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 #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 #244 - @elladeruiter

@elladeruiter is one of those special people who have the x factor or that sprinkle of fairy dust that makes twitter shine.  To get a little understanding of who she is you need to a full length scan of her twitter page.  Much like an attractive person you spot in the street Ella will make you stop and do a double take as you think - 'wow, she's really something!'.

There is so much about her that is beautiful and to like.  From her full name 'Emanuella' to her profile photo all the way day down her timeline.  There is so much to like and be attracted to.  And yes - I have done a few double takes...

Apart from the fact that she is an attractive young lady she is also a very intelligent young person who contrary to this tweet -

"I can now officially confirm that I am a sausage"

she is in fact a very smart cookie.  She is also a lady of fine taste - 

"I could really do with some chocolate right about now".

She cares about and for animals.  Ella is a self proclaimed wanna-be crazy cat lady however she also has at least one of our finer friends in her care - 

"Dog is being creepy. He is standing in the middle of the room just staring at me. :|"

What do I like about her?  Her intelligence.  Her interactions with @Edaemus.  And her sense of humor.  Its not like Ella purposely sets out to be funny - like slapstick comedy (I think) but her tweets are rather comedic and funny.  Such as - 

"I have to be the best procrastinator ever".

And its not easy being a student.  There are lots of time and work commitments which many of us forget what its like and the amount of pressure that goes with it - 

"You know what's worse than editing and revising an essay? Editing and revising a thesis! :("

I highly recommend you take a wander over to her tumblr page where she showcases some of her superb photography.  There are some very spectacular photos on show.  So here's my take on @elladeruiter in 10 words or less - young, student, attractive, smart, funny, endearing. engaging, intelligent, random, passionate.

Social media is all about what you bring to the game.  Ella brings a sharp. smart and sassy approach to life that will have you smiling as you follow along with her journey from student to success.  I am following her on twitter.  Are you going to?

Random follow #242 - @CaptainRaison

Kimberley, Kimberley, Kimberley.  Whatever are we to make of you?  In my opinion thats a completely fair question.  @CaptainRaison is (astoundingly) one of my favorite tweeters at the moment.  She has a complex mind and sense of humour that takes a bit of getting used to but once you begin to understand how she thinks then a whole new world of hilarity is opened up to you.

When she says that "I'm not your typical 20 year old" she isn't far wrong.  And I mean that with full respect.  There aren't many 20 year olds who have such interesting imaginations or the ability to express themselves in 140 characters or less with such punch or clarity of mind.

She is a lady of many tastes.  Lets have a look and see what some of them are - 

"People may hate on the Zelda series but everybody has to admit, the soundtrack to the games are freaking fantastic"  <-- gaming.

"Guys I'm actually 70 years old. The secret to my youthfull look is video games and freaking out about everything." <-- she has discovered the elixir of youth!

"Male hippos show their affection for the females by flinging dung at them." <-- the next Attenborough? 

"I got this new chocolate and mint body wash, holy moly, it smells SO GOOD. I'm gonna smell like a chocolate biscuit :D" <-- woman stuff.

"Maybe I should be a comedian. But I don't know how'd that work, I'd probably just stand on a stage and make cat noises." <-- potential career options.

I love @CaptainRaison's ability to tweet completely random things and completely change up my timeline when it needs a damn good oil change.

This young lady is a film student based in the deep south of the South Island and that too gives her some really great content to tweet about.  The student life, flatmates and the cold.  Most people would find those subjects pretty blah - but not @CaptainRaison.  Oh no - she manages to apply her lens of creativity to them and gives them a twist in her tweets.  She's definitely not your run of the mill tweeter. 

This post is going to be a lot like @CaptainRaison's tweets.  Short and to the point.  She doesn't waste the characters she is given for a tweet but she does manage to use a lot of tweets.  In a good way of course.  And if you're really keen to see a bit more of Kimberley head over to her Youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/CaptainRaison.  It sums her up very nicely.  

So as you can see you can never be too sure about what Kimberley is going to tweet next.  You really don't know quite what is coming down the twitter stream next.  This could quite possibly be the most random twitter account in existence today.  And it is for that very reason that I follow her. 

Random follow #237 - @Kitti_word

The purpose of the RKT project is to introduce you to the people on twitter who are happy just being themselves out of the limelight and tweeting as they wish to.  One of the people who epitomises the is @Kitti_word.  She tweets away happily in her small space of social media and does so with much generosity and love.

With a really small number of followers and a comparably small number of follows twitter for Michelle is about value.  She values her friends and she values her timeline.  So much so that she has managed an astounding 17,500 tweets!   What I really like is that @Kitti_word doesn't suffer fools gladly.  Hence the reason why she keeps her friends really close.

One thing you'll find about Michelle is that she is honest.  She calls a spade a spade and won't try to convince you otherwise.  Here is one way that honesty is portrayed - 

" I totally buy a cheeseburger sometimes because I want the pickles" 

She is also a highly interactive tweeter.  So many interesting conversations are had with "real" people of twitter.  And its a joy to see.  And student like is far from easy as you can see - 

"Trying to last until midnight so I can find out my test results. It's getting hard."

Just a short post today cos @Kitti_word is one of those tweeters who you are best off to go over and check out for yourself.  how do I describe her in 10 words of less?  -->

Young, fun, honest, loyal, interactive, lovely, individual, prolific, student, lady.

This post is written specially cos Michelle is doing it a bit tough at the moment.  She doesn't need new followers just for the sake of upping her follower rate.  But what she does need are some genuine people to pull alongside and ask - "hey, are you all right today?"  Hopefully this post brightens up her day a little :)

Random follow #159 - @toryhipster

Politics.  Love it or hate it - they are everywhere.  And politics are also the foundation of any great debate, argument or heated discussion.  There is nothing quite like a good political discussion to get the blood boiling, the brain working and the heart racing.

@toryhipster is most definitely not afraid to put her political views out there on display for the public to see.  And whats more she is more than able to defend her point of view and dare I say it she relishes a good political discussion.  Now the term 'Tory' can be both a term of endearment as well as one of ridicule depending on who is using it.  It NZ political terms it means someone who is a National Party supporter.

But don't be put off by this!  Rather let her fire, passion and wit spur your tweets on to bigger and better things.  And not all Bonnie's tweets are politically based or intended.  In fact quite a few of them have nothing to do with politics at all.  Being a student at the University of Auckland a lot of her tweets are an insight into the life and musings of a university student who is working their butt off in an effort to make great grades.

And no she isn't studying politics.  She is in fact studying geography and marine science.  I am not sure how these two things fir together exactly  maybe underwater volcanology?  Or mapping the seabed to best figure out where we can start colonies for people to live?  Anyway.

So here are a selection of random tweets that @toryhipster has shared with the world recently - 

Girl tweets --> "Dear God, thank you for popping super babe's tyre in full view of the bus stop so he has to fix it in front of me #misandry #perve"

Her view of social media --> "Twitter is like screaming into an abyss full of voices. Sometimes you don't necessarily care if they don't scream back."

Random weather tweets --> "I've decided I'm moving to the tropics. Me and 4 degrees doesn't work too well".

And there are heaps more tweets than those that you can feast your eyes on should you decide to hit the follow button.   @toryhipster is an intelligent, witty and very smart tweeter.  She keeps it fresh and her tweets rocking.  Follow this young lady and your timeline will thank you for it.

And just for the record Bonnie is just about at the point of graduating with her degree.  So if you enjoy her at university tweets then you might REALLY like her "I have found my first job after Uni" tweets too.  When they happen.  Just letting you know in advance.

Random follow #141 - @Dblo7XX

Some of the best finds of people on twitter this year have been the tweeters who are fairly new to social media.  The people who are still finding their feet, figuring out how it all works and bring a certain freshness to the twitter scene.

@Dblo7XX is another person who  moved to these fine shores some years ago and quite happily calls New Zealand home.  Originally hailing from the very beautiful New Caledonia she is of french descent.  And as we all know (insert stereotype here) all things french are beautiful and romantic.  And I have no doubt that the same is true of her.

And yet another stereotype that exists about the french is that they can cook.  Well if you look through the images and photos that she has shared you can very quickly figure out that @Dblo7XX totally has the bakers touch!  Beautiful pictures of bread, ganache, kale chips and creme brulee.  Seriously?  This lady has it going on!!!

So how do we know that she is becoming a kiwi?  Who she supports in the rugby (LOL) - "Woohoo... Just found out I'll be at Eden Park on Saturday!! Absolutely ecstatic! GO BLACKS!!"

And she brings with her from the other side of the world a fresh perspective on things - "How do I see my world? Above the cloud cover, there is always a pristine, intense blue sky."

"Life is full of little pleasures"

And another thing that I find really enticing and interesting is that she tweets in french too!  I have NO idea what she is saying but it just looks fantastic when she does!  For example - "Bienvenue à mes nouveaux followers francophones. Pardonnez moi si mon français est un peu rouillé".

So what @Dblo7XX is able to do is tweet to so many more people than those of us who uni-lingual. Please spare her a thought as you go about your bust day because this lady is not just a mum but a student as well.  Taking on both of those roles takes some kind of commitment and dedication.

So if you are looking to follow someone on social media who is fresh, brings a bigger perspective of the world while still being able to keep their feet on the ground and can make your mouth water through the simple sharing of a photo of her cooking - then @Dblo7XX is just who you are looking for.

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 #64 - @nintendoug

In order to make the list of random kiwi tweeters it is required that you come from an interesting place, have an interesting point of view or you do something interesting   Today the person of interest is none other than  @nintendoug.  He is a man of many talents and also a man of few twitter followers.  Whether that is by design or some other reason I do not know.  I can tell you he is an adult student and he tweets accordingly.

If you are considering re-entering the world of higher education then look no further than @nintendoug's tweets of tips and tricks to help you get through your day (and enjoy the penny pinching student lifestyle).

Here are ten top tips from his tweets you can employ -

1. Get good grades. "Cementing my place as annoying class know-it-all, because those tutorial participation marks are easy pickings."
2. Save money on non-essentials.  "To tight to pay for photocopying on campus? Just photograph every page you need!".  
3. Don't procrastinate.  "Oh shit, and the homework. Oh god, the homework!#forgotabouthomework"
4. Course selection is important.  "Today I learnt some interesting things from a Bio Anthropologist, and also that I want to ditch Biological Anthropology next semester".
5. Listen in class.  "Global History 103 today. Remember kids, past behaviour is a great predictor!"
6. Know where you're going.  "How do you get out of this mid-century brutalist nightmare!?!?#physicsbuilding"
7. It's important to engage with other students.  "Ok, today is World Archeology 101 and Club Day. Got my glowsticks, pacifier and a stock of Chupa Chups".
8. Plan ahead.  "Uh oh. This lecture is two hours long! Should I pee before I go in?"
9. Look for the additional benefits.  "Holy shit! There's a bar here!?! This place has everything. I can see why people make a career out of academia".
10. And above all else - have fun.  "@elladeruiter It's going to be a challenge I think, haven't been in a class for about 17 years. It's all a bit overwhelming today. But fun!"

Doug is very serious about his study.  And making the commitment to go back and join the world of academia is not a decision made lightly.  It takes a lot of courage and backbone to join a classroom where you are actually old enough to be the parent of those around you.  I give full credit to @nintendoug and I really do wish him all the very best for his studies ahead.

Just as an aside Doug also has a few other interests as well.  Some he tweets about and some he doesn't.

Here are a few that he has made mention of.

The fine arts - "It took 90 minutes before the play got good. Dudes ripped another dude's eyes out and then there was intermission & we went to the bar".

And he is also a man of impeccable movie taste - "The Dark Knight Returns is awesome and you should watch it. Even though Kevin Conroy is absent."

That is all I have to say about @nintendoug.  I sincerely hope that he can maintain both his enthusiasm and his sense of humor throughout the course of his studies and I genuinely look forward to following him and his successes.