If you're not already aware of it there is a fairly new mechanism of communication on the Internet called Twitter (http://www.twitter.com). It falls into the category of "micro-blogging" and is a way for you to post small messages about whatever you want (in 140 characters of less). There is a rapidly growing community of reptile enthusiasts on Twitter. People like Heather Wong, Brian Barczyk, Adam Wysocki, me (Colin Weaver), and many, many others who are active in the reptile world that communicate multiple times daily via Twitter. If you are not currently using twitter, join.
1. Go to http://www.twitter.com and create an account (it's free, and no you won't start getting spam messages when you join).
2. Download a twitter client. Choices include:
- Thwirl - http://www.twhirl.org/
- TweetDeck - http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/
- Firefox Browser Add-in's - http://speckyboy.com/2008/10/15/8-ex...refox-browser/
Pick one and install it on your computer (I personally use twhirl).
3. Start following people who are reptile enthusiasts. A great place to start is by going to follow Brian Barczyk (a name we all know). In Twitter he is called "SnakeBytesTV". Look at who is following him and begin the follow them. You will find that your followers spread quickly. Twitter is an incredibly powerful way for people to communicate and you will A) learn a lot B) be able to express your insights and opinions in real-time and C) meet a lot of cool people. Like me. I'm cool. ;)
This is particularly important right now as we all fight the passage of H.R. 669. Twitter has been a powerful mechanism of communication that has allowed for fast communication and idea exchange between people who share a common interest.
So please get to tweeting. See you there. BTW: I am called ECRB in Twitter. Follow me.