Random follow #206 - @korikita

Having a burning desire or dream to do something amazing takes a lot of courage, a lot of effort and a few sleepless nights too.  @korikita is a the passion and desire of one amazing lady to combine her love for outdoor endurance sporting activity as well as the need to look good and feel comfortable at the same time.

Kate is a lady who has achieved some amazing sporting feats and achievements in her life.  From completing an Ironman to completing a few 100km runs this lady knows something about perseverance, patience and commitment.  It takes some kind of brain training to be able to push through all the barriers - mental and physical and achieve those goals.

And the same goes for her clothing company.  Taking a risk on a really great idea and making it happen takes all those same essential skills - perseverance, patience and commitment.  It also takes time, money, hard work and some late nights and early mornings to achieve as well.

One thing about getting a business up off the ground is that it takes the help of friends and family.  You need a lot of goodwill and the occasional favour from people to make it happen.  And the exact same is true for endurance sports events.  It takes a team and a lot of commitment from a lot of people to get you across the finish line.  Also at the end of this year (2013) Kate has made the decision to resign from her current employment so that she can focus her energies entirely on @korikita.  And if there's one thing that she does well - its finishing what she starts.  Through to full completion.

Kate joined twitter not all that long ago so she is still trying to find her feet a bit with the platform.  And just like her personality in real life she has been able to make friends (and followers) in an instant.  Her brilliant smile, bubbly personality and no bullshit approach to life make her instantly popular with those who get the opportunity to meet her.

So what's she like as a tweeter?

• Fitness - "Metabolic age of a 23yr old!!! Got to love it!!!"
• Committed - "Heading to Rotorua tough guy. Rain is setting in, misty, foggy and cold. This was a fantastic idea when I entered sat warm at my laptop."
• Enjoys repeat actions - "Pita pit again! They know my name and my order! Teehee!"
• Knows her values - "Belief in your ability is more important than having it!"

If you are looking for a tweeter who - knows who they are, has a good idea about where they are headed, will fill your timeline with uplifting positivity then @korikita is the follow for you.  And the next time you're at an ultra running event keep an eye for a very slim, very smiley and talkative yet completely focused blonde ex-pat English woman.  Chances are that could very well be Kate.

The last word for this post goes to Kate who in one tweet summarises her journey in life right now - 

"Eeeekkkk! :) more opportunities! Something tells me I'm on the right track with life right now."

Random follow #205 - @AndyMuir22

There was a farmer had a dog

and Andy was his name-oh 

(the farmer - not the dog)

A-N-D-Y yo!

A-N-D-Y yo!

A-N-D-Y yo!

And @AndyMuir22 is his name-oh.....

There was a farmer and he did tweet

and this is what he said bro

"Is anybody gonna buy Jonah's read because he has "updated" the book?
Sounds a rip if you bought the first copy"

Well that Farmer Muir is from the deep south

And he rolls his r's with great gusto

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

And no one (from the North Island) can understand what he said to yo

Farmer Andy he's the man 

He has some fine music taste so

"Gatecrasher. Discotech. The most epic collection of tunes before 

Pitbull and Chris Brown bastardised House and Trance"

 Andy Muir is the man

He is a twitter legend

A-N-D-Y yo!

A-N-D-Y yo!

A-N-D-Y yo!

And @AndyMuir22 is his name-oh.....

Random follow #204 - @aadogsh13

On the 15th of November some years ago now a new life was brought into the world in a small town in the King Country of New Zealand.  in a very small hospital that was equipped for a few things a baby was born.  It was about 5pm on a Thursday afternoon.  After starting the birthing process somewhere around 4 in the morning 13 hours later @aadogsh13 made her way into the world.

With a head full of dark hair, nice light olive skin and tiny hands and feet I was the first person to hold her.  A brand new baby, a brand new (exhausted) mum and a brand new dad.  All together for the first time.  It was at this point that I said the first words after she born "We have a Maddison".

I can still remember the midwife, whose name was Taku, handling this brand new baby and me thinking "You're going to break her!" LOL.  A few days later she was released into our care as her parents.  and it is from that point onwards that we find ourselves here today.

Quite a bit has changed in the years between her birth and where we are now.  Watching @aadogsh13 grow and change over the years has been both special and rewarding as well.  Mornings spent in the cold at the netball courts, attending kindergarten concerts and graduations, starting school, learning to read, being known as locals at the library, riding bikes - all those memories and special moments spent together.

Now she is a beautiful young woman who has an incredible brain and a love for history.  She is a warm and caring friend who always watches out for her friends.  She has a very clear understanding of right and wrong and isn't afraid to hold others accountable to that when needed.  She is also tall, very tall and I wish she would stop growing sometimes!

So what are her tweets like?

• Well she LOVES Taylor Swift.  
• She is a history buff and especially like ancient Greece and mythology
• She enjoys reading
• She LOVES movies - especially Harry Potter
• She doesn't tweet all that often (cos all the cool kids are actually on Instagram)

Due to her being at the younger end of the spectrum her account is locked.  But she is wise enough to know who to follow and who to let follow.  So if you want to keep up to date with Swifty news or other bits and pieces then send a request (and I'll vet it first).  

Just for the record @aadogsh13 is my daughter and I love her.  And I am very proud of who she is and who she is becoming.  And if there were more of her on twitter then the world would be a better place.  

Love you Maddy.

Random follow #203 - @MatthewCorban

Gambling is all about risk.  How much risk are you willing to take at any one time on the outcome of any one event?  What would the ability to pick the right outcome be worth to you?  For some people being able to take a gamble on predicting an outcome is a complete rush.  Those are the punters.

Then there are the people who create the situations whereby (in this case) the races are held.  Watching 10 to 15 horses going pound for pound around a racetrack is a beautiful thing.  Imagine what it must be like though being able to either live on a farm where the horses are bred and trained or having a role whereby you interacted at the racetrack with breeders and trainers alike.

Well @MatthewCorban has done all that.  Having lived in the very heart of the mighty Waikato in a beautiful town called Cambridge and now studying at Victoria he is a gentleman of great intellect.  And I must add a (very) young gentleman.

I like that in his twitter bio he lays down in front of you exactly what you're going to get as far as tweets go.  Especially this disclaimer - "Pretends to be an Academic. Occasional smartarse."  And there are a few other things you might want to know about him as well.  Such as - 

He knows how to fend for himself -> "Pizza today, pizza yesterday and pizza the day before. Why? Because I'm a 22yo man."

He is irreverent -> "Wellington has been exciting. Huge storms and quakes within a month. Not quite the "dead city". Next the return of the anti-christ #

He is a man of fine taste -> "Can't believe Vuwsa and the Women's group got Miss Victoria University cancelled. Absolute madness."

From what I can tell according to Matthews tweets - he is a really great guy.  He has a very funny sense of humour, a passion for all things horse racing and a fine career in front of him.  As a tweeter he shares the good stuff especially around his favorite topics - food, friends, beer and racing.  

So whats not to like?  His tweets are not your average commentating on the news or whatever happens to be on tele at the time.  Rather they are an insight into the mind and life of a young man who has racing in his blood.

Random follow #202 - @KrystleF

Okay I'm going to admit it.  I am a sucker for a beautiful woman.  And to be honest todays tweeter totally ticks that box with a capital B.  @KrystleF is a young lady who has recently returned from spreading her wings overseas and has returned home to establish her life and her career.  Having returned from the UK she has now settled in the nations Capital.  Which quite frankly really is the place to be.  With so many fantastic tweeters Krystle totally raises the bar a little bit further as far as great tweeters goes.

So what is there to like about her?

Well for a start she is really pleasant and happy young lass -> "Thank you @TradeMe I now have a car! It's not the flashest but it's all I need at the moment to get me where I need to go #happy".

Happy people are the best tweeters to follow.  And I don't mean people who are happy 24/7 cos everyone has ups and downs but happy over all.  Krystle has a very smiley disposition that is radiant and smiley and so, so warm.

Krystle is funny.  Being funny really helps cos it means that when people tweet you can better engage with them.  For example -> "After seeing all the distressing Offspring tweets in my timeline, I now realise I follow too many Aussies dammit! #Spoiler"

She is more technologically advanced than the last generation -> "Oh dear god, my Mother just said to me 'Can't you iTube it?'"

Throw the fact that she has good taste into the mix -> "I just had a 20 minute 'how to use crutches' lesson from a rather hot physio #hospitalvisits" <- and you've just about got the full package.

@KrystleF is young, vibrant and beautiful.  Even if those were the only reasons for which you choose to follow her then you would be on to a winner.  But Krystle is so much more than that - both as a person and as a contributor to twitter as well.  She is a happy, engaging, energetic, youthful yet wise lady who knows how to rock out a great tweet.

And to round it all off its safe to say that Krystle is a loving, honest and loyal friend.  And the depth of her friendship is proven in tweets like these -

"Amazing how a 2 hour phone convo with a bestie can really make you feel better"

Random follow #201 - @VisitWaiheke

Auckland is located on an isthmus.  This means that there are two large water expanses on either side and the city itself is located on and around that very narrow strip of land.  The two expanses of water on either side of the city are two harbours.  One harbour is smaller and has its entry/exit point heading towards Australia.  The other harbour is a huge body of water that has many, many islands and other features about it that make it.  One of those islands is the beautiful island of Waiheke.

Personally I have only actually ever been there once and that was over 20 years ago.  From what I understand it is a mixture of playground for the rich and famous mixed with the original culture of creative types and the quintessential hippy personalities.

So it pleases me greatly to see that this little island paradise has its own twitter account.  If you are looking for a quick and quiet get away for a weekend then @VisitWaiheke is the ideal starting point for ideas about accommodation, food and things to do while you are there.

Whats neat about this account is that it isn't strictly a sales account.  Instead it is an insiders view to life on the island.  Photo's of beautiful beaches and boats, ferries and fish.  House boats abound on Waiheke giving a whole new meaning to the term 'mobile population'.  When home owners tire of the view they simple sail away, around the corner and to a new location.  Sounds like magic to me.

Waiheke is also an island of artistic talent and culinary magic as well.  The climate on the island is such that they are able to grow grapes which are then turned into classic and limited edition selections of wine.  Couple that wine with an abundance of fresh seafood and you have a connoisseurs paradise.

So what can you expect from the rest of their tweets?  Well they RT local businesses and points of interest about the island.  They also RT other tourism accounts when they have something to say.  And then there are the photos.  I really love following an account that posts photos of the beach.  (Because where I live is land locked so seeing the beach is something of a treat for me).

If your timeline is wanting a bit of a refresh and you're looking to combine photo's and stories from an exotic location with some ideas about how to get there and where to stay then @VisitWaiheke is the account for you.

Random follow #200 - The McAwesomes

When social media meets real life is when you find out who people really are.  Some are shallow and you wonder why you bother.  Others are full of depth and make your time on social media worthwhile.  Others still cross the boundary between virtual and real life and become real live friends.

For over 12 months now I have had the great pleasure of following on twitter one of the most romantic and good looking couples in social media.  @PhidMcAwesome and @CharisMcAwesome are two people who I am proud to say aren't just friends online but friends in real life.  Based out of the metropolis of Te Awamutu they pretty much own all the foursquare check-ins of the entire town.

So who are they and what are they like?

Phid is an exceptionally nice guy who is head over heels in love with Charis.  He has a couple of twitter accounts that he looks after with @Pixelshopnz being just one of them.  Phid has an exceptional sense of humour and originally being from down Taranaki ways he keeps his feet on the ground and his tweets above the rim.  He keeps his tweets real and isn't afraid to get a bit controversial every now and then but mostly his tweets circle around three things - video games, wrestling and entertainment.

"Money cant buy you happiness , but it can buy you Coffee....and Bacon, and thats kind of the same thing!" <Phid>

Charis is a very, very lovely lady whose smile can charm a room in a flash.  Being a mum to two exceptionally good young men she has her hands full with having to look after three boys in the house.  Her tweeting frequency is not as full on as it used to be but the quality has certainly improved.  She has a fun loving approach that is infectious and bright.

"Made it home without killing anyone #winning #longstory" <Charis>

And the number one contribution this amazing couple make to the world of social media is their weekly radio show - @hashtagradionz.  Week in and week out they sit down behind the microphone and share with the world all the happenings in the realms of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and every other social media platform that is mainstream.  This labour of love is one contribution to social media that they can totally be proud of.

"We don't condone drinking and making radio. But we enjoy it. @CharisMcawesome" <Hashtag Radio NZ>

With the McAwesome's you can never be too sure of what they are going to tweet next.  They interact both with each other and rest of the twitterverse with ease.  Phid and Charis are even more McAwesome in real life than they are on social media and for that very reason alone they get the very special privilege of being RKT #200.

p.s. not of all the facts in this post are true.  But most of them are.  Any facts that aren't true can be blamed on the consumption of vodka while writing this post.