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 #271 - @Tayroar

There are so many talented kids in New Zealand thats there is no way of keeping up with them.  They are young, smart, sassy and not afraid to break the rules or let barriers stand in their way as they pursue success.  And those are just your standard kids.  Add into that mix someone who is intensely creative and you get someone who is on track to achieve his dreams.

@Tayroar is not afraid to share his mind with you.  Whatever that opinion is that is top of mind - he is ready to let it roll out at you.  Be it on film, in a photograph or spoken word - Tayroar is not afraid to speak his mind.  And to be fair there just aren't enough people left in the world who can do so with wit, sharp sarcasm or enough bite to keep you honest.

Often times the people I have recommended on this blog have been really engaging and hardly ever just tweet.  Tayroar totally breaks that mould.  His standalone tweets are really funny, sometimes nonsensical but always amusing.  Even the one's when he tells you about what his day has been like quite often leave a smile on my face because I can quite often relate entirely.

For example - 

"Dear Otago Uni, please please please accept me. Ill be good, and do work, and things, please. Ill give you hugs!" <-- the aspiring student....

"Someone should go out with me and kiss my face and stuff."  <-- Yes! Yes they should.

  

"Tomorrow's headlines: a group of heavily lethargic people went on a rampage last night."   <-- context would probably help but as a stand alone tweet it is still very funny.

Tayroar is still really light as far as followers go.  You may or may not want to help him out by hitting the go button but I leave that choice over to you entirely.  If you like your tweets - out of the box, a bit creative and slightly leftfield then please take a look.  And to end this post I will give @Tayroar the final word - 

"BED TIME TAYROAR! YOU NEED SLEEP! OKAY GOODNIGHT YOU FANTASTICAL PEOPLE THAT ARE AMAZING!"

Random follow #251 - @david227181

David is not someone I personally know a lot about.  He is essentially completely brand new to the twitter scene so he starts with a clean slate and an open canvas.  With a total of 58 tweets to his name (as at todays date) he hasn't had time to reveal too much of himself online yet.

Here are a few things about @david227181 that I do know that I find of huge interest. He is a gentleman of a certain age who is not typical tweeter.  "A certain age?" I hear you ask....  yes a certain age.  Don't ask what that age is because that would be being rude.

He profile suggests that he is an active older gentleman who enjoys being outside and keeping himself physically active.  And not only active in a physical sense but also intellectually as his twitter bio tells us -

Jazz, classical music. Reading French and German. Local poetry group.

Social media and being good at it are not defined by age or location.  Success at social media is about your ability to have a keen intellect, an ability to express yourself concisely and precisely and also to be endearing and engaging.  @david227181 manages to tick all these boxes.

But don't just take my word for it.  Have a read of a few of his tweets and find out for yourself - 

"Black rain lashed night. Cold wet cat clambers into bed. Tells me I'm the best thing since the fridge door. Test of true love"

"Breakfast in bed. Bliss. Thunder ~ wet cat scrambles through cat door waiting waiting"

David brings a completely different feel to twitter.  He has a creative mind and an engaging intellect that shows itself through the use of words.  He has an ability to string words together in a way that they dance across the page.  Such as - 

"Fingers slow, brain older but alert. Forging from one chord to the next ~ 

classical guitar, a solitary satisfaction"

David shares his thoughts with twitter (and the wider world) as and when the moment of inspiration strikes.  I would warn you not to sit around waiting for a tweet.  But add @david227181 to a twitter list of some sort.  And then wait.  Because good things come to those that do.

"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'"

Random follow #212 - @dinosaureyesx

Planning a wedding is a stressful job, so I've been told, but planning a wedding and moving countries in less than a week is double the stress! But that is exactly what tonights, not so random tweeter, @Dinosaureyesx is doing. I say not so random because both @HagmanNZ and myself have followed the lovely @Dinosaureyesx (who shall be known from here on in as D), for well over a year now and TOMORROW is her wedding day.  And if you think arranging a wedding is easy, then think again!  -->

"oh my stars, i have a LOT to organise. eeek."

Most people have months, even years to plan their wedding but D has pulled her wedding together in just a few weeks and that in itself is no mean feat. But surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, there is no mention of her wedding in her tweets. Now D is by no means a prolific tweeter but when she does tweet they light up your timeline like this beauty:

"trying to decide if Aloo Gobi (indian cauliflower) goes with baked salmon. I say yes." 

This tweet tells me D isn’t afraid to try new things. That tweet was also a food tweet and D’s timeline is filled with food related tweets.  Well not filled with, more like dotted with.  Like this one :

"Cleaning out my pantry (and fridge and freezer) because it's only one week until @TheFoodShow !!!"

So what do some of her other tweets look like, well check out these two:

"I think I am a weee bit crazy. Just decided to organise something that's a tiny bit huge and time consuming."

This tells me she likes a challenge (One can only assume that challenge is organizing a wedding!) and - 

"Chilling out at home, nachos, Nigellissima and knitting. Knitting almost completes the alliteration."

D is one tweeter I would dearly LOVE to meet in real life but if that is going to happen it would have to be this weekend because next week she leaves NZ to move overseas with her new husband. And this weekend she is a bit busy getting married - so I guess I will go visit her after she moves!

To sum up, lets look at her Twitter bio. D has one of my favourite bios in Twitterland. It reads:

"Grumpy 20-something meatatarian, with eyes and an x."

I don't really know why I like this bio but I do.  Maybe it is because it gives nothing away about her as a person.  Apart from the fact she eats meats, has eyes and an x, and is 20 something.  But I don't believe for one minute that D is grumpy.  There is nothing in her timeline that would indicate she is.  So I'm just going to put it out there that I think the word “grumpy” in her bio should be replaced with DELIGHTFUL!  Yes -  delightful.

Good luck and all the very best from all of us on twitter.  We wish you the most happiest of wedding days tomorrow!! You totez deserve to have the best day ever!!!

(Note - this post was specially written by @pammygirl as a special gift for @Dinosaureyesx )

Random follow #211 - @SnapSnapSwim

When you open up twitter for the day and the very first tweet you come across is "When I die I want my ashes scattered on Nigella Lawson. I hope she's ok with that" you pretty much know that you've hit the jackpot of social media.

@SnapSnapSwim is a bright star in a dark universe of tweeters.  Nick brings a very different approach and feel to the way twitter works.  He is not content to recycle other peoples tweets or wade in to whatever the most popular hashtag of the day is but he brings his own voice to the game.

He has a voice that brings to you the best of the culinary world -

"Crumpet or wine? Crumpet or wine? ... Crumpet AND wine!! WIN!"

He talks about one of my most favorite subjects - 

"Boobs"

And he is also embraces the spirit of the quintessential metrosexual male.  He knows what style is (and isn't)

"Seems you get what you pay for when you get a $13 mall haircut."

There are a few other things you need to know about @SnapSnapSwim too in order to understand him in the fuller context of who he is.  He is a married man with both children and cats.  Please note - they do come seperately.  He is also based out of Wellington - which should come as no surprise because there are SO MANY fantastic people in that part of the country.

Nick is a conversational type who picks which conversations of most appeal to him.  He is not a yeller or a dominator of conversation but more of a engager and facilitator amongst people.  There is hardly a tweet that reaches the 140 character limit that twitter imposes so he keeps his messages short and to the point.  Also he tweets only as he needs to so you won't be over run by volume.

@SnapSnapSwim emphasises why this project exists.  He is a fantastic tweeter whom not many know about or follow but the quality far outweighs the quantity.  It is the people like Nick who go about their business tweeting, interjecting and giving us something to laugh about in our timelines who make the world of twitter and social media truly come alive.

And then after all is said and done with his funniness, jovial tweets and raucous hilarity - he blindsides you.  With a description that leaves many quivering in fear at its intellectual magnitude - 

"The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me."

Random follow #182 - @WardrobeFlair

Taking a risk and pursuing your dreams and passions is something that not everyone has the ability or the courage to do.  Some people stop at the point of comfort and enjoy their day to day employment.  Other people see an opportunity to do something they love, something that inspires them and makes them whistle and sing as they think about the tasks that lay ahead of them for the day.


@WardrobeFlair is a very attractive, bright, beautiful and bubbly lady whose job allows her to work in an area of complete passion for herself while also helping others to better themselves.  One garment at a time.  And the twitter name really does say it all - try adding some flair to your wardrobe.

A few years ago when I first joined twitter there was a lot of conversation about 'your brand'.  Making sure that you projected yourself as a brand and that professionalism always shone through etc.  And most of those points are true.  But social media is about more than a sales strategy via tweets.

And @WardrobeFlair proves that you can have both a professional brand while also engage with real people in the real world with real tweets and stories.  And she totally does it with style! (of course).  

Lets have a brief look at how she accomplishes this through her tweets -->

"Always have 1 dress that makes you feel a million bucks in yr wardrobe"  Pure wisdom.

"Random thought 378 - I need some rugby players on my LinkedIn to counterbalance the mix of media, fashion, CEOs and Defence Staff! #eclectic"  Pure work.

Of course having a job like styling people and helping them to spice up their wardrobe cant occur in a place with no shops or style.  And in all of New Zealand there is one city that (in my mind) absolutely rocks it out when it comes to shopping.  

"Took the out-of-towners round Wgtn today. Brilliant. Makes me remember why I love this little city. #IloveWelly"  Pure Wellington.

She is also a mum and a partner to a very, very lucky man. And alongside her home life she has HEAPS of friends who love and support her.  Both virtually and in real life as well.  So if you're in Wellington, are a legitimate tweeter and person and would like to meet one of the absolute superstars of lovely 

@WardrobeFlair is a lady in high demand.  Both on twitter where she spends so much time interacting and conversing with others and also in her day to day business practice.  And in reality there is very little difference in what she is able to achieve between the two.  In both she assists and encourages people to add some spice, change up their views and see themselves in a different way.