A year in review - a project completed

12 months ago the Random Kiwi Tweeters project began as my way of spreading the word about everyday good folk who enjoy using twitter.  Now 365 days later the project has come to end.  My first goal was to blog every single day of the year however achieving that was beyond what I was capable of.

New Zealand is a land of excellent people which means that we are also a country of excellent tweeters.  Sharing our lives, stories and life happenings one tweet at a time.  From cats and dogs to cafes and restaurants, human resources professionals, farmers, stock cars, shoe shops, mums, dads, grandparents and students.  Twitter abounds with them.

From Invercargill to London, Tauranga to Toronto kiwi's abound all around the world.  And wherever they may be they still share their thoughts and loves of home.  Beaches, jandals, marmite, fush and chups twitter helps to keep on connecting us all.

Not every tweeter on the list made it to the end of 2013.  Some chose to leave twitter for their own reasons and purposes while others physically did not make it.  Random follow #100 was my good friend Jaarna Hoskins who sadly passed away from cancer.  I had the very great fortune of her being able to read the post and also the great privilege of reading it at her funeral.

RKT has been a labour of love and has touched many of those who have been blogged about.  Some people had a post written on their birthday, others at times when they were going through grief and suffering.

No person had any idea that they were going to be blogged about except two.  So for the other 298 persons it was a complete surprise.  Some people were over the moon about it.  Some said nothing. The praise and thanks I have received from everyone has been beyond what I thought it would be.

No labour of love can be completed without the help of friends.  Friends who email you suggestions of people, who encourage you to keep going, who help you overcome your own inadequacies in thinking that it can't be done.  To all those people I have a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation.  The RKT project is as much theirs as it is mine.

The RKT blog is made up of 300 references for very good, interesting and excellent people.  People who have enriched the lives of many of us through interaction, jokes and conversations.  Some of these people I have been able to meet in real life and have had the great joy of seeing the words I wrote about them being proven true.  There are many, many others who I have not met yet I sincerely hope that one day I might just get the opportunity to.

Where to from here?  The RKT project is now officially finished and I will be parking up my  twitter account.  I have spent many hours using twitter this year and while the suggestion to delete my account has risen as a perfect way to finish the year I am choosing not to do that.  What I will be doing is moving my energies and efforts over to Instagram.  I will be sharing my photos onto my twitter account but won't be directly tweeting.  It ain't going to be easy!

Why instagram?  I want to connect with people in a different way.  Twitter is all about the written word, albeit in 140 characters, whereas a picture tells a thousand words.  So my energies for 2014 will all be channeled into #project14.  There will be a tumblr site setup so you can peruse my pics and I aim to post at the very least one photo per day.  Look me up - my Instagram name is @hagmannz.  Same name and same profile photo.  I would love to interact with you over there.

I am proud of what I have achieved through the blog this year.  It has been a burden of love and an outlet that has kept me grounded.  Twitter - thank you.  I am @hagmannz and this has been Random Kiwi Tweeters 2013.

Peace.

Random follow #300 - @PorridgeFish

The @peopleofnz account has unearthed and given a spectacular platform for some of New Zealands best undiscovered twitter talent in 2013.  One of those persons who absolutely excels at the social media game is
@PorridgeFish.  This fine lady has immense talent when it comes to tweeting and hails from the North side of the Harbour Bridge.

She keeps her account slightly mysterious.  But that is a point of both difference as well as appeal.  Knowing but not knowing who someone is allows a sense of security to them the user and helps keep a healthy barrier between what occurs online and what happens in real life.

@PorridgeFish is a very active tweeter.  Being a school teacher and not having 27 children to talk to all day must be hard.  So I presume twitter is filling the gap at the moment (jokes).  But she does tweet a lot, to a lot of different people, about a whole lot of different things.  She has a very broad world view and can pretty much discuss at length any topic you wish to.  For example -  

Cooking is one of her face topics - 

"Awkward, having to text your dinner guest asking them to bring an onion. How did we have no onions ..?"

Learning new things and expanding her horizons are also topics of interest - 

"Have been learning to juggle. I am getting rather good, at least with two. Transition to three not promising. I also suck at skipping now."

She does give away one or two little secrets though.  Here's what I mean - 

"Man Thing also in cute mode nap time position, which for a Man Thing consists of planting tiny sleepy kisses on my neck while I try to ipad."

Man Thing is actually the content for some really great tweets.  If there were a # for ManThing tweets it would totally be a thing.

@PorridgeFish is the sort of tweeter you just can't help but like.  She is an incredible cook, loving partner, owner of at least one cat, daughter to a fantastic mum and an incredibly warm, patient and generous person.  All the very best things in life for sure.  

This newly crowned teacher is off on a new adventure in 2014 and will no doubt, or I hope at the very least, will share with us some of the ups and downs and bits and bobs of a teacher with an entirely new class of kids who is finding her way.

I know that I will be watching with interest how her year goes and I wish her all the very best for her new adventure.

Random follow #299 - @iofthetyger

There are plenty (like HEAPS) of really nice people who are on twitter.  Random Kiwi Tweeter extraordinaires.  @iofthetyger absolutely fulfills this definition absolutely.  Many people would go so far as to utter the words "what a lovely man he is" and I have to agree with them totally.

Chris is a cricket loving, vocal supporter, full time dad and part time employee for the good folk at Vodafone.  Yes he does work in their social media team but everyone who is a parent knows that just cos you walk out the door in the morning and go to work that your parental duties are done with.  They aren't.

There is a lot to like about Chris and the way he tweets.  He reminds us all of what its like to be a parent sometimes - 

"It's 10:30 time to exercise my paternal duty and turn off the mind numbing and pointless kids TV,and switch on the cricket #unpopulardad"

He also shares with us some very funny views on the Christmas holidays

"Its just occurred to me that the increase in local dog walking is probably to do with the increase in mother in law visits,-as I walk my dog"

And it look slike his role with Vodafone also allows him (from time to time) special access to the @NZWarriors rugby league team.  That fact alone is one which causes me to be jealous and wonder what it would take to attain that sort of privilege......

Chris is an amazing tweeter who doesn't take himself or the internet too seriously.  His ability to have a laugh and share items from the brighter side of life on twitter make him really endearing.  With a warm personality and charming sense of humour I am sure Mrs @iofthetyger got it really right when she chose him :)

Chris is a kiwi through and through and his better half is most definitely English.  I have only just added Chris to my follow list and I genuinely wish I had of found him earlier in the year to have had the pleasure of his company.  Oh well, now's a far better time than never.

So @iofthetyger gets the final words in this blog post.  And just like we all do, he shares a very funny insight into the world around us - 

"I probably shouldn't,but I make a lot of judgements about new neighbours when I first see their wi-fi networks name".

Random follow #298 - @powderkeig

Bright, bouncy and bubbly.  Three words that describe todays random kiwi tweeter - @powderkeig.  Jane is quite simply one fantastic tweeter.  She shares so many fun and healthy experiences that one can not help but be enamoured by her personality and relatively carefree approach to life.

Whats not to like about a tweeter who has a shared blog/tumblr with her brother?  Especially when that site is titled "Bottled Sunshine".  Phil (Jane's brother) occasionally gets a mention in the odd tweet or two but at the moment he is the companion riding along in what could be the most epic road trip of the summer around historical sites of interest in the South Island.

I love coming across tweets like these -

"Happily lost in Northern Cemetery"

Because you can imagine yourself being right there.  Walking alongside @powderkeig examining the headstones and uncovering the mysteries of yesterday.  And she also has a great wide view of the world - 

"#sydneytohobart always fills me with dreadful anticipation
Love the sailing Freak out about the weather"

And that great wide view of the world is not restricted to just geography either.  Jane also has a diverse set of interests, some of which are evidenced in this next tweet - 

"My brother, SIL and I talk in weird family language. 

Namely movie quotes and obscure or made-up ditties #freaks"

@powderkeig exemplifies the people that this blog was set up to showcase.  Really interesting people, with really interesting lives doing interesting stuff.  All over the country.  Jane is just one of those people.  Her sense of adventure and purpose in life mixed up with the kiwi can do attitude bring the New Zealands way of doing things with social media.

Random follow #297 - @smrtgirl

@smrtgirl totally lives up to her twitter name.  One super intelligent and technical thinking chick Michelle is a super smart techie.  Based out of Wellington this twitter account is not one to be taken lightly.  And I mean that with complete respect.  There aren't that many ladies that I know of that can deliver a swift tweet all about tech that leaves me floundering.  

But tech is only one aspect to like about @smrtgirl.  She is also a brilliant engager of people.  What I mean is that she is a very interesting and engaging tweeter who has an ability to capture people's imaginations and make them wonder about.  

For example one series of tweets that I am really enjoying at the moment are the t-shirt a day tweets.  Basically Michelle has been wearing a different t-shirt out of her every day of the month.  And there are A LOT of cool t-shirts.  

@smrtgirl also has her priorities sorted.  She knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it - 

"I just got a phone call from Santa. I asked for lots of beer". 

Michelle is also one very popular tweeter.  In a really good way.  You can't go far through her timeline without spotting a familiar name or personality that she is engaging in conversation with.  With around 1,500 followers that probably shouldn't be a surprise but it is really nice to see.

Not only does she have a great taste in tweeters she also has much great taste for other things as well - 

"Also, just go to YouTube and type in Benedict Cumberbatch reads … So much delight".

And she doesn't take herself too seriously either.  Which is really refreshing - 

"Waiting for a text message. I hate waiting. Hurry up and give me the good news already! #itsallaboutmeandmyneeds".

@smrtgirl brings exactly that to the twitter scene. Smarts.  Along with other things like fun, smiles and an ability to laugh at some of the silliness that occurs in life.  She is not your usual tweeter in some ways nut in others she is.  To be honest if I were to have a sister she would most likely be just like Michelle.  Which would be a really good thing.

Peace.

Random follow #296 - @tobiasbrockie

It took only two tweets to convince me that @tobiasbrockie is worth following.  The first tweet was your standard kind of tweet that you read and then move on.  The second tweet however was one that made me chuckle -

"signature range ginger beer helpfully lists "ginger beer" as one of its ingredients"

There is something to be said about tweeters who can make you laugh.  It takes a certain skill to be able to get 140 characters to work so well as to make you chuckle or LOL.  Tobias has the gift.

"when people say they're anti-PC, they mean they're against 

socialised healthcare in form of pokemon centres"

@tobiasbrockie is yet another tweeter who comes at you in two ways - 

1. Straight out of Wellington 
2. He's on the younger end of the twitter age scale

Youth is where its at if you're looking for light hearted, fresh, a different perspective and someone who isn't swayed so easily by most twitter trends.  Tobias is intentionally witty and could very well be the modern day social media equivalent of Spike Milligan.  (That is praise not given lightly).

What's not to like about tweets like these - 

"real life beats the shit out of love actually bc in real life 

there's a donut king at the airport, love actually just has sad emma thompson"

This twitter account is one continuous series of absolutely brilliant one liners with a few conversations thrown in along the way to prove Tobias is both human and exceptionally funny.  In my opinion this guy really could be a stand up comedian or the replacement for either of the Flight Of The Concords guys if they ever choose to retire.

I won't say too much more because all his tweets speak for themselves.  You'll either fall in love with them straight away or you'll take a couple of days and then fall in love with them.  Either way this is one twitter account worth following for its hilarity alone.  Everything else is the jam on the donut.

Random follow #295 - @ColeyTangerina

@ColeyTangerina is a beautiful lady with the most majestic of hair,

she tweets and she shares with the utmost of care.

Creative and earthy, intelligent and bright,

She radiates love, harmony and light.

She is incredibly funny with a smile of full of sun,

it's that exact smile that tells you she's fun.

A lover cats and fine things like tattoos,

her boyfriends a spunk, have a look - you'll agree too!

Some fun and some hilarity in this timeline you'll find,

along with really funny photos - I am sure she won't mind.

There are also some great one's of the lady herself

Who takes great pride in how she presents oneself.

2013 has at times been a bit tough

Like many of us on earth its all been a bit rough,

But this delightful lady has made it right through

And with a new year approaching its probably time for a brew

In 2014, no doubt, there will be an adventure or two

And I want to see what happens - how about you?

Life is for living and you only get one

Sharing it on twitter can help make it fun

@ColeyTangerina you are a lady of delight

@ColeyTangerina - follow you on twitter?  Well I might

@ColeyTangerina scrub that, I 'm following you for sure

@ColeyTangerina your tweets are ANYTHING but a bore!

There are many, many tweets for you to peruse

A Christmas follow on twitter - thats for you to choose

Merry Christmas @ColeyTangerina, you are one of a kind 

you're something special on twitter, a genuine find.