"Write now is good."

Using Twitter to develop editing skills

Many tech tools available online can help writers and editors hone their skills. Twitter is an accidental one. Originally designed as a social network, this microblogging platform helps writers practice precise expression because it restricts wordy output to 140 characters or less per "tweet" (a Twitter message, and this includes spaces and punctuation).

Craig Stoltz at Web 2.0h. . .really? A skeptic's guide to emerging web technologies has written a resourceful post titled "How Twitter Finally Taught Me to be an Editor". Even though he states:

Fact is, it’s tough to convey any substance in 140 characters. You have to carefully weigh every word, letter and space. Even punctuation.

Stoltz does precisely that. Each insightful paragraph is written in 140 characters (or a bit less).

Want to see how it's done by a Tweeting Master? Follow Craig on Twitter here.

Thanks to Shashi Bellamkonda, who highlighted this post via one of his Twitter messages.

Related posts:

— "One full plate: My media diet"
— "Politweets: Political expression, in 140 characters or less"
— "Is 140 the new 5-7-5? Writing, haiku and Twitter"

This post is brought to you by the letter B.

Because B is for "books", and this piece takes my blog category "bookshelf furniture" to a whole new level.

With SET26, each letter of the English alphabet can be purchased separately or in combination to form words. Use the company's configure function to create your virtual dream bookshelf (available in six colors and five letters maximum). I created this:

Browse the gallery to see other examples of how to utilize these pieces.

This product line is based in Switzerland, and I don't know if it is available internationally.

Six-word commuting stories: Where are the straphangers?

Photo: Telecommute by myelectricsheep

A couple of weeks ago, I asked readers for six-word stories of their commutes. Fuel prices are rising and more are taking public transportation, so I expected to get mini dramas of packed subway cars, missed commuter trains, and lurching buses.

I didn't.

Instead, I received tales by telecommuters and a bi-coastal jet-setter—opposite ends of the commuting spectrum. They are:

One mile to Starbucks, then home. — Lily

Foot floor clothing coffee hallway laptop. — Cathryn Hrudicka, Chief Imagination Officer, Creative Sage™

Was an hour. Now ten feet. — Steve Woodruff

Sometimes LA. Sometimes Boston. That's it. — Ann Handley

Thank you to everyone who submitted one! And if any straphangers out there would still like to play, drop a comment and I'll add you to this list.

UPDATE: I received a slew of additional six-word commuting tales today. Many thanks to all! They are:

-- "Twenty years? Twenty minutes? I forget."
-- "Could canoe to work. Or not." And its companion piece, "Going home all upstream. Bad idea."
-- "Jerk on bumper. Flash brakes? Ahhh." And its companion piece, "Must drive faster! Brake lights? AHHH!" — All written by JohnH60

Used to straphang. But it sucked! — Ann Handley   

My commute: Coffee, couch, baby, boob. — Rachel Levy

Books and buses, grad school salvation. — Laura

A time machine, at your computer finger tips

This is the kind of historical, graphical and informational resource I've dreamed about. From The New York Times:

TimesMachine can take you back to any issue from Volume 1, Number 1 of The New-York Daily Times, on September 18, 1851, through The New York Times of December 30, 1922. Choose a date in history and flip electronically through the pages, displayed with their original look and feel.

The image above is a snapshot of the NYT front page from 100 years ago today. Mousing over each article produces a small window containing the article's transcribed text for easy reading. Here is one captivating headline from it:

HUGE AIRSHIP FALLS, 16 PASSENGERS HURT; Gas Bag Rips When Machine Is 300 Feet Up in First Attempt to Carry So Many. HAD FAITH IN INVENTOR Neighbors Joined Morrell in Hazardous Trip -- 10,000 See the Drop...

The newspaper features advertisements from the time, which I love because they provide such a clear snapshot of ordinary life. I was surprised to see that The New York Times logo font looks almost the same (if not exactly) as it is now. So many interesting features to notice! I hope the NYT continues to add issues after 1922 in the same format.

Recommended uses: highly justifiable time wasting, background research for works of historical fiction, and getting perspective on the "big picture" (the more things change, the more they stay the same).

The catch: it's available online only to home subscribers of the NYT. However, it can be accessed by everyone at their local library through ProQuest's Digital Vault. The TimesMachine site features only a few teaser issues at the moment.

The shortest distance between two points is a...

Photo: Kake Pugh

This wording caught my eye—"desire path":

A term in landscape architecture used to describe a path that isn't designed but rather is worn casually away by people finding the shortest distance between two points.

Other possible meanings/uses I thought of for it:

1. It would work well as a novel title. It is both meaningful and vague enough to capture the imagination.

2. It is a near-synonym for "crowdsourcing". A sidewalk is set in concrete, yet everyone in the town feels there is a better route, so they make it.

3. It could mean what most of us are on in our life quest. Joseph Campbell understood this and encouraged others to "follow your bliss".

Sometimes a landscape architecture term is not just a landscape architecture term.

Out of curiosity, I went to Flickr in search of a "desire path" photo group. Here is the link to 201 photos tagged as such.

Thanks, [BB-Blog], who found it at Everyone Forever (which has additional photos of desire paths).

One full plate: My media diet

Photo: ghost in the machine / deus ex Macintosh by ehoyer

My media diet is packed. I thank Cam Beck at Chaos Scenario for tagging me with this interesting meme and self-analysis. I've discovered a few things about my media consumption habits that have surprised me:

1. Blogs, Web sites and RSS feeds: I skim and/or read around 50-100 feeds, blogs and Web sites a day. (I do take some days off from this, depending on workload, weekends, etc.) I realize that I've become a very proficient skimmer since Web 2.0 took off; skimming is the only way I can survey and digest this flood of information. The blogs and Web sites I read and skim most regularly are:

- mainstream news
- alternative news
- tech news
- business/marketing
- design/trends
- arts/culture/music
- writing/writers blogs

2. Books: Because I read many books for work-related things (mainly non-fiction: trends, business, culture, and writing tips and perspectives), I haven't read a book just for fun in a long time.

3. Music: I listen to a lot of music, usually as an antidote to all the other media I'm immersed in. In addition to my favorites, I get recommendations from friends, listen to the radio, and check out iTunes in the quest for more. Every few months, I feature a musical writing mix on my blog's right-hand side, and these are some of my current favorites. (Got any good music you think I should hear? Drop me a comment and I'll be sure to check it out.)

4. Music videos: YouTube is my personalized MTV. I realized that music fits into my media diet so prominently because I use it to inspire work sessions or to relax between them. Listening to music enhances my creativity and makes me think "bigger," and while I've read studies that credit classical music with increasing mental functioning, I think rock, alternative, disco, and jazz all do that equally well.

5. Radio: I listen to NPR, BBC, WNYC, and any public radio station I can get on the Internet. I've been a fan of public radio since I was a kid. It is great to listen to while driving and excellent for getting world news first thing in the morning. There is something about radio that is timeless and very significant to me, and I hope it never disappears as media competition increases. In many parts of the world, it is often one of the only easily accessible and cheap/free media outlets available.

6. Twitter: Yes, Twitter is media to me. It's a highly-personalized microblogging channel. In Twitter, we users select who we want to hear blips and pings from all day long. It's not just a social network, as those of us who have seen news stories break on Twitter can attest to, though it's still a very social place. I get so many current links from those I follow on Twitter, and this has enhanced my blogging and online community experience immensely. It's work and play and current events, all located at one online venue.

7. TV: None. Nada. Zip. Zilch—unless I'm on vacation or visiting friends or family. I have no time for it, and all of the other media I consume fills in the news and entertainment gaps I have. TV would be redundant. TV can be great, but after surfing the Interwebs and often finding interesting, relevant information all day long, I find it hard to channel surf and find nothing to rival it.

8. Podcasts: I don't listen to any on a regular basis as some are quite long and I can't skim them to get the basic facts. If you know of a good podcast I should tune listen to, however, leave a link in the comments. (If only I had more time.........)

9. Social news sites: I just joined NewsTrust.net which "helps people find good journalism online." I'll write more about this as I participate more.

10. Magazines: I'm saving my most-consumed for last. As a primary source of my work, I'm completely surrounded by them. I read many, work for some, even dream about them on occasion. New ones on the newsstands always catch my eye, no matter how many I have on my desk. (One day I'll write a "I <3 magazines" post all about a primary focus in my life. Stay tuned.)

Would you like to take a close look at your media consumption? If so, tag yourself and link back here so we can read about it. Because I would like to read about the media diets of these very media-immersed people, I'm tagging: DK (Mediasnackers), Linda Sherman (It's Different For Girls), Sharon Sarmiento (eSoup), Steve Woodruff (StickyFigure) and Tara Bradford (Paris Parfait).

Many thanks to blogger extraordinaire Arun Rajagopal for starting this media meme!

Can you help this photo find its home?

Over at JournaMarketing, David Brazeal has posted about a mysterious photo he found:

This photo ended up near my home this weekend, after tornadoes hit southwest Missouri and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. I have no idea where it came from, but it traveled at least 70 miles, I think. It's just one piece of the debris that was scattered across the area...

Area residents have been gathering these lost photos, scanning them, and posting them on Web sites. If people who have lost personal possessions during the storms do search for their photos online, imagine how happy they would be to find these precious, irreplaceable items.

The News-Leader of Springfield, Missouri has an online photo gallery with more than 100 photos found in tornado debris. If you live in or are from the area, take a quick look to see if you recognize any of these people.

This is the first instance I've seen of social networks (I found out about this via a message David sent through Twitter), blogs and Web sites being used to reconnect storm victims with their photos. These simple online tools, already in place, can provide an inexpensive, viral way for many people to assist those affected by natural disasters.

If this photo and its owners are reunited, I'll post an update.

Writing exercise: Your six-word commute

Photo: Early rush hour Subway crowd, homeward bound [015/365] by Lab2112

The price for a gallon of gas continues to rise in countries worldwide.

In this New York Times article, the writer describes how additional riders are flooding mass-transit systems in the U.S. Increasing amounts of commuters have stopped driving to work as they feel the financial strain from high fuel prices.

Commuting via mass transit? Grab a notebook, pen and a seat (perhaps).

Your assignment: Write ten six-word stories about your commute.

Focus on precision. Fit as much as you can into those six words. Search your surroundings for strong images, dialog, sounds, sensations and smells. Tune in to what is around you as you craft your micro stories ... and please keep an eye on your personal belongings.

If you post any of your stories on your blog, leave a comment here with the permalink. I'll link to all stories in an additional post about what you all eventually create.

Have fun! These are just drafts. You can always edit them when you arrive home.

One beautiful sentence

Photo: Happy door by Jeff Bauche._.·´¯)

A few bloggers I know are currently struggling with various illnesses. Having closely followed what author (and good blog friend) Patry Francis is going through with her own health battle, her current post really moved me, and this sentence in particular stood out. From "Unreasonable Happiness: The Existential Question of the Week":

"...Maybe I'd left the shallow, mundane world I usually occupy and fallen through a trap door to the place where being in love is quite simply our natural state."

Patry's existential question is "When was the last time you felt incredibly happy for no particular reason?" My not-so-existential question is "Have you recently found one beautifully written sentence which moves you?"

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate it.

Writing tool: "A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods"

 

This well-designed periodic table of visualization methods features a wealth of information in a single screen. Mouse over each box to reveal a pop-up visual of each visualization method.

It covers six types of visualization:

- data (e.g., pie charts and histograms)
- information (e.g., timelines and flowcharts)
- concept (e.g., concept maps and dilemma diagrams)
- strategy (e.g., strategy maps and life-cycle diagrams)
- metaphor (e.g., story templates and tree diagrams)
- compound (e.g., cartoons and knowledge maps)

If you use mindmapping to brainstorm ideas or any sort of sketching/drawing to develop characters, check out these additional ways to generate and focus ideas.

Note: When you click through to the actual chart, be sure to scroll both across and down to see all six visualization types. The light-blue strategy section is below the chart's main part.

Via a tweet from education guru Angela Maiers (blog/Twitter).