Random follow #268 - @DrSJNZ

Smart people exist on social media.  Really smart people.  One of those really smart people is @DrSJNZ.  She comes at you on twitter out of Christchurch and totally rocks along with her love of for writing and science.

If there is one thing I have learned about doctors and people with PhD's this year it is that they have brilliant personalities and can share a really good anecdote with pure ease.  Sarah-Jane (SJ) is a woman whose determination to succeed is matched by her love of beer, motorbikes and the internet.  (Lets be honest - she isn't the only one of us who enjoys those things....)

As far as twitter goes SJ is pretty much a lot of fun.  Here is an example tweet to make you smile -

"Moved house two weeks ago, new neighbours have been pinching my newspaper. I'm getting pretty tweaky without my daily dose of newsprint."

What's really neat is that she tweets a whole variety of people!  For those of who have been around the social media scene for a while it is easy to follow the same peeps as our friends.  SJ though has a completely different set of friends from many of the usual suspects who I usually see people interacting with.

Tweeting is all about what you bring to the table to share.  Like a pot luck dinner what you bring is what others get to feast on and can interact with.  One way to describe SJ is that she brings the dessert.  Like the marshmallows on a skewer or the mousse that everyone smiles after they consume it -

"Probably shouldn't have allowed so many "on the mouth" kisses with my nephews on the weekend. #sick #kindygerms", and this one

"Trying to convince the cat to make the most of being outside, since she's about to go into "new home detention" for two weeks. Unsuccessful."

Sarah-Jane has a healthy relationship with her twitter account and puts only the good stuff out there.  She isn't one to sit around and let the grass grow under her feet or let an opportunity pass her by.  So you'll need to be a bit nimbe if you are going to keep up with this amazing and intelligent random kiwi tweeter.

And as if getting a PhD wasn't enough @DrSJNZ is now back at University studying towards another degree.  If you want to know more about her story have a look at her website http://drsjnz.wordpress.com/.  You will discover even more fascinating and new people over there too.  So go ahead - follow, follow follow.

Random follow #256 - @kylemacd

There are normal people on twitter.  Yes - its true!  Normal as in REALLY normal!  Lets be honest there are quite a few different personalities and types of people in social media.  Most of us are a bit quirky, sideways and sometimes completely left field.  But sprinkled in amongst us all are people like - fireman, police, doctors and todays person - a psychotherapist.

@kylemacd is based in Auckland and tweets the good stuff.  He talks about interesting stuff that many of us think about but don't necessarily know where to go to get the answers.  Topics like - leadership, personality types, depression and how to overcome it and stress management.

Many of us tweet about those topics from an experiential starting point in that we are in the middle of them.  What Doctor Kyle does is give us hints and tips and links to get research that provide ways to overcome and get past those things.  Or at least manage them better anyway.

What I really like about Kyle as a tweeter is his range of discussion points.  He mixes up his timeline with a variation of interesting articles and links alongside his own personal tweets that are often times funny or at the least interesting.  There are the occasional RTs but they are ALWAYS good one's that make you smile.

Here's a random selection of what you'll find in @kylemacd timeline - 

"I blame the National Government #AmericasCup"

"7"  (<-- yes that is an actual tweet)

"What to Do On a Second or Third Date | Psychology Today http://ow.ly/pmoyV "  <-- the more serious stuff

Kyle is a tweeter who uses the social media platform for good.  He tweets useful information, interesting articles and helpful hints and tips for better living.  Every twitter timeline needs to have someone in it that keeps it grounded.  And also challenges some of your thinking as well.  I recommend @kylemacd for that very reason.

And if you think that his twitter stream is just a little quiet or you really want to find out and read more - then you're in luck.  He has a really amazing blog AND he is on the radio too.  What more are you waiting for?

Random follow #165 - @keeweedoc

It doesn't matter what you do, who you are or where you live.  If you are on twitter you start at the exact same place as everyone else does.  On twitter - you're an egg.  And its from that egg that each and every account evolves and becomes something.  One thing I know for sure is that @keeweedoc is anything but an egg.

This incredibly nice guy is a dad and a doctor.  I put them in that order because that is the order of priority for Andre.  If you check out the photos that have been uploaded you can easily see that his kids mean the absolute world.

Andre is conversational, interactive and not afraid to share some little nuggets of medical advice along the way as he tweets.  And whats really neat is seeing the global scale of interactions with other people.  There certainly are not any geographical restraints or borders in social media.

When someone is tweeting out there to the big bad world you do like to make sure that you give people some sort of cultural context about where you are from.  And this tweet here certainly achieves that with a BANG! -->

"If it all gets too much you are welcome in new Zealand. After you've treated your first drunk dwarf you'll love it. #tipsfornewdocs"

@keeweedoc is an incredibly nice guy with a fantastic sense of humor.  If his bedside manner and patient interactions are as good as his tweets and online conversations then I bet his patients really enjoy see him come around to visit them.  He has a cool, calm and collected style that sees him tweet with ease and an ability to keep it real.

Occasionally he really turns your timeline on its head and comes out with what can best be described as "where on earth did that come from?" tweets -

"The senate has been a joke ever since jarjar binks was elected."
(Just to add some context this tweet was sent while Mr Rudd was overthrowing Ms Gillard).
Above all else here is one tip that transcends not the medical profession but also is a fantastic point to note for everyday living as well -

"Patients shouldn't be thought of as someones mother, father ect. All patients are someone and deserve your respect. #TipsForNewDocs"

Final word - all the best to Andre and his family with the addition of new family member number 3 currently under development.  We look forward to seeing the development and photos of said newborn upon their arrival!

Note - any spelling mistakes are the original property of the tweeter @keeweedoc! LOL!