Indubitabil, Nu Conteaza.

A principle I should abide by more often.

Yesterday, I actually meant to write at large about my Twitter-experience-so-far, since I’m plugging into it for a couple of days now. In the end, I decided to give out the short English version…

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In the last few months since I signed up with the infamous birdie, I’ve realized - peu à peu - how TOTALLY FRIGGIN’ AWESOME this experience can be for a noob. For more experienced webbies, Twitter is a place to hang out with familiar faces, while building up a crowd of followers to pluck your products or (personal) brand to OR tighten up relationships with like-minded peeps in the industry. For us mere mortals, Twitter is fanboy haven unleashed.

Contrary to popular belief, I signed up with Twitter in an attempt to give a try to the service that kicked CNN ass in July last year. Since then, I grew quite a handful of followers, while opening my eyes and ears to the Community.

I started following people based on common interests / familiarity of face or… content of their blogs / websites. Do keep in mind that I’m a web content editor at heart, hence my interests revolve pretty much around the online field - successfully representated by a gazillion Twitter users / “VIP”s.

Then, I realized how easy Twitter makes it to express myself in a creative (and maybe a little hermetical) way to an audience I am followed back by. I started jotting out thoughts and rants that some perceived as “spam”, others replied to and most ignored as ‘part of who she is’.

Then, I went on a little further to meet Hugh MacLeod (Gapingvoid).

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1) Had my 1st blog back in 2004, when the thing had just started growing in Romania. It came out inspired by Constantin Basturea’s Global PR Blog Week and an interview of Mike Manuel (Media Guerrilla) that appeared in the PRIME Europe newsletter.*

2) Never owned a pet. I’m actually afraid of dogs (and spiders) & allergic to cats. And I couldn’t have the time to take care of them anywayz.

3) Like sushi & marinated raw fish. I could eat those forever. On my prolonged list of likes: Tex-Mex, Italian, anything spicy/ crispy/ sweet.

4) Am a sworn chocolate addict (black, 75-80% cocoa). If rehab didn’t do it, nothing can.

5) Have 7 dresses in my closet I don’t wear anymore. I keep them for what if’s sake. Also, an impressive collection of sweaters & tees, same reason. Thinking of giving them away to charity.

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A disturbing video has come to my attention while browsing the web in lack of sleep. The documentary I found here shows the depravation of the woman imagery in today’s Advertising & Media.

While this is nothing new and has been going on for years, it still is a very cruel portrail of womanhood and the attempt to make us look shabby / “beautiful”  - depending on the marketed object for which that imagery has been used: so fake.

I am a woman, so I feel highly disturbed about how media puts us out in the open and men think that this is how we really are / should be. And the teenage generation extends / prolongs this mistake by taking up unhealthy role-models.

Gah! If only men (and women likewise) had eyes to see beyond that which has been fed to us for years…

RoTweetMeet 1.0…

Ne-am vazut, ne-am placut, am schimbat intre noi carti de vizita mai mult sau mai putin branduite, am baut mai multa sau mai putina bere, ne-am amuzat unii pe seama altora, ne-am cunoscut off-twitter si offline.

Si dupa toate astea…

Simt cum mi se scurge primavara printre degete. Flori de martie intr-o cafea, printre pleoape amortite si soare. Mult, mult soare. Caldura cu intermitente (f*ck global dimming, global warming & cate si mai cate dezastre secundare ale inconstientei noastre!) plus somn de-a-ndoaselea, dar yeah… I’m still alive.

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Ma simt intr-al saptelea cer si am 9 vieti in aceasta duminica altfel. Vreau sa scriu din nou. Simt ca prind aripi si nu-mi mai pasa cine, ce, unde, cand. Probabil doar pana maine, cand o iau de la capat. But I don’t care no more. Pentru ca am toata viata inainte si clipa asta de care tin cu dintii. Pentru ca e a mea aici, acum. Si nu imi mai permit s-o pierd.

Oh hai. Looks like I’ve been away for far too long and this place doesn’t seem to reflect me anymore. Well, there’s pretty much ONE other place you can find me lately - except for the lovely UnseenRomania - and that is… the mighty TWITT-ER!

Some say it’s no good and vicious, others spell addiction all over, but they do agree on one thing: Twitter is it! This cute pixel-birdie has become a massive aggregator of web 2.0 VIPs and events, being the latest most popular sh*te in micro-blogging (the spring to ~1 million users in just a few months speaks by itself).

A huge number of desktop, web and mobile apps have been developed from its API (e.g. Twitdir, Hashtags, Twitterposter, Twitstat, TweetScan etc etc etc) - all serving the ultimate purpose of making Twitter a friendlier and more useful place to be.

Forget about Second Life. Forget about blogs. Forget about IM and even e-mail! Twitter does it all - from instant to private interaction and multiple replies - you name it! Of course, it sometimes crashes under the heavy weight of live micro-coverage from popular events - but who wouldn’t, when Steve Jobs is speaking? (And LeWeb3, MacWorld keynote, TED, SXSW… are just a few of them.)

Yet, there’s one itsy-bitsy tiny-mini micro-problem: 

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Any challenge comes with payments and rewards. Mine has come in a time when I ain’t fully prepared to respond.

I’m aiming for big things with Unseen Romania, tho I offered it so little of me this past week… Yes, I got feedback from people (thank you, guys!) and I am ready to shape up a strategy. But my body is letting me down and will not take any more stress. I pushed it too far previously so now he’s sending me the bill. My energy levels are low.

How do I cope with this?

Lord knows I tried, so…

OK, pe cine mint eu aici? Mi-e dor sa am o masina si sa cutreier lumea-n lung si-n lat. With the window rolled down, with the wind in my hair… Mi-e dor, zic. Ca si cum masina aia a existat vreodata, intr-o lume separata de cea de-aici, de-acum.

De ceva timp ma observ din penumbra, din perspectiva alteritatii. Si nu-mi vine sa cred la cate parti din mine (lucruri bune, obiceiuri) am renuntat in mai putin de 6 luni de zile. Incerc sa identific hotspot-ul acestui amalgam, climaxul negarii negatiei, dar memoria imi da Access denied. Ca si cum mintea mea draga ma saboteaza voit, dintr-un reflex sincer de auto-aparare.

Nu e nevoie totusi sa ma zbat prea mult ca sa gasesc un leak… [Hacking my own mind, that is.] Treptat, crampeie de gand si fragmente de “poze” se insinueaza in universul meu modificat. Intai bland, apoi brutal; impinse de nevoia de-a iesi la suprafata, de-a se naste iar, de a se cuibari si-a face pui in lumea asta altfel. [No, you don’t! Not today, baby. Not tomorrow.]

Si le numar pe fiecare in parte. Le etichetez. Apoi, le inabus si le arunc intr-o cutie peste care trantesc un capac greu. Si o sigilez ermetic, ca sa am ce dezgropa data viitoare.

Imagine there’s a line between this post and the ones below… _____________________________________________________________________________________

A thick charcoal line that separates “then” from “now”. Or better: make it the color you want. The point is still this: I will detach myself from what’s been said and done so far, to start anew.

It’s not easy, I know. But why wait any longer, when I can do it here and now?

Altogether, the beginning of 2008 brought many changes that haven’t all been for the better. Though, what’s done is done (to put it in a coloquial manner of speech).

And I can’t seem more happy to begin a journey into something quite different from what I’ve done so far, involving a higher responsability and more of my part than any other project I’ve been digging into.

So… Have you seen the Unseen Romania yet?