is my random follow for today.

(Note - This is not Amy.  And that is not her hat.  But you get a pretty 

good idea of what her hat may look like from this picture)