Twitter Policing Big Brother

I'm no longer a fan of Big Brother.  I think since they moved it to Channel 5, they're appealing to a younger audience than me.  But also, because of work and that, I really don't have the time to commit.  

However, I found myself watching the launch of Celebrity Big Brother last night - partly because there was nowt else on and party because of all the chatter on Twitter.  And I chattered along, giving my tuppence worth.  It was an interesting mix of people, some more famous than I was expecting.  Alas this post isn't about the TV, it's about what transpired on Twitter that night.  It left me fuming.

Now I know it's horses for courses.  I know while some eagerly await that latest reality TV, some abhor it.  But the acid bitchiness that poured forth towards those who chose to indulge left me speechless!  The superior attitude, looking down and deriding everyone else.  These were grown women, mothers, established bloggers and yet the derision, the blanket assumptions, the snide comments passed from one to another perplexed me.  

I don't watch much reality TV, I don't watch talent-type shows, I don't watch much sport nor am I bothered with current affairs programmes.  Yet I choose not to block any hashtags - the only thing I've ever blocked is Alan Sugar, 'cause he gets on my tits and he keeps appearing anyhow!  Sometimes, I avoid Twitter while X Factor is on but only because no-one is talking about anything else.  I don't, however, think that gives me a license to lecture people I follow about their viewing habits, what they tweet.  I CHOSE to follow them and continue to follow them because we converse, because they interest me, because so many of them have become friends.  When I pop round to my friend's and see what's on her telly, I don't take this as an opportunity to tell her where she's going wrong.

I totally understand when people block hashtags, especially when they follow a lot of people.  I LOVE some of my grumpier followees, who have a right moan about reality TV and some of the more inexplicably popular TV programmes.  I do like to make a sarcastic comment every now and then too.  However, just because I don't watch them, I don't think it makes me any better than those who do.  I don't think what I watch is any more intellectual (says she watching Peter Kay).

So, I exercised my Twitter right and unfollowed.  I rarely follow new people or unfollow old - again I consider them my circle of friends so why would I?  I don't engage in either passive/aggressive tweets or twarguments - life's too short.  I didn't challenge any of these tweets directly because I don't do "virtual" confrontation.  I had my usual moan by DM with those who are always there to listen.

Okay, I'm done now.  If you feel I am being unfair, feel free to comment.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion... I think that's the whole point of this post.

What Twitter Has Taught Me

Since I joined Twitter (12th October 2008), I've been accused of "wasting my time" with people I don't know, talking rubbish.  However this is certainly not the case.  There are many things I have learned from Twitter.

Most celebrities aren't as pleasant as they appear - although some are @Schofe

People do find real love on the internet @lisaflowers54 & @mattalbans  @GKM77X & @francopopfille

Rude and irreverent is bloody hilarious and brings out the worst in me @jinks67

Home schooling is an excellent option when it's done right @liveotherwise

The law is a ass @pauljchambers

Nothing compares to sisters @24caratblonde & @dumbblonde301

Any Dream Will Do and if you stick to it, it may come true @mduffywriter

You don't need alcohol to be witty and entertaining - sometimes tea does it @Tasshhaaar

There are things I don't need to learn coz someone else will have the answer @unabatedshagie

Ginger kittens make people soft @KingOfAnkh

There is a LOT to be won on the internet @SuperluckyDi

Friday nights are staying in nights @FridayTwiz

Mine is not the only family that communicates through Twitter @ChrisseBeads, @MaestroOfWyre, @joshuaflitter & @_Canard

The weirdest thing about meeting people you met online is that it's not weird @cdlees

Make-up is an artform that I will never master @JoJo_Nash

Bowls can be quite competative @Asher_Basher1

I STILL have no idea what copywriters do @bobblebardsley

There nowt like a proper bromance @imintheshed & @willbuckley

I have made many friends on Twitter, some that I know will be friends forever @nickie72, @Dennisisamenace, @Becki_says, @liberatedwomble and many, many, many more!

Work Placements and Pitchforks

So we've all seen the Tesco "job vacancy" and been suitably appalled by the barefaced cheek of such a huge multi-national and not-so-loved company, rubbing it into the faces of the unemployed and those on benefits.  Like mostly everyone, I was please to see that Tesco had ceased with JSA work placements. They are a big company; as of last August, they had pre-tax profits of £1.9bn so they can afford to pay their staff.  I know someone who's been working for the last three weeks on a WP with Tesco and she's not receiving the experience she's been promised.  She's being made to fill a position which Tesco should be paying an employee to do.  This is not the thinking the government had behind the work placement idea.


Yet in the last few days, more and more companies have pulled out of the work placement scheme.  Oxfam was one of these said companies.  Are we equating Tesco with Oxfam? Is it really the same thing? As experienced social media users, we know our own strength. We know what we share, what we tweet can change opinions.  Though sometimes, we spend so much time being horrified, we fail to see the big picture.  I feel that, in our efforts to be amoral, we've thrown the baby out with the bathwater.  In my opinion, the work placements idea was a good one.  Obviously, like with most plans, it doesn't suit everyone.  It won't work for everyone and it's not ideal.  However, it can give much needed experience to people who need it and may culminate in a paid position.  As of April 2011, unemployment in 16 to 17yr olds was at 218,000.  This means that most of these teens have never worked and will find it difficult to find a job without experience.  In the last few years, the recession has caused many jobs losses and forced people to reconsider their career choices.  Work placements can give them a change to try something new, to see it if suits them.  It hasn't been much publicised, but job seekers can seek their own work placements, in fields that interest them and they will be considered.


So as our influence as social media increases, let's choose our battles wisely.  Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility.

Winning (or How To Get Ahead In Blog Competitions)

No, this isn't a tribute to the massive arse that is Charlie Sheen.  It is literally about winning! 
As I tweeted earlier this week, in the last year, I've won over £200 worth of prizes from blogs.  And this is without really trying.  I don't search for competitions; I only enter those of people I follow on Twitter or links tweeted by people I follow.  And I only enter competitions with prizes that I would actually like (ie. I skim over all the baby stuff comps!).
So I thought I'd write this blog as a guide to blog competitions from a competitors point of view.


Firstly, the latest thing in comps seems to be Rafflecopter.  This makes entering said competitions very streamlined and allow for more than two ways to enter.  And it does it's job well, so long as the instructions given by the blogger are clear and precise and all the links point to where they're suppose to point.  It's not without it's drawbacks though.  It's quite impersonal and the temptation not to even read the blog and skip straight to the Rafflecopter box is strong.  


All blog competitions require you to leave a comment.  We know, when entering, that what we write isn't important, but it's still nice for us to get creative.  So suggest a question, a scenario, a thought competitors should add.  It makes me read other comments and relate more to the blogpost as more than just a competition.


Tweeting about a comp is obviously the best way to get your post out there, but where possible, let tweeters compile their own tweet as it saves the identical tweet occuring several times on our TL.  Again, maybe suggest a prompt.


If you require a Twitter follow for entry to the competition, try then to interact in some way with your new followers, otherwise, once the competition is over, they will simply unfollow. (Yes, I do this all the time).


On a personal level, I hate to "like" pages on Facebook.  I already do "like" a lot of blogger pages, but that is simply because I like them.  I won't "like" a page just to enter a competition.  I will, however, "like" a post on a bloggers page as it means that it doesn't clog up my stream.


If you decide to have a competitor email subscribe to your blog to enter, I would suggest that you use a facility where they are sent each actual blogpost rather than a reminder of a posting.  I only recently subscribed to several blogs, have them sent to my phone and read them on the move.  Have yet to figure out how to comment by email, but I fear that may require a phone upgrade.  (Anyone running a comp for a new phone??!)


And finally, make sure the winner finds out that they have won.  I was recently sent an email to say I'd won which ended up in my spambox.  And if they are happy with their prize and are nice like me, they will tweet you a photo once they receive it!

 My Experience Day Prize from Lakes Single Mum's blog

My Trollied dvd from Typecast's blog

I don't know whether I know enough about blogging for this post to be informative, but I certainly know enough about winning!  And if you have a competition running, feel free to include your link in the comments box!

What's pissed me off this week

I have decided to start a weekly (ok, the intention is weekly, but in reality, it will be lucky if it survives this week!) post covering the things that have pissed me off in the previous seven days (in the interests of catch-up, this post will cover everything that has pissed me off in the previous gazillion days in my life).  

1. Bullying - or to be precise, the Panorama documentary about cyber-bullying.  I know this isn't going to be a popular opinion, but it comes from someone who was bullied most of her school life and still has instances of bullying now.  Bullying in school is appalling and every school's main aim should be to eliminate it.  Kids can be horrible and their parents don't help matters.  It is everyone's responsibility to tackle bullying.  However.. (ok, this is where it gets controversial...) cyber-bullying, while just as hurtful and damaging, has a simple solution. Block and report. Silence your online presence. Avoid Formspring. These people will never stop, so just don't give them an audience.  A parent will take their child out of school because of bullying, yet they don't remove them from Facebook?  I've taught my kids not to be online victims - it's every parents responsibility to do the same.
2. Blogging - it's always been a love/hate relationship.  I love to read them, it's sometimes a chore to write them (which defeats the purpose) but having read a couple of new-to-me bloggers this week, it amazes me that they can manage to write a blog, perched as they are on that high horse of theirs!  Blogging is fun, to me it's like a really long tweet.  I've never done PR, I can never remember what SEO stands for.  It's like a "U"-rated diary, where I can spout my verbal diarrhoea, to coin a phrase. It's not about being influential, it's not about numbers, it's not about Klout (sigh..), but about you being you being entertaining. IMHO, of course.
3. Snow - seriously, be soft, romantic, idyllic, magically... or just fuck off, there's no inbetween.
4. Facebook Statitus - the compulsion to air your endless moans and groans on Facebook, in an effort to draw attention and virtual hugs. Everyone deserves sympathy now and then, but sometimes it's nice to hear the good news, to hear the happy times, to hear you've just have a decent cup of tea, ffs!! (This infection is spreading online, mutating to the growing Twitter Updatitus. Get vaccinated now!)
5. Take Me Out...ta here! - Nope, this isn't a rant about how much I hate Take Me Out, (though that is so true.. you wouldn't believe how enraged it makes me.. the archaic format, the sexist banter...grrrr...but, I digress) this is a twitter bugbear of mine.  Some people like some programmes, and so they tweet about those programmes.  Some people hate those programmes... so why, the fuck, do they tweet about those programmes? You don't like it, we get it.  That doesn't give you the right to sneer and deride people who do?  Block the hashtag, ignore the tweets or, god forbid, turn off Twitter! Just stop being so pompous!

I think that's enough.  There are obviously more than five things that pissed me off, but in an attempt to avoid being on anyone else's list, I'll quit while I'm ahead!

The Aftermath from Amy

The news of Amy Winehouse's death spread like wildfire on Twitter.  I, like many, were sceptical at first, but it wasn't long before the "Breaking News" banner was scrolling across the Sky News screen.  And along with confirmation, came the many opinions of the Twitterati.  I didn't much get involved with the conversations, from either point of view, so I thought I'd reflect on my feelings here instead.

The first deluge of tweets were the "She brought it on herself" camp.  Amy Winehouse's addictive and self-destructive lifestyle were well documented as were her father's frequent attempts to have admitted for rehab.  The last performance video of her in Serbia shocked so many people and my observation then was why had her management team let this happen.  However, I've never been behind the scenes in Amy's life so I can't say what really happened.  What I can say, is that not one of us should judge someone else's life when it was not ours to live.  Having an addictive personality is a recognised syndrome and anyone can be inflicted.  To say Amy deserved the death she has because an infliction she couldn't control is callous and ill-informed.  If I was to die tomorrow, would people say, "Sure she'd no-one to blame but herself.  Did you see the size of her?  She was a heart-attack waiting to happen!"

Another frequently tweeted message questioned how people could be sympathetic towards Amy Winehouse when so many young, innocent people had been killed in Utoya.  The reason Amy's death affected more people was because, as a person in the public eye, they felt they knew her.  It felt closer to home.  And since when has our sympathy and sense of injustice been finite?

Then there's the issue of the rapidly spreading jokes that followed Amy's death.  Though you may fine it crass and heartless, it is human nature.  It's been happening for many years and always will.  It could be a defence mechanism, it could be a lack of empathy or it simply could be that some of us have a warped sense of humour.  I didn't find all the jokes funny, I thought some were tasteless but then again, I can have a giggle just like the next black man at a sexist or racist joke.

So, that's my opinion.  I do hope Amy can now finally rest in peace.