Random follow #95 - @UpsideBackwards

There is something really special when a child draws a picture for you.  Its special in a way that makes your heart melt and it goes all gooey inside you.  @UpsideBackwards has one of those very types of pictures as her twitter avatar.  Someone very special drew a picture for Kate and she has chosen to use it as an expression of herself.  (It may or may be a picture of her exactly but hey).

When I log in to twitter I look forward to seeing some refreshing news and funny tweets to cheer up my day.  Some people have a knack of  making you laugh and enjoy your day that little bit and its not like they're trying hard.  often time its just them being themselves.  And you really know that someone is going to be value when you enjoy seeing just their twitter name pop up.

 This is not Kate.  But it is upside down.

@UpsideBackwards is one creative twitter name.  Matched only in its creativity by the owners name Kate UpsideBackwards.  And yes - we have profiled a few mums on the RKT blog so far but I in no way apologise for that.  i mean seriously where else can you find these kinds of hilarious tweets -

"10yo wants me to stop nagging her to do her practice. I told her I will - when she's done her practice! #Ihatethenaggingasmuchasshedoes"

"6yo is in a play at school this morning. He has 1 line. "Let's kill our parents!" Oh lovely. #actinginmaorimyths"

except from the mind of a mum.  kate also isn't afraid to jump in and have a conversation with people who are conversing about interesting things.  And whats really cool  is she tweets about ALMOST everything.  In one evening you can find the following topics -

rugby, soccer, mums, doctors, baby boot camp, Mondays, John Campbell, crosswords and sex.  Not sexy crosswords but crosswords as one topic and sex as another.  Cool? 

What do I like best about @UpsideBackwards?  Her genuine, honest and hilarious approach to tweeting.  If you are looking for a down to earth tweeter who see's things slightly sideways and may throw a few oddball or curve ball tweets in every now and then - well Kate is the tweeter for you.  Go on, give her a try.  You won't regret it.  :)

This is not Kate either.  

But being a Mum does require the skills of a ring master.

Oh and if you are really keen to follow @UpsideBackwards? then you should check out her website too.  Its pretty good.

Random follow #81 - @mumsontop

Being a parent can be both a rewarding as well as tough time for many parents.  Whether you are a new parent or are an old hand at it each and every baby and child brings a new set of challenges and issues that both parent and baby/child need to work through.  In the old days there were nurses, telephone hotlines and a greater sense of community for parents to tap into.

So where do parents go now for help?  Well there are a menagerie of websites that offer lots and lots of help.  And those websites are great.  I know that @janeyee writes a column for one such website and she does a really fab job at it. The thing is though that websites are repositories of information rather than being a live and interactive conversation.  And the old faithful Plunket NZ have a presence in social media.  However (in my limited experience) it would be fair to say that Plunket are aimed at the younger end of the child lifespan.  And no child manages to stay at the cute 18 month age stage for very long.

So bring on twitter.  I personally follow HEAPS of mums who talk about their kids and ask for help with some of the issues they may be having.  Often times those are individuals conversing and the ideas and suggestions they have last only as the tweet stays in circulation.

And then there are the good ladies who bring you @mumsontop.  This twitter account is a link out from their main website where they do all their best work.  They also have a strong presence on Facebook as well. So what do they do?  They attempt to answer (as best as they can) any and every question that you the parent may have.  (From my experience - dad's don't ask questions.  They tend to be a bit more intuitive be it rightly or wrongly).

As you can well imagine there are a whole plethora of topics covered.  Lets have a look at a few -

Nutrition issues.  "Did anyone else's child turn into a new type of troll today? Boy, did I learn my lesson about mixing three year olds and chocolate!"
Give aways "Tell us about your first kiss and you could win a lip balm from ecostore. Nourishes lips without the nasties. http://www.mumsontop.co.nz"
The parent life.  "That awkward moment when you have a night out without the kids and all you do is talk about them..."

They also share some very amusing stories too like this one about getting smacked on the bum (probably not what you think it is).

The @mumsontop twitter feed does link back to their Facebook page but if you tweet the team they will reply.  And they will also help you to find an answer to your issue via their social media networks as well.  @mumsontop is a labor of love that was started by one dedicated mum and is now being carried on by two other mums who have a passion to help mums, and dads, be the very best parents they can be.

Random follow #77 - @_MsMoneypenny_

The hardest people that I have chosen to write about so far are the people who say nothing and yet say everything.  @_MsMoneypenny_ is exactly one of those people.  She tweets absolutely everybody and yet manages to say very little about herself.  And when I say she tweets - she tweets a lot!

Alma is a stunningly attractive mum who cares so much for her family and friends.  She tweets those who tweet her and engages in good positive conversations with people.  I think her tweets say a lot about her and I would be doing a disservice if I didn't let her tweets speak for her -

"you are so strong and thought provoking. Thank you xx"
"ahh you're a total babe! Night x"
"You guys are amazing. The sharing is this bubbling pot of different things! I'm humbled to read them. xx"
"yus! *hugs right back*"

(Note - I have purposely edited those tweets so that they retain the sanctity and purpose of their writing).

She does every now and then reveal a little of her self though.  Like the fact that she has a fine taste in famous men "Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight ... don't mind if I do :-P"

I am a firm believer in the maxim that you reap what you sow.  And @_MsMoneypenny_ is someone who sows encouragement and love into the lives of others.  And in time, as in tweets, she receives those things back in good measure.

If you are the sort of person who gives more than you take, offers encouragement more than you expect praise, loves others way more than you get in return then you will be a great person to follow and interact with Alma.  If you aren't then there are plenty of other tweeters for you to follow.

 and......

 @_MsMoneypenny_

Random follow #75 - @mrs_hyde

Tweets come in all shapes and sizes.  They also come from all walks of life and use twitter for many different reasons.  One very definite way that some people, namely persons who work in education, use social media is as a tool for learning, personal development and growth.  

@mrs_hyde is one of those people.  Being deputy principal at a school is not an easy task.  Trying to teach kids who are going through both emotional, physical and learning changes all at the same time is a tough ask.  And yet at the same time it can be incredibly rewarding (I know this because my daughter is at intermediate school right now).

I am picking that a PLN was probably the way that @mrs_hyde found her way onto twitter.  Whats a PLN?  It stands for personal learning network.  Essentially it is a map of online tools that people can use to interact and learn from others.  For a great read about PLN's click here.

That's enough from me.  Lets see what we can discover about Mrs Hyde and her twitter life.  Mrs Hyde is a mum.  How do I know?

Well she has a fabulous daughter who is also on twitter.  Her name is @PipHyde.  She is lovely, super determined and never gives up.  Pip recently walked 145km's with a busted ankle so that she could complete the goal she had set for herself.  And another daughter (I think) who has the name
@clodhyde but she is brand new to twitter so hasn't really tweeted yet.

What else?

She plays Minecraft.  Well the students play and she just supervises (yeah right - LOL) "Ideas for Using Minecraft in the Classroom http://ow.ly/jm5PM . Thanks @1MvdS @myen"

@mrs_hyde has a healthy mix between the number of people she follows and the number of people who follow her.  She enjoys engaging in conversation with almost anyone provided you aren't seen to be wasting her time.

She tweets about resources she has found online that can benefit other teachers.  "Excellent Google Books Tips for Teachers ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning http://shar.es/eE5D6  via @medkh9".
Because no one teacher knows it all but social media is about the power of community.

In closing I can say that @mrs_hyde is an incredible supporter of those she loves and cherishes.  With a mix of both intelligence, patience and determination she has what it takes to be able to make a difference in kids lives.  Teach on.

Random follow #74 - @millionleaves

"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
* Charlie Parker"

Music appreciation is the way that I first made contact with @millionleaves.  With a diverse taste in music that goes from hip-hop to jazz, dance through to indie rock David is nothing short of a man after my own heart.

Yes he does fall outside the boundaries of this project in that he has so many twitter followers he doesn't actually need much of an introduction to most people.  Then again he is also a person whom I have found has an ability to sit underneath the twitter radar of most people.

And not only are his music interests very diverse so is his ability to find random facts and tweets that make your brain sit up and take notice.  And there are no limits to the various areas of subject matter that he will tweet about.  For example -

Movie trivia.  "If Harrison Ford is set to return in the Star Wars, I'd bet my lunch Han Solo will have a son too http://n360.to/VZPWmg"
Music legends.  "R.I.P. Jazz Trumpeter Donald Byrd: http://bit.ly/XrpL7K"
The weather.  "Signs of summer #46: the tent at Brewers Barn in Mt Maunganui is being set up ready for the new year concerts. Nice."
Tech stuff.  "The Google Maps app for iPhone is insanely great: http://bit.ly/Zm8GSw  How ironic." 

Don't sit by your computer waiting for @millionleaves to tweet.  He uses twitter only when he has something that is worth saying.  He doesn't rush to share his opinions or thoughts all that often.  But when he does his tweets are worth taking a look at.

There isn't much more I can say aboiut David in recommending him to you but I shall leave the closing words to him.  His twitter bio sums him up perfectly -

"Kiwi. Web sales and consulting for Totali.co.nz, father, husband, teacher, music lover"

 

Random follow #73 - @NikCarmichael

A picture tells a thousand words.  That is a well known fact.  And if you check out the photo of @NikCarmichael you can quickly spot two things -

1. She is an attractive lady
2. and she is a  mum

Now I'm not going to make a thousand words out of those two points above.  But what I will do is showcase to you some reasons why following @NikCarmichael on twitter would be a good thing for you to do.

Reason #1. Nikki likes variety and that is evidenced by her having a ratio of 3:1 following c.f. followers.  This tells me that she loves people and is therefore a people person.  She enjoys conversation and that people interest her.  A lot.

Reason #2.  She is full of interesting ideas and freely gives out better living tips.  For example - "First time in seven years that KK Malay screwed up my order. KK and @dumplingnz are my fav places to eat in Wellington. #yum"

Reason #3.  She can see the funny side of life.  Okay maybe not so funny to her but tweets like this certainly are funny for the rest of the twitter world.  "Jeepers my little three year old just found my fat calipers and crept up behind me and got me with them. They are going in the rubbish bin".

Reason #4.  She's all about a challenge.  Be it a physical, intellectual or other challenge you can pretty much guarantee that if you ask Nikki to do it - she's there.  "Sweet I did the @WarriorDashNZ in 53:39. Under my goal of an hour and I stopped to help some people over obstacles as well. Next challenge?"  And it's that determination and drive that makes people both more interesting but also inspirational.

Reason #5.  Her husband brews beer.  Seriously.  Why wouldn't you want to be friends with someone who brews and can supply beer?  Okay that probably isn't a very genuine reason for being nice to someone but hey we're talking beer here ;)  "Did a large grain delivery this morning to a brewery now my car really smells like beer. Luckily its a good day to have the windows open"  and  "Just finished taking photos of more than 30 different grains for the new store website. Now I feel like a dark beer. http://Baylandsbrewery.com "  And secret inside sources tell me that Nikki's husbands brewery is located underneath where they live....  but but that's top secret!!!

Reason #6.  Nikki is a prolific enterer or competitions.  If someone is giving something away Nikki will know.  So if you want to be in to win - follow Nikki and she will point you in the right direction! Ha ha ha.

In short @NikCarmichael is a very lovely lady who has a zest for life.  She tweets a lot so be prepared to put your roller skates on to try and keep up with her.  Being a wife, mum, assistant brewer and owner of two dogs means that life is always GO! GO! GO! for her.  But like every great person she is able to set time aside for the things she considers important in life (like twitter).

Random follow #72 - @kaponga01

"You take the man out of the 'Naki but you can't take the 'Naki out of the man"

Never a truer word has ever been spoken
About the tweeter known as @kaponga01.
He is amber and black through and through
And enjoys nothing more than the sun

He is the boss of a company
That just happens to be based in Auckland
And when you're the boss there are some skills that you need
And you need to make sure you are talking


A married man is Jared is he
And a good man always has lots of supporters
The values he brings from the Taranaki
Are one's that he'll pass on to his daughters

A man of the outdoors he likes to go out
"Early morning starts allow for early afternoon fishing!"
And when he gets home he lets us all know
How he got on by his tweeting

"Tomorrow can't come soon! #longweek"
Means he really looks forward to his weekends
And finding balance in life is some necessary  advice
And so is "Another successful day gathering Paua"

He doesn't tweet all that often
But he does when he has something to say

"Getting ready for a flight around Mt Taranaki can't wait!!"
Is one brilliant way to spend a day

Come follow a good bloke who tweets and who fishes
Who will charn abd cajole you with his presence
And enrich your timeline with his thoughts about fanily
"Great week ended with fishing,sun,beach,family,friends, BBQ, drinks and lots if very cool presents."

Random follow #69 - @muffinmum

Twitter and social media are great levelers of people.  It doesn't matter who you are, where you are from or what you do for a job.  Everybody in social media starts off at point zero.  And if you want to be any good at it then you need to bring your own personality, your own flavor and your own sense of humor.

So for someone like @muffinmum who states in her twitter bio that "Yes, I am short, thanks for telling me" social media puts her on an evening playing field with everyone else. Also known as Emma in real life, @muffinmum is a well rounded tweeter (in a metaphoric sense).  With an ability to engage in conversation on almost any topic she would make a great member of a pub quiz team.  She also works for a University so she must be a smart cookie.

If you follow her you will find that she is a lady of both many talents but also many interests.  There aren't that many ladies who know too much about video gaming but Emma knows her stuff.  She brings a healthy sense of nostalgia to your timeline - "sometimes I wish I could go back to the day when Time Crisis was the best game ever"

She is also able to use twitter as a tool for crowd sourcing answers such as "Research - did you or will you, or anyone you know, have a traditional wedding fruit cake decorated with royal icing?"  or this - "Help - best way to improve Excel skills when you don't use it in current job but would need it for another job?"

@muffinmum also has great taste in television entertainment - "That new Pope bloke looks like he is related to Mrs Brown." and "Was any one watching the hospital program on tV1? Just caught the end, what was the brain surgery the man was having?"

What is deceptive though is the fact that I thought she was a fine young member of society.  One of those five descriptive words isn't entirely true though.  She isn't as young in natural years as her personality and approach to life would have you believe.  "My boss couldn't believe it when I told him I was older than him, he is 32. I was happy."  Maybe its good genetics?  I think it is all about her philosophy and approach to life.

Its also cool that she isn't afraid to ask for help when she gets stuck on a particular issue - "Help, camp list says sand shoes, WTF are sand shoes? Need translation"

There is probably plenty more I could say about one of the lovely people of twitter.  But I shall refrain.  I shall let you make the journey of discovery on your own.  I certainly hope you do because @muffinmum is right up there with the best of them.  Tweeters that is ;)

Random follow #60 - @HassanahRudd

Almost all of my random tweeters so far have been fun, interesting and lovely people.  Today's random person certainly fits that description and more.

What I can tell you is that @HassanahRudd right now is a very busy new mum.  New from the point of view that she has both become a new mum but not for the first time.  Baby number three arrived this week and I have no doubt the Rudd family right now are super proud and super excited about the new addition to their family.

Tweeters you can mark this date in your calendar so you can plan ahead for birthday presents from now on "slow tweet stream from me. No Internet connection at Birthcare. Finally joined by our new baby girl late thurs night. Just got home#happy".

And it's really nice that she is able to find a balance between being a professional woman and a mum as well.  Being a parent has its fair share of ups and downs.  And it is the little things your kids do that can make you either burst out loud laughing or start beaming with pride from the inside out.

"Trying to read board papers whilst Miss 3 "sings" at the top of her lungs. She won't be auditioning for X Factor.. Off key.. Big time!"

In her "normal" (is there such a thing when you are a mum?) she is an advocate for people.  Usually such a job would be titled human resources professional.  But in Hassanah's case her official role is one of talent & sourcing expert and recruitment.  She is also a smart mum in regards to her ability to access technology - "The joy of twitter & smartphones; I can catch up on good blogs whilst waiting for Mr9 at his dentist appt".

There are a few traits that stand out about Hassanah.  For a start she has a beautiful name.  She is a mum.  She is also a very passionate advocate and voice for other mums and children.  It takes a certain type of drive, fire and passion for a person to choose to take up a role as an advocate for others.

@HassanahRudd is also a valuable member and contributor to the #nzlead discussions which take place every week.  If you refer back to this post here you can find out more about how #nzlead works.

One really nice thing I enjoy about her tweeting is that she will engage you in a conversation.  If a conversation needs more than one or two tweets she will happily talk away.  And the conversations add value.  Multiple conversation partners are welcomed and everyone gets either a reply or a friendly tweet.

As all new mums (and babies) need their rest I am going to sign off on this post a little earlier than I usually do.  But I did have a few unanswered quetions in my mind about her and with a little help from my friend google I was able to source the perfect ending to this post.

"Hassanah loves to talk but as her husband says “not everyone speaks Hassanah”, which is accented, fast paced and energetic (probably due to her many years working in the fast paced temp world). People tend to remember Hassanah because of her long red hair and unusual name. What most don’t know is that her parents met in a commune and married in a mosque which is why Hassanah was given an Arabic name."

(source: at http://www.frogrecruitment.co.nz/About+Frog/Our+People/HassanahRudd.html)

Congratulations Hassanah and all your family on your new addition.  x.

Random follow #57 - @kirbsradioboy

I have only a few criteria for someone to be profiled in this project.  The most specific criteria is that someone has to be interesting.  @kirbsradioboy has the label of being interesting totally nailed.

Going by the name of 'Indie Rock Kid' @kirbsradioboy is certainly a man with diverse interests and a very interesting home life.  The first thing that struck me was his profile.  Anyone whose opening line says that he has a hot wife is all right with me.  Any man who speaks of his wife in such a way is someone who has his priorities sorted and knows what is important to him.

He is also a dad.  Being a dad is quite simple awesome.  No disrespect to mums (because they are fantastic too) but dads do stuff different.  Dads climb trees, wrestle, plat football and do man stuff.  Being a dad and being present in your kids lives is important.  Not every kid has the chance to have a dad and for those of us dads who are able to be present in our kids lives we need to savor that privilege and not take it for granted,  And I am sure Indie Rock Kid values his sons very much.  You can tell when he tweets like this -

"2nd day off in 28 days #workinghard To celebrate I'm going to the #Rodeo. No that it excites me, its more for the kids and being a good dad"

And like all of us there is more to @kirbsradioboy than his home life.  There is also his vocation.  Radio and not just radio but sports commentating.  From what I can tell its all sports.  From football to speedway, throw in some rugby and some cricket and you'll understand what I mean.

And if you've followed twitter for a while you will know there are more than a few people who are keen on speedway and stock cars.  Including the infamous @ramjamnz.  And I know this next tweet by @kirbsradioboy will have him weakening at the knees -    

"Sucking in Methanol fumes commentating speedway. Waiting for the headache. #speedway #marlborough"

And how could he go by a name such as Indie Rock Kid if he didn't tweet about music. 

"I am on the hunt for my dream guitar amp. Yep business is good. #marshall #fender #peavey #guitartalk"

"Some of your issues can be solved with music." and "Dance like the world is ending."

And his musical taste matches, or is exemplified, by his twitter name -

"must be having a good shame #thepixies #nowplaying just takes me back to a happy place"

@kirbsradioboy doesn't live on social media like some of us do.  He jumps in and tweets when he has something decent to say.  And I am picking he keeps an eye on what is going on but chooses when and where he will join the conversation.

And any random tweeter who is actually interesting has to have a sense of humor.  As I have a sweet tooth this tweet really appeals to me - "Got through a mountain of work today. The only shame is that my job isn't an ice cream taster for magnums."

If you are looking to follow a well rounded kiwi tweep who will add some musical nostalgia and value, give reverence to those who deserve it, speak praise where it is due and insert an occasional football tweet you found it right here in @kirbsradioboy.

random follow #47 - @sonyacole

There must be something secret in the water that people from Taranaki drink.  They have beautiful skin, fine personalities and all round really lovely people.  Today's random kiwi tweeter absolutely ticks all three of those boxes.

@SonyaCole is a very lovely lady.  One particular characteristic you will pick up straight away is that she is a lady of style.  Her current twitter profile photo I believe captures her essence nicely.  The red hair piece nicely offsets the darker tomes of her dress.  So here you find a lady of both substance and style.  Panache and positivity.

Sonya is a mum, a social media fan, a blogger, an iphone owner (no further comment needed - LOL),  and she owns her own business.  And she is married too.  To whom I have no idea but he is a very lucky chap indeed.  And I am not too sure when Sonya actually manages to find the time to fit in all these different takes in a day but fit them in she does.  Especially the tweeting.  Then again mums to tend to have exceptional time management skills and I'm betting Sonya is no different in this respect.

(Yes - I have 'borrowed' this picture - without permission. 

But only because it is such a lovely photo)

You aren't going to discover or unearth any of the secrets of the universe by reading Sonya's tweets.  What you will find are short and sweet tweets that won't waste your time.  She doesn't waste her words that is for sure.  And to be honest I have looked high and low and I have struggled to find a tweet that used up the 140 character limit.  But she does enjoy engaging with others and keeping in touch with what is happening in the global conversation that is twitter.

One really nice thing that reinforces my view of @SonyaCole being lovely is that she isn't a twitter snob.  She will tweet anyone and everyone in a nice and positive way.  And even her tweets that are about not so fun stuff like insomnia are still a joy to read because you the reader can relate to what she is trying to say.  For example - "That sinking feeling when you wake up during hell TV hour!"

And it appears that the insomnia is not just confined to one day a week but it may actually be a repetitive issue.  And again tv is not helping!  "Kill me now! Watching Proactive ads to avoid evangelists on the other channels! FML"

To conclude I can hand on heart say @SonyaCole is a lovely (attractive and single) woman and mum who is also a social media butterfly. She is kind and thoughtful and like everyone - a little bit of praise and encouragement goes a long way.

To finish I have three recommendations today - 

#1 - follow @SonyaCole on twitter
#2 - check out her beautiful website http://sonyacole.com/
#3 - give credit and praise to someone completely random when you finish reading this.  It will make someone's day.

Random follow #42 - @lucymk

Six children.  @lucymk has six children.  Quite definitely more than a handful that's for sure.  @luckmk is more than proud of the fact that she has brought into this world six lives and even more than that she will proudly shout from the rooftops that she is a mum.  Not once, not twice but six times over.

Being a parent, albeit a mum or a dad, is a huge responsibility and a very rewarding one at that.  When you are a parent there is very little down time.  Trying to find those little moments of simplicity, quiet and sanctity becomes like an eternal hunt for elusive treasure.  Here is why -

"Soooo jealous - only ever had 1 night off…9 doesn't compute 😳 #bigsleeps" followed closely by this
"Romantic Valentine evening spent with 10mo who has been awake for the last 10hours #goinginsane #needsleep"

Lucy is a very conversational tweeter.  That is if you tweet something of interest she will engage with you in conversation.  It is really pleasant to find in amongst the noise, busyness, and hustle and bustle of twitter someone who is prepared to take the time to listen and thoughtfully reply to people.

To be honest with all those kids I am not sure how she finds the time to tweet.  But find the time she does because once she engages in social media she is away.  Lots would be a good description of how many tweets she is able to send in a day!  Maybe social media offers some sort of sanctity?  

I don't have too much more to say about @lucymk except that she must have exceptional project management and crowd control skills.  And I give full credit to any lady whether she have one child or 12 because mums are special.