Anti-Social Media

“It is only the inadequacy of the criminal code that saves the hackers from very serious prosecution.” – Ken Thompson

The results of the Jung Typology Test that Julie Lomoe mentioned in her guest blog here on Monday, confirmed that I’m an introvert. However, I never considered my self antisocial—until now, that is.

I was just starting to get a little more comfortable using Twitter. I even installed TweetDeck. Then last week, some slimy (I deleted a few adjectives here, but you’re welcome to use your imagination) scumbag somehow hacked into my account and sent out direct mail spam messages in my name. I can’t tell you how angry and upset this makes me.

My apologies to all of you who received the junk messages. I am so appreciative that several people knew I wouldn’t send out that sort of mail and informed me that my Twitter account had probably been the victim of a hacker. I followed their suggestions and changed my password immediately, but it was almost two full days before I could access my account again. I kept getting the message that I was temporarily locked out because of too many failed attempts to enter the correct password. I guess the creep didn’t want to give up too easily.

I know it’s not a serious crime. Nothing tangible was stolen and I wasn’t physically harmed, yet I felt violated. My personal space had been infringed upon and it made me very uncomfortable. Though I have different passwords for various accounts, I felt the need to go into all of my accounts and change my password, just in case. Making the changes didn’t take that much time, but recalling the proper sign-in for each situation taxes my limited memory function. I find myself calling that hacker all sorts of unpleasant names as I fumble with my new passwords.

Closing my Twitter account crossed my mind, but then I felt that would be like hunching my shoulders and fading to the background while letting the class bully get away with being a jerk. Instead, I plan on hanging in there, but I’m doing things differently. I am going to be a lot less sociable on my social Twitter network.

I plan to be much more selective when I hit the ‘follow back’ button. If you do not have any information or a website on your profile, you may indeed be a very nice person with interesting Tweets, but I am not going to follow you. I need to know more.

If I know you personally or if you’re an online friend, don’t worry, you’re safe. Those I don’t know and who have nothing to do with the world of writing, publishing or editing, you’re history—I’m unfollowing. I hope you don’t take it personal. Blame it on the malicious and despicable hackers who are taking the social out of social networking.

In January, I blogged about Hackers and Virus Writers. I didn’t understand the purpose then and I don’t understand it now. I just wish the people who felt the need to do this sort of thing would get a life of their own and quit disrupting others.

Have you had problems with hackers? Do you have any prevention tips?

Thanks for stopping by and letting me rant. I feel much better now.

Tags: Ken Thompson, Jung Typology test, Twitter , tweetdeck, hackers , passwords, antisocial, Julie Lomoe

Ten Sites for Combating Writer’s Block

“You don’t build a story, you allow it to explode.” - Ray Bradbury.

Allowing a story to explode is great when the juices are flowing. But what do you do on those occasions with the explosion fizzles and inspiration is needed to rekindle the flame? What happens when you are unable to write an article or blog because your muse has chosen a most inopportune time to take a leave of absence? Are there days you stare into space making demands on your imagination only to have your brain refuse to participate in the exercise? Or, have ever looked at your computer screen and discovered you have typed “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” two hundred and sixty three times?

Speaking as someone that has suffered from all the above afflictions at one time or another, I’ve compiled a list of ten sites (in no particular order) that had helpful, unique and interesting ideas or prompts:

Creativity Portal has beautiful photos offering excellent visual prompts. They also have a list of other resources for blogging and writing ideas.

The list of 25 Unique Places to Find Story Ideas on Writing-World.com suggests TV guide listings, the yellow pages and even browsing through a card shop.

An article on eHow.com lists five useful ways to come up with ideas such as combining two of your favorite stories to come up with a third. Their example used Pride and Prejudice combined with Clan of the Cave Bear.

How to generate hundreds of writing ideas on Daily Writing Tips suggests setting a timer for five minutes and jotting down as many ideas as you can.

How to come up with new ideas on HubPages advises reading forums and message boards as the questions people ask can spark new ideas.

Zen Power Writing 15 tips on how to generate ideas and write with ease on Write to Done offers the idea of meditating five minutes before starting to write.

300 Writing Topics on About.com divide ideas into sections such as narrating, comparing and describing.

In The Big Time Attic Blog there’s a suggestion to randomize by selecting a Pictionary card or opening to a random page in a dictionary or novel.

On Grammar Girl, Story Ideas and writers block is an interesting post dividing ideas for non-fiction and fiction. My favorite fiction idea recommends reading Twitter posts.

Though the article 50 Places to shop for story ideas on Reporting Resources is geared towards journalists, there are good general ideas for writing prompts such as eavesdropping in the grocery line or reading the classified ads.

What method(s) do you use to combat writer’s block? Do you know of other sites that have helpful advice for generating ideas?

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Bradbury, writing prompts, writer’s block, generating ideas, Twitter, Pictionary,

The Language of Twitter

“It’s all about being accessible and friendly.” – The Telegraph

Last month I participated in the blog-a-day challenge through the Blog Book Tours Forum in an effort to improve my posts, frequency of blogging, and the looks of my blog page. This month the forum is focusing on social media sites and for the past week Twitter has been the focal point of our attention.

I’ve had a Twitter account for a few months but could never quite figure out the inner workings. Thanks to the forum, I understand it a little better. Hopefully, with more practice I’ll develop the expertise to Tweet like a pro or at least no longer be a Tweetard (a twitter retard).

To learn more about Twitter, I visited Site Masher where I discovered I have a whole new language to master before I can even dream about rising from amateur to expert. Visit the site for the entire list which includes shorthand, tools and terms. Here are a few of my favorite terms:

Dweet –Tweet sent while drunk
Mistweet –A message or 'Tweet' that was sent in error or one later regrets.
Twadd –To add someone as a friend - mutual followers.
Twaigslist –To sell something via twitter. Also Twebay
Twaiting –Twittering while waiting
Tweekend –Spending your entire Saturday and Sunday reading and posting via Twitter. Tweepish –Feeling sheepish or regretful about something you tweeted.
Tweetaholism –The continued use of Twitter as an addiction that is difficult to control Tweeterboxes –Twitterers who tweet too much
Twhiner – A twitterer who only ever posts whiney, negative tweets
Twisticuffs – Fighting with a fellow twitterer over twitter.
Twittcrastination - Twittering as a form of procrastination
Twitterati –The glamorous A-List twitterer's everyone wants to follow.
Twitterfly –Being a social butterfly on Twitter evidenced by extreme usage of @ signs. Twitterish - Erratic behavior with short outbursts.
Twitteritas –Women who play with their twitters.
Twitter-Light Zone –Where you are when you return to Twitter after any time away and feel disoriented and lost.
Twitterlooing - Twittering from a bathroom.
Twitterphoria –The elation you feel when the person you’ve added as a friend adds you back.
Twitterrhea –The act of sending too many Twitter messages.
Twittfeinated, Twigged Out, Twired –To be so hyped up on twittering that you cannot sleep
Twittfessional –A confession made on Twitter
Twittsomnia –Twittering due to inability to sleep, thus compounding inability to sleep.
Twopsies –When you drop things because you are twittering.

To follow me on Twitter click here.

How do you feel about Twittering? Do have any advice for a novice tweeter? Do you have a favorite Twitter terms?

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: The Telegraph, Twitter, Blog Book Tours, Diringer, alphabet,

Technology for Authors

“There are three kinds of death in this world. There's heart death, there's brain death, and there's being off the network.” - Guy Almes


You may be wondering why I haven’t blogged lately. I intended to say it’s because I’ve been a bit ‘under the weather.’ However, I decided I don’t really know what that adage means. And I have to wonder if it is even possible to be ‘under the weather’ when you live in sunny southwest Florida—especially at this time of the year. So I’ll just say during the past week or so, I felt the daily task of breathing in and out was about all I could handle. There were days when I didn’t even check my email. But now I’m feeling human again and ready to dive—no, make that—wade, back into writing and blogging.

Before I was ‘struck’ by complete inactivity, I attended the Florida Writers Association Conference on the 14th through the 16th and, as usual, enjoyed it immensely. Mingling with such creative and talented people is invigorating. This year, I concentrated on seminars that addressed the technology writers need to succeed rather than the how-to’s of writing. These sessions included information on what authors can do to improve their web sites to the marketing value of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Now comes the difficult part of trying to apply what I learned. If my techie guru (also known as my husband, Kim) had gone to these seminars with me, I’m sure my web page and social network sites would have all kinds of new bells and whistles by now. However, since I was the one trying to absorb lectures that included terms like html’s, jpegs and dpi’s, I’m not sure how much practical information I absorbed. I’m hoping I soaked up enough to make enough sense out of my notes and remember the information long enough to tell Kim in a somewhat coherent manner, what I’d like to change/add to my web site. But, I’m not going to hold my breath as I haven’t looked at my notes since returning home.

I also need your help with my web site project. When you go to a web site, what are you hoping to find out about the author or their books? What keeps you going back? What turns you off completely? What information do you find helpful? Do you ever sign guest books or contact the individual by email? Do you respond to contests or other promotions? I’m looking forward to your responses and will keep you posted on any changes I decide to make.

During this holiday season, please keep in mind that books, such as The Ride, make great gifts.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

Tags: The Ride, Almes, Florida Writers Association, facebook , twitter, Thanksgiving, holiday season