I began using Twitter, the social media platform that limits messages to 140 characters each about a year and a half ago. As of Sunday p.m I had about 9,650 people who were “following” me. After two late nights and some clicking this evening, I’m now down to 6,350 and that’s alright with me.
Why you ask? Simple. It had gotten so impersonal I felt like I hadn’t had a meaningful exchange on Twitter in as long as I could remember. And I was tired, too, of all the messages that read: “Get white teeth by clicking here,” or “Get 400 followers a day using this service.” I also got rid of a bunch of the nonsense associated with “Start your online business with us and you’ll be making money from Twitter.” Maybe that works. I kinda doubt it. But it seems to me if they could be running a successful business venture on Twitter, they wouldn’t have to be screaming from Twitterville to get others to do it.
Social media is intended to be, well, SOCIAL. It can’t be such when you have 9,600 in your Twitter stream and you can’t read what the real people are writing because you’re seeing screens full of BS.
And as I went through and purged any people I was following who haven’t updated on Twitter since the mid to end of November 2009, or if I was following them and they weren’t following me back out of common courtesy, I simply unfollowed them. Some I even blocked.
To its credit, Twitter has done a great job of getting rid of all those porn followers that were bugging all of us mid-summer. You know, @SAJS3492 and such. (That’s a made-up Twitter name. I hope.) Click here and you can see my pictures. Oy. None of that was in my following pool, so I give them credit for finding all that crap and eliminating it.
And while I went through my followings, I also began to create my lists. Cool Moms is a fun list to keep up with. So is Dads. And then there is one of Dallas/North Texas and then there are DaddyClaxton favs. (If you’re not on a list and think you should be, just let me know.)
I also began getting iPhone updates of some of the people who I used to interact with all the time. Already tonight, we’ve had some great conversations about what’s going on in their lives and it feels so refreshing.
My new Twitter policy is going to be simple: I’d prefer you be a mom or dad Twitter user, but if you’re not, that’s okay, too. I’m not, however, going to follow you if SEO, MLM or any other such lettering is in your screen name. If you’ve not tweeted in the past month, forget about following me. If anywhere in your recent stream mentions white teeth or starting a business online or making money online, forget it. If you’re a porn site and you want me to look at your picture, forget it. I’m married and I plan on staying that way. And if you’re going to follow me, then I follow you back and then you unfollow me just to pad your numbers, well, forget that, too.
I’m in the process of many other changes here on the blog and on donaldjclaxton.com. Those are going to be much-needed, positive and helpful changes for all as we go into 2010. I encourage you to stay tuned. If you’re not following me on Twitter, I invite you to do so, given the parameters mentioned above. I’m also on Facebook. And I also strongly encourage you to click the RSS feed button at the top of the screen by the blog.daddyclaxton.com URL.
Stay tuned. There’s good stuff just around the corner.
Just in case your forgot, if you have a live Christmas tree in your house, it's still thirsty. Did you water it today? WATER YOUR LIVE CHRISTMAS TREE!
The past few years I've noticed as I was taking the lights off the tree that there was slight blackening taking place where the lights had gotten too hot against the tree. This has lead me to burn the lights less and give them time to cool off in between when they're on and off.
Some people like to use shorthand notation to write Christmas. (X-Mas.) This often is offensive to Christians who often say, "Keep Christ in Christmas," and when you use X-Mas, that's what they're talking about. And since his birth is the reason for the holiday to begin with, please, use the extra five characters.
If you have kids, remember, when you leave, they're probably going through your best hiding places to see what they're getting. If you have things you don't want them to find, you either need to lock it up and keep the key on you, or keep them down the street at the neighbor's or your parents' house.
It's a season of joy and giving. Try to do both this season. Look past the stressors and strains and seek the peace and symbolism of the holiday. And don't forget that giving is better than receiving. Or so they say!
I'm adding a new section to this blog and calling it "Daddy's Concerns." I'd call it Daddy's Cares, but that seems to be sort of TMed by Go Daddy! for their non-profit support efforts.
The point of this section will be to highlight someone/some who are experiencing the unusual trials of life caused by the unpredictable and unfortunate. And through that adversity, it is my hope to find the hidden nuggets of strength, perseverance, or unfaltering faith that those enduring such experiences have displayed and show them to you for inspiration. And if so happens that you feel so moved to reach out to offer kind words, financial assistance or other help, I'm all to happy to be a conduit for that kind of support.
Like I wrote last night, I've been treated to some tales lately of those who are enduring some incredibly hard situations. In many ways, I thought what I've been experiencing the past six months has been unbearable, but it pales next to the little boy Dakota who may not make it to Christmas, or the family of Officer Davis who are left behind to make ends meet after he was senselessly gunned down last week.
If you have a person you'd like me to know about, post a comment here or anywhere else on the blog, or follow me on Twitter and then DM me. There is great good we can provide others by sharing these stories and I'm asking you for your help. So tell me, what's your story of great challenge and adversity? What's been the great lesson you've learned from your struggles? What can you share with others who might be in the same boat that will offer them comfort or guidance? What's your story? What would make a good example for the next Daddy's Concerns?
So long ago, was it in a dream, was it just a dream that Derrick Kubacki, my best friend in middle school in Atwater, CA called me to tell me what was coming through the TV airways, John Lennon had been shot outside his home, the Dakota, in New York City by some nut named Mark David Chapman.
I was a Beatles fan in my 'tweens and much of high school. I still am, but I was really a Beatles fan. I mean I listened to them every day. I learned to play Yesterday the way it is on the record, not the weird chord structuring that was in the Cherry Hill Music Books back in the 70s and 80s.
And so when that call came through, I was crushed. My favorite Beatle then and now remains Paul, but the Beatles wouldn't have been the Beatles without John. And at the time, I thought I was closer to matching Paul's voice than John's so more of my songs focused on the McCartney material.
So today, on the anniversary of John's murder, I just wanted to say I missed him. It's time to stop the Christmas music for a few songs and do #9 Dream, Imagine and Strawberry Fields. And I Am The Walrus, while looking at a Glass Onion, wondering why he had to let it all go.
The last time I was in NYC I went past the Dakota and over to Strawberry Fields. This is the view looking toward Heaven, if you can Imagine that.
As you might think, I'm big into Christmas. Always have been. Part of Christmas to me also is the music that goes along with it. I can honestly tell you that in the past 30-some-odd years, I've never put up the Christmas tree without playing Christmas Is… by The Percy Faith Orchestra. I play the whole album and regard it as one of my favorites of all time.
So in my iTunes Playlists for Christmas, here are my top 25. I encourage you to try each of them out if you don't already have them. Which of the 25 is my absolute favorite? Hm. I really have no idea. They're all pretty darned good.
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