What I Want Out of Twitter

I joined Twitter in the summer of 2008? Or was it the spring? Was it actually in 2009? I have been using Twitter for so long that it is hard to figure out when I actually started.  My current account has been around since spring of 2009 but I had another account before that. I had deleted that account because whenever I mentioned in class or to my friends that I used Twitter, I was bombarded by criticism. I’m not a fan of where Facebook is going, I always found Myspace ridiculous, and I was afraid that Twitter was going to go the same way. I eventually found my way back to Twitter, and the reasons I use it are vast.

Initially, I joined Twitter to become a “listener”. I began by following exciting and inspiring people in hopes that I would in turn become inspired. It worked. Many of the people I follow are creative types: writers, artists, bloggers, and musicians.  However, I eventually began to use Twitter to inspire others. My main use for Twitter now is to promote my blog Phoenix Rising ,which in essence is an eclectic soup pot full of tons of weird stuff. I hope that through Twitter I will continue to be inspired and I will expand my blog readership. Someday I may be a journalist or a novelist or a teacher or a publisher (who knows where my life will go really) but in any of those professions, Twitter is a useful tool.

The top people I follow on Twitter:

Gala Darling was a lot of firsts for me. Her blog, iCiNG was the first blog I ever read and she was the first person I followed when I got my Twitter account.  Her blog is about everything from fashion to business advice, and being the most inspirational person I know I needed her little gems of happiness tweeted into my life around the clock. She has not let me down.

Many professional writers are currently using Twitter, but I am yet to see someone use it as efficiently as one of my favorite fantasy authors, Neil Gaiman. Everything you’d ever need to know about what it is really like to be a working author Gaiman tweets, and he seems to enjoy it as well.

I was a fan of Amanda Palmer years before she became engaged to a certain fantasy author Neil Gaiman (see above). As the former front-man (chick) of The Dresden Dolls, Amanda Palmer used Twitter to its full extent to promote her new solo album, “Who Killed Amanda Palmer” in 2008. Also, seeing  her and Gaiman interact with each other via Twitter is just adorable.

There are many bloggers in cyber-space, but none as controversial as Violet Blue. I suppose though, that when you blog about sex you cannot help but become controversial. Her blog, Open Source Sex is brave, matter-of -fact, and educational. Violet Blue gives the kind of sex education that this country needs. She is also a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Before I followed the Time Union or the New York Times, (even before I began following the Metroland), I was following All Over Albany on Twitter. It may be because my best friend writes for them, or it may be because their neighborly way of writing reminds us that we are all in this Albany thing together.

I first found The Rumpus when they interviewed my old boss, Rebecca Wolff. Now I follow their Twitter and try to keep up with their awesome website in hopes of becoming just as literary as I claim to be.

Though as a graphic designer she claims that words just “aren’t her thing” , nothing is as inspiring as Nubby Twiglet’s blog.  She is a master of personal branding, and has incorporated her style into everything she does: Her fashion, her art, her website, and the way she lives. As I said before, I am drawn to inspiring people, which is why it was impossible to keep this blog off my blogroll.

Though sadly no longer in publication, Lipstick Royalty was my first ever writing gig. It was an amazing online fashion magazine run by a group of talented teenagers from England. I am still blown away by the work that seventeen-year-old editor in chief, Rachel Phipps was able to do.

Melissa Dominic was the first important networking connection I made through Twitter. She is also a writer and a blogger and is the founder of a Crash Writing Collective. Because every good writer needs people to share their work with and to network with.

Ain’t Ain’t a Word and I Ain’t Going to Use It

Being able to write this sentence sets me apart from many other college students in a peculiar way. For one thing, this sentence is grammatically correct.  Or at least, I believe it was grammatically correct. I have no real way of knowing because I have not had a lesson in basic grammar since elementary school.

You may ask me, “How could this be? Were you raised by wolves?” Unfortunately, the only canines that were involved in bringing me up were the happy, slobbery ones who liked to play fetch. No, I am not the only young person who was cheated out of a proper education. In Canada, there has been a rush of complaints coming in from college professors who claim that their freshman students cannot write an English sentence.

According to an article posted on Cnews, Canadian universities are conducting research into why students have such poor grammar. Ontario’s Waterloo University requires students to take an exam that test their basic English grammar skills.

Thirty percent of students fail this test.

It’s not only articles, prepositions, and verb tenses that students are struggling with. Some of the common issues professors are encountering are students writing emoticons into their essays, writing the word “’cuz” instead of “because,” and combining the words “a lot” into one word. Students also have no sense of proper apostrophe or comma usage. “[Students] think commas are sort of like parmesan cheese that you sprinkle on your words’,” said Paul Budra, an English professor and associate dean of arts and science at Simon Fraser.

The professors interviewed in the CTV article are blaming Twitter and Facebook for the student’s atrocious grammar. It may be to blame for the inclusion of emoticons in essays (and in a few years we will see the Oxford English Dictionary make an executive decision to officially include emoticons in our language), but no one can be blamed for not teaching students grammar other than the schools.

Budra admits this himself, “We haven’t taught grammar for 30-40 years…(and it) hasn’t worked.”

However, I am not from Canada, I am from New York—which claims to have one of the best educational systems in the United States. I have to say that I am not impressed.

I can thank New York for teaching me how to structure an essay. The mantra of “Introduction, body, and conclusion” was hammered into me daily for four solid years. Actually, make that six. I can recite to you the textbook definition of a thesis statement. I know how to cite sources and I have the MLA handbook memorized. All of this information has helped me succeed as an English major, but the English Department seems to have ignored the very same fundamental knowledge that my small town public high school has—how to write an English sentence. For example, did you know that the “dash” I just used in the former sentence is called an “m-dash”? I didn’t know that until last semester (and I am a senior here at UAlbany).

The English Department at UAlbany has not offered a basic grammar class in four years. Every now and then I will encounter a professor with the energy and drive to go over the basic fundamentals of grammar with the class. In my first such class, the professor stood before us and asked, “how many of you went to school in New York State?” Three-fourths of the class raised their hands. My professor then said, “Then I assume you know next to nothing about grammar. We will start at the beginning.”

I will always remember that speech and how extraordinary it was for me to learn that I didn’t know how to write. The problem with many of my peers and I was that we did not know that our writing was full of grammatical flaws. No one had told us before.

I ended up choosing journalism as my minor so that I could learn how to write. What the English program failed at, journalism succeeded. Every class has been an intense lesson in the art of writing grammatically and coherently, and I still feel I have so much to learn.

It is not possible to point fingers at applications such as “Twitter” and “Facebook” and claim that they are the reason people my age have no concept of grammar. It isn’t as if these sites actually encourage bad writing, saying so puts all the blame on the students, claiming that their ignorance is due to their own negligence. What needs to be revolutionized is the school system, the teachers, and the parents who allow the mistakes to go on unchecked.

Students Don’t Know How to Network

If Twitter is down for maintenance, you get this, the Twitter Fail Whale

From The Molly Buckley.com a social networking blog.

Is Twitter a fad? That seems to be the general thought of many students at the University at Albany. Despite Facebook being the most popular social networking tool, it does not seem that many UAlbany students even know what the term “social networking” means, let alone its potential importance to the future of job hunting and self marketing.

Drew Christensen, 21, a senior at UAlbany recognizes the importance of social networking for some people, but none of those social networking sites work for him.  “I had used Myspace in high school because that was what everyone else was using, and I joined Facebook when I started college. Back then, Facebook was just for college students. Now it’s crap. It’s been taken over by applications. I have actually considered taking myself off Facebook. I just don’t want to be associated with it anymore.”

He doesn’t discredit Twitter as much as he does Facebook. “It’s  just a fad, but it’s a fad that is going to help you stand out from some other people who don’t take the initiative to keep up with the times. It doesn’t really matter in my ideal career (psychology), but for many, it does.”

Christensen use to keep up with his friends through AIM and he still maintains most of his contacts with that simple tool, as well as through texting.

Garrett Pomerantz, 22, a Sophomore at UAlbany completely discredits social networking, having never heard the term used before. “Facebook is alright. I use it to keep on my friends from high school and I take quizzes. Basically I just like something to do. I don’t see the point of Twitter though, what is the point of status updates?”

Rachel Rosen, 21, is a Senior at UAlbany and she uses Twitter, but not so she can market herself. Instead, she uses Twitter to stay up to date on her favorite celebrities and musicians. “It just keeps me updated on what’s going on and its really cool to read some of my favorite musical artists thoughts.”

Like Drew, Rachel still keeps up with her friends using AIM and texting. She also still maintains a Myspace in order to follow band pages. When I mentioned social networking, Rachel said “I’ve never heard of that before. Why is it important?”

Social Networking however, is very important. At the moment, there are many people making money off of the art of social networking.  Darren Rowse began the website ProBlogger in 2004. It consists of a blog, a forum, and a subscription only community filled with tips and information to help people make money from their blogs. He also published a book on the subject. Debbie Ridpath Ohi wrote a series of articles titled a Writer’s Guide to Twitter in order to help writers get the most out of their twitter experience.

When it comes to social networking, students at UAlbany are behind on the times and it could be damaging to their futures.

A Responsibility

Image from The New York Daily News

Journalism is a profession of ethics. There are a list of rules that journalists must follow as they go off into the world of reporting.  The Society of Professional Journalism has put together this Code of Ethics:

-Seek Truth and Report It

-Minimize Harm

-Be Accountable

Recently, there has been an argument about whether or not Anderson Cooper’s decision to put down his video camera, thus abandoning his duties, in order to save a child who was being attacked by looters in Haiti should be commended or condoned.  I believe that he fulfilled his duties as a journalist by seeking the truth and minimizing harm. By putting down his video camera and getting involved, he crossed a line, yes, but he also acted as a human.

We must remember that these guidelines we place upon ourselves, whether we are journalists or medical doctors or politicians, are all superficial lines. We may be getting paid to do another job, but money itself is also superficial. It is a man made invention. It is pretend. It only has as much value as we are willing to give it. However, the disaster going on in Haiti, the suffering of the innocent–that is real. That is human.

In this article,  Cooper is quoted saying,  ”"I saw him collapse. More chunks of concrete were being thrown at the looters on the roof. The injured boy couldn’t get up. He’d try and then collapse again. Blood was pouring from his head. He was conscious but had no control over his body. I was afraid someone on the roof would see him lying there and throw another cinder block piece onto him. I was afraid he’d get killed. No one seemed to be helping him.”

Cooper’s decision to help the boy was a human decision. At their core, aren’t journalists supposed to serve the people? They are supposed to report what is happening in the world around them, they are supposed to inform, and they are supposed to help by writing constructive and powerful pieces.  But writing and reporting would not have saved this boys life.   That took a human touch.

Serve and Protect

On Saturday night, I received this email:

“UPD just received word from Albany Police that there was an attempted robbery which led to a stabbing on the corner of Western Ave. and Ontario Street at about 8:50 pm on Saturday evening, November 7.  There were two victims, one of whom was a UAlbany student.  The victims are both reported to be in stable condition.  The perpetrator of this incident remains at large. I will keep you apprised of new developments as necessary.”

The corner of Western Avenue and Ontario Street is just a few blocks away from my house, so naturally I was disturbed by the stabbing. I live with two boys and they were quick to lock our door and tell me quite sternly that I should not go walking by myself until the police caught the man. Unfortunately we never received a follow up email. The perpetrator is still at large.

When I lived on Lark Street, I never received news of stabbings or fights in my area, despite the high level of homelessness outside my door. As a woman, I find it particularly frustrating because I am a target. Even during the day it is not safe for me to walk around my neighborhood by myself. When I used to ride the bus home from class on Monday nights, I would not get off the bus until nine. The bus let me off at the corner of Ontario and Western, and every Monday I would have my roommates pick me up at the bus stop. I also cannot go buy a slice of pizza or grab some chinese after dark without my escort–which is frustrating for both parties.

I wonder if the Albany Police or UPD could be doing more to prevent such incidents from happening in my neighborhood. My street and surrounding areas are heavily populated by SUNY students, and their safety should be a priority. However, I never see police officers in my neighborhood.

University Police Department’s Website

UPD’s Annual Crime Report has not been updated since 2006

City of Albany Crime Map from last week

Publishing Companies Get Small

"Flet" by Joyelle McSweeney, a book published by Fence Books

Jason Epstein, former editorial director of Random House, published “Book Business: Publishing Past. Present, and Future” based on a series of lectures he delivered in 1999 at the New York Public Library. Jason Epstein is well known for developing Anchor Books during the late ‘50’s, during his time at Doubleday. Anchor Books was a series of paperbacks that Epstein planned to market to the post-war generation; college students and young individuals like himself who could not afford the high price of quality books.

In “Book Business”, Epstein writes about where publishing as a business has been and where it going in the future. With the development of the Internet as a new global marketplace and the diminishing reliance on bookstores, Epstein predicts that in the near future, publishing companies will once again become what they were before World War II–small, intimate businesses like Fence Books.

 

This semester, I am serving as Fence’s intern.  This small, not-for-profit publishing company was established in 1999 when Rebecca Wolff began Fence Journal, a literary journal that includes contemporary poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from new and up-and-coming authors. In 2001 she launched Fence Books which publishes an average of two books per year. The books published are by authors who have won The Motherwell Prize and the Fence Modern Poets Series .  This selection process may be competitive, but one thing that Fence excels at that larger publishing corporations simply cannot do, is that they establish intimate relationships with the authors that they are publishing.

Jason Epstein writes that, “Book publishing may therefore become once more a cottage industry of diverse, creative autonomous units, or so there is now reason to believe.”  I believe that this is true and that as the publishing industry evolves, small business like Fence will survive while larger corporations will meet their inevitable end.

Practicality of Raw Food

From E-How: How To Start A Raw Food Diet

The raw food diet is a vegan diet designed around eating uncooked fruits, vegetables, and other natural foods. The idea that cooking food causes it to lose certain essential vitamins and minerals that human beings need, is a sensible one. It is certainly a refreshing one in a country full of processes foods . But is living on a completely raw diet practical?

Putting work into going “raw”

To “go raw” is to create an entire new relationship with food. It takes study and dedication. In order to go raw it is important to learn the properties of certain foods and the specific nutrients of each. This way, one is able to design a well-balanced recipe. Every meal in the raw-food diet must be prepared at home. It is also extremely costly to “go raw”. Here is a list of all the kitchen equipment you need in order to maintain a raw-food diet, and the cost of each:

• Vita-Mix Blender $249-599
• Food Processor $100-200
• Dehydrator $109-250
• Juicer $180-259
• Spiralizer (used to shred vegetables) $25-100
• Nut-Milk Bag $8-12
• Cutting Board $1-40
• Knives $2-200
• Grater $4-12

This list comes from the book, Fresh: The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook. It is a charming book, filled with appealing and colorful recipes. Unfortunately, most recipes cannot be prepared without an expensive blender, food processor, or dehydrator.

When I first looked into “going-raw” a year ago, I quickly realized that it would be impossible for me. As a poor student with a busy schedule, I could not take the time to pay for foods, prepare foods, or fund the equipment to make the food.

Making raw a part of your life

Unless you are a wealthy individual with a flexible schedule, going raw is not practical. However, it is practical to incorporate some raw foods into your life. By cutting out processed foods as much as possible, and making time a few days a week to make completely raw meals, it is entirely possible to reap the benefits of a raw food diet. I receive a menagerie of healthy, whole fruits and vegetables every morning by preparing a quick and easy green smoothie:

(For more videos like this, and for some awesome smoothie recipes, check out the Green Smoothie Blog)

If you are interested in raw-foods, there are plenty of on-line resources to help you get started:

-We Like It Raw
-Raw Food, Right Now
-Raw Food Life

Tug-O-War in Hondurous

"Soldiers and police officers stood guard outside the Globo radio station in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, after it was closed on Monday."-From The New York Times

New York Times Article

The main struggle about the current conflict and “State of Emergency” in Hondurous, is that at first glance, there does not seem to be any right or wrong solution to the problem. Honduras currently struggles to prevent a rebellion, while questions of human rights weigh heavily on the OAS’s mind.

Disposed President Manuel Zelaya has tried many times to re-enter Honduras since he was forced out by gunpoint on June 28th. Since then there has been unrest in the country, inspiring the de-facto president, Roberto Micheletti to declare an emergency decree in the country. According to CNN this decree “limits constitutional rights such as freedoms of expression, travel and public congregation.”

The new leader of Honduras violating constitutional rights seems rather hypocritical considering that President Zelaya was removed from office “after announcing plans to hold a non-binding public consultation on whether people supported moves to change the constitution.” BBC World News reports that this caused the initial conflict because “his opponents said the move was unconstitutional and was aimed at removing the current one-term limit on serving as president….”

Either way, in both cases each side seems to be fighting to benefit themselves and only themselves, and is in many of these situations, the welfare of the people is not considered. Hopefully, the OAS delegation to visit Honduras on Oct. 7th in order to negotiate negotiate and reestablish relations with President Zelaya will prove successful.

NYC Thoughts From a Girl Who Never Travels

From ilovenewyork.com

“How is it possible that you’ve never been to the city?”

This is one of the most common things anyone has ever said to me. People often gape, laugh, and (on several strange occasions) screech when I present them with the knowledge that despite have grown up in New York state, I  had never been to “the city”.

“The City”. Since moving to Albany to go to college, I have heard that statement numerous times, and it took me nearly a year to figure out what city people were actually talking about. At first, I had thought that “the city” simply applied to downtown Albany, and when I realized that people were talking about New York City I couldn’t help but find it ridiculous. New York City is A city, not THE city. At least, it always has been in my mind.

Growing up in a small farming town outside of Rochester, NY I was always seven hours away from NYC, and having never been there wasn’t such an abnormality.  My mother, who had never been to NYC, believed everything that she saw in the movies and thought that NYC was a crime-bed full of murderers and muggers and to enter city limits was to forfeit your life. One time, when returning from Orlando, our plane had to land momentarily in NYC. My mom responded with a panic attack. My dad, who has been to NYC, often told me about its filth and insignificance. “There is no reason to go there,” he often tells me, “it’s not all they make it up to be.”

Albany is only a few hours away from NYC, and yet I still have not hopped on a train to experience The Big Apple (though the farming town where I grew up should be more appropriately called The Big Apple, considering that’s where all New York’s apples come from).  According to the numerous individuals whom I have foolishly mentioned my lack of NYC experience to, not visiting NYC is to live a half life.  Once, my boss offered to give me four paid days off from work if I promised to go to the city immediately. So why have I still not gone to NYC?

Well, even with paid vacation time, a poor college student like myself really cannot AFFORD to go to NYC. In the past few months I have been researching cheaper accommodations, and have decided that staying in a hostel would be the smartest thing to do. The only problem? I need to get a passport first. Also, the city itself completely overwhelms me!  Even with the help of a New York City Moleskine, I feel as if I would never figure out the subway system. At least, not alone.

From the Moleskine website

And loneliness is the final reason why I have not yet gone to NYC. Despite the numerous people who have insisted that NYC is the place to go, no one has offered to take me. None of my friends have ever been there either . Without the company of someone who has actually been to NYC, I think I feel more comfortable staying at home. For now.

Public Disgrace

From http://bestweekever.tv

Last night, I had completely forgotten that the Video Music Awards were on, and now I am extremely sorry that I missed it. Waking up this morning I had heard word of what Kanye West had done when Taylor Swift won the award for best female video. The incident was an outrage, just as the outburst from Joe Wilson during President Obama’s speech last Wednesday was an outrage.

 It is appalling to see the amount of disrespect that is spreading across the country in both politics and in entertainment. Kanye had no right to ruin the moment for Taylor Swift, and it was not the first time that Kanye West has embarassed himself on public television.  Who can forget his outburst during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, during the televised Concert for Hurricane Relief when Kanye blurted out “Bush doesn’t care about black people”?

His behavior would simply be gossip worthy if it wasn’t for the fact that many young people look up to West as a role model. Individuals like Taylor Swift are much more worthy of becoming role models. It was unfortunate for Taylor that she had to experience such humiliation. At only 17, Taylor is an up and coming star. Beyonce has lived in the spotlight for many, many years and has won several VMA’s. This was Taylor’s first, and she deserved to have had an uninterrupted, glorified moment.