Secret Resorts

Our home for the next 5 days couldn’t have been better;  it’s the Secrets Wild Orchid  Resort in Montego Bay, a fairly new hotel.  The picturesque property and extremely warm staff, up to this point have ensured that we really do feel as though we’re at home ( Well, the one that we don’t know about:))

We spent the earlier part of yesterday evening getting settled in and unwinding a bit in our luxurious (very) rooms. The latter part of the evening was spent becoming acquainted with the international bloggers, dinner on the beach and some fine music to complete the exploit.

Day 2 of this excursion only looks better as our itinerary is packed with places to go and things to do with visits to Mystic Mountain,  Dunn’s River Falls, Dolphin Cove, Chukka Caribbean Adventures @ Chukka Cove etc.  Day 2, let’s go!

Yesterday marked  the first “Pegasus Tweet up”, a meetup of people from the popular social networking website, Twitter. The Jamaica Pegasus, located in Kingston, hosted a little over 100 people who were eager to witness the tweetup which was postponed due to the unrest in Kingston.

“Tweeps” finally had the opportunity to match handles/usernames with faces.  The Pegasus Tweet up, arguably is the largest and probably the only formal tweetup in Jamaica to date. The Jamaica Pegasus who organised the event, ensured that everyone was adequately entertained and provided an open bar and a buffett with a wide array of food.

I finally had  the opportunity to get more acquainted with friends like @Jamaipanese, @stunnerj et al , who I’ve known online for years but never had the opportunity to meet until last night.  What was supposed to be a good night for me ended up being a great night, as I won the gate prize. I had no idea there would be a prize draw for a round trip to London via British Airways.

I was most impressed with the Pegasus. I had no idea that, on top of the splendour, they’d offer something as cool as a trip to London for their first tweetup. I was even more surprised that I won; the only thing I have ever won was a Key Ring courtesy of Stunner. Haha! He did say to me, over a year ago, “it’s never too late to start winning”.

Events of these nature, show that companies such as the Jamaica Pegasus are keen on customer satisfaction. I mean how many companies in Jamaica follow consumer trends?  Good Job, Jamaica Pegasus, You’ve taken a bold initiative and have shown how useful social media can be for companies to connect with existing and potential customers. Hopefully other Jamaican companies will follow suit and host events just as good as yours. It may be hard for some to both catch up with social media and host similar events. Pegasus has set the precedence.

What is a tweetup?

A tweetup is an event where people who Twitter come together to meet in person. Normally we connect with our friends online after we have met them. At a tweetup you meet the people you might only otherwise know virtually. Like finally putting a name to a face, a tweetup is a great opportunity to really connect with the people in your network and share just a little more than 140 characters at a time.

Excerpt from: http://socialhat.com/what-is-a-tweetup/

Images courtesy of: http://stunner101.blogspot.com/

I mean, It’s just a few things that grind my gears, here goes:

Cryptic Tweets: People who only tweet strange, enigmatic thoughts that no one ever gets. Do you think you’re cool?

IM Conversations: Yes, It’s your twitter account, you do with it what you want, but there are unwritten rules and something called “netiquette”.  Twitter was never meant to be used as  a chat-room ( ipso facto, the 140 character limit).  Some people constantly @ each other talking about things no one can relate to, because it was never meant for twitter. Blackberry Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Chat and a myriad of others are there if you need to have prolonged conversations with a friend, UTILIZE them because nobody cares about your extremely mundane conversations.  Then you wonder why you have 50 followers; that last bit is a precursor to annoyance #3.

That annoying, “Please follow me” phrase: Please, don’t beg someone to follow you on Twitter, It’s really pathetic.  If you are genuinely interesting or actually have some substantial tweets then people will follow you, albeit  maybe not that person you’d want to follow you, but that’s fine; different strokes for different folks, but people will follow you.

Retweeting/replying done wrong: I remember when “retweeting” made its debut on Twitter.  The users created it, until twitter decided to formalize it. I remember how people originally used it.  People retweeted your tweet for many reasons, maybe because they liked it, because it was a tweet that was particularly helpful etc.  In recent time many Jamaicans have flocked to twitter and as simple as it is, not many people know how to use the re-tweet/reply function.  They are distinctly different.  A brief tutorial:

The tweet above is how i see most people reply to to tweets. They “retweet” the original tweeter’s tweet and put their response in front. Occasionally this is fine, especially when you want to save people from clicking the “in reply to” option, but most people, i find don’t know any better, so they always do it thinking it’s the only way to respond to a tweet, but it’s not.

Now this is the right way to respond to someone’s tweet. It’s really easy. Just find the tweet you’re referring to on whatever client you’re using whether it be Tweetdeck, Seesmic, or even Twitter web use the reply function and twitter will automatically reference the tweet automagically.  When the person who you replied to receives your response they’ll know what tweet you’re referring to because they’ll see the “in reply to username” as highlighted above which avoids the “what are you talking about” tweet.  It’s a really easy concept to grasp, So if @waynjonesjnr is to click ” in reply to Waynejonesjnr he’ll promptly see that i was referring to his tweet about cigarette smoking women.

People who do blast #FF’s- On twitter it’s tradition to recommend tweeters  that you like for other people to follow. This is called “Follow Friday, or #FF for short. Follow Fridays are done by putting the #FF hashtag in front of the tweets followed by the people you want other people to follow. e.g: #FF @nigel_thomas @ryanmattis, @waynejonesjnr, @rtrowe, @iamsbee (btw, these are all cool people, you should follow them), but i find this way of “mass #FF’ing”  annoying and ineffective, instead i find it a lot more substantial to write a blurb about the person(s) you want other people to follow instead. e.g: #FF @ryanmattis Fellow techie, blogger and full-time pessimist. You’ll find that people appreciate this method as opposed to the “blast method” that i mentioned above, they’re also more likely to get followed; Quality over quantity i say.

Finally, Tweeting in CAPS: Anybody who’s an internet fanatic or even someone who occasionally uses the internet knows that when you type in caps it signifies that you’re screaming/shouting or showing your disgust for something. Typing/tweeting: “I’M SO LOVING MY BREAKFAST RIGHT NOW”  in caps  is wrong, tweeting using caps indefinitely is annoying and not to mention noobish, come on, get with it. Read more about Online etiquette here

Unfortunately many people i follow on twitter are guilty of my peeves; hoping they’ll all read this and apply it to their day-to-day tweeting so that me and everyone else can have a more pleasant twitter experience. *crosses fingers*

For almost a week i have been battling with Digicel’s Customer care agents for some explanation as to why i am without my  BlackBerry Internet Service ( BIS, which i pay for monthly) .  Apparently the problem eludes them and i guess they do not consider it prudent to inform their “valued” customers about this issue.  Maybe the $800 rebate i received  was good enough compensation and that would be enough to prevent me from needing to inquiry  further about  my service…or lack thereof.

BIS, which is provisioned through my mobile phone service provider, in this case Digicel, though Research In Motion (RIM) (Blackberry’s developer) actually runs the service is having no issues; which I’m sure if they were it would be reported, thus the problem must lie solely with Digicel.

Throughout the week I’ve been going through the mundane process of speaking to customer care agents, who apparently are robots who are all seemingly trained to repeat the same thing to its customers.  After speaking to so many agents one would want to think that I’m now competent/qualified  enough to be one as I’ve memorized what they all  conveniently repeat to me.

Tonight after speaking to one particular customer care agent, i said to him. “after being so greatly inconvenienced by you, i don’t see any good reason to stay with Digicel, because as it is you now cannot tell me when or IF i will ever have service” The agent in question, rudely responded with, and I’m paraphrasing, “at the end of the day it’s your choice, and we really can’t insist that you stay”.  I’m sure that wouldn’t have been the response if i was dealing with another mobile phone provider who would gladly want to keep their customer. ( Thank God for choices!)

Coincidentally, this evening i read an article in the Gleaner’s Flair Magazine, the cover story was on Jospeh Oates, Claro’s new Marketing manager.  He said “…To get consumers to switch brand loyalty, they must feel that you are looking out for them every time”. I guess now more than ever i have a good reason to switch as i have the option of choosing a network who actually “values” their customers or who can at least give the impression that they do.

Digicel, the Bigger, Better Network..or not.

“I think you need to disconnect from the world each day for a little, reflect on you, get to know you, Love you…”

I’ve always thought about it, but never really gave it any serious consideration. The grind of day-t0-day life can indeed be tumultuous, but i think an hour or so out of the day  to”recoup” is only fair. We spend so many years trying to accumulate wealth, network and grow, but so many people neglect to REALLY develop a relationship with themselves in the process.  Have you ever wondered why you can never really write about yourself and your good friends tend to know you much better than you know yourself or be able to highlight things about you that you fail to see.

There are 24 hours in each day, maybe it would be prudent of me to reserve even just one hour daily  to know myself a bit more.  After-all, they say the best relationship one can have is with themself, and it’s one relationship I’m stuck in so i might as well make the best of it.

If you’re curious, day 168 is:  So easy to hate, but yet so hard to love.

How different is it if you insult someone via twitter in contrast to insulting them in person? The medium may be different and unconventional, but the effect can be just the same ( hurtful). Therefore i think it’s wrong for people to say “It’s just twitter”. Like it or not twitter is apart of our generation and it has amassed quite a following in a short period of time ( Over 10 million people). So whether you choose to acknowledge it to be substantial or not it’s still there and behind many tweets are real people and prospective friendships to be made.

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet many great people  exclusively through twitter and i have developed timeless friendships with just as much. Some of these people I can name without a moment’s hesitation @aundra, @eddiane, @franarexic, @iamsbee, @MarcGrandmaison, @Zaineysmummy, @jamaipanese @MissBrownin et al.

So, the next time you say “It’s just twitter” remember that behind every username ( robots etc aside) is a REAL person with REAL feelings and anything you say to them there has the potential to help or hurt just as much as it would if you said it to their face.

N.B You can apply this to any other service that facilities human-to-human socialization online ( i.e facebook, tagged etc)

For those who are not familiar with twitter, Commoncraft.com has put together a brief video with an explanation, embedded below is the video:

Doing this will help me to challenge myself in other ways–Post this “10 Day Challenge”. It will help me to challenge my procrastination habits, my resolve, my insecurities  etc.

With that said I will be for the next 10 days updating this blog post with  a sentence or two on each day leading up to the 10 days starting tonight.

Day 1: I’m not so concerned about what is happening on Facebook, I’m probably more curious about Twitter.

Day 2: Suddenly 10 days seems like a long time. Perseverance!

Day 3: Day 3, I’m a mess.  I especially miss twitter. I know to some this may seem trivial, but imagine becoming very acquainted with something only to have it taken from you in an instant.  Here, a scenario: You have an awesome car– an Audi for argument’s sake. You drive this car to work everyday. You love your car dearly and your comfortable with it, but one day you decide to challenge yourself. You decide to use Public Transport for 10 days, i can guarantee you that after the third day or so you’ll start becoming irritated. If you don’t think so, try it. challenge yourself. Give up something you love for 10 days and keep me updated by commenting on this article or do it on your own blog and post the post link here. *sighs* 7 more days!

Day 4: When you’re preoccupied you tend to forget about the things that “matter’

Day 5: How quickly the time passes. My source for Inspiration, Zenhabits.net recently did an article that really puts things into perspective.  An excerpt: “If you choose to give your attention to your friends, family and other loved ones — really give your attention to them instead of only half-heartedly while also checking text messages and emails and other updates — your life will be rich in many ways.” Read the full article here

Day 6: 10 Days? Ugh, this is a joke. Friday here i come!

Day 7: It really gets easier each day. Then again, it may be because this hiatus is coming to an end.:)

Day 8: There is no greater inspiration than good friends, 2 days to go.

Day 9: On Day 9 I decided to end my hiatus from Facebook and Twitter prematurely.

If you could somehow postmark a letter back through time to your younger self, what age would you choose and what would the letter say.

She asked me to write a letter and it ended up like this:

Dear Gordon,

Stop being naive, seriously.  As you grow older your perspective on life will change.  You’ll move from being an indifferent, cynical pre-teen to an overly enthusiastic, overambitious young adult; can you feel that youthful exuberance? Maybe you should listen to your parents a bit more too and choose better friends.  You know, those friends that will motivate, inspire and help cultivate that burning desire for greatness you’ll EVENTUALLY feel in the bottom of your stomach, yeah–those friends.  Oh, and selecting cool mentors help too (You’d be amazed how many people are expecting great things from you, they would be more than delighted to help you, trust me. )

Anyway Gordon, the last thing i want to sound like is a nagging adult trying to mold you. I know better than anyone else that you’re a rebel and when someone tries to push, you’re just going to pull, but don’t worry much about that, you’ll learn how to be a proper rebel. The one that does not subscribe to the status quo, the one that will dare to be different and be an example to and lead his generation forward in earnest.

Lastly, don’t live your life in regret, don’t worry about who you are, instead focus on who you will become, because that keeps you motivated.

You’re bad ass Man.

Sincerely,

Future you.

Doing the slightly mundane task of going through my tweets ( For the unfamiliar a tweet, for me anyway is materializing your thoughts in 140 characters or less and broadcasting it for the world to see) expecting to see much inanity at this hour, but out of nowhere i saw this tweet from a friend of mine. “Ok guys Renée is having labour contractions! We’re going IN!”

That tweet, albeit in 140 characters or less provokes so much emotion, for me and ESPECIALLY for the person who is actually experiencing  it. It really let’s you appreciate how different the world is now and how much we should appreciate it because 10-20 years ago him letting literally millions of people know instantaneously what was happening would be impossible, it also had me thinking. With the plethora of children born each day, each month and each year the thought of a child making it’s way into the world would become somewhat of a familiar feeling to all of us, but it can never be this way for experiences of this nature i.e having your first child, Sex, Graduating from High School, your first job etc you can never truly appreciate until you EXPERIENCE IT. That to me is a GREAT thing, for no matter how many articles you read how many experiences people relate to you or how many videos you watch you can never really Comprehend or Appreciate as i call it “The Simple joys” of life until you experience it.

The world can be good, and so can the people in it. Congratulations on becoming a Dad Samuel, enjoy everything that comes with it, all the best to you and your wife.

Simple but seemingly complex and unique feeling for us all.

Was i missed? If I’m to go by Google’s web analytics then yes, i was indeed missed ( My blog has seen a 5% increase in hits in the last couple of months) , and you know that makes me feel all warm inside ( Maybe it was My post about Miss kitty, Love you Chic,  but i still don’t see you doing anything about your weight, work on that will you). It was only a temporary hiatus though i had no real reason to stay away, i just found it very hard to do a paragraph or more for the last 2 months, blame Twitter ( Follow me, i tweet as much as i talk, and that’s A LOT).

Anyhow it’s Christmas, alas i probably wouldn’t have remembered if  it wasn’t for those annoying lovely children singing the Christmas claro ad every 5 milliseconds on tv and radio…seriously; my fellow Jamaicans seem to share the same sentiments also .  It’s really nice ad though you can’t help but sing along with it, it has this get happy and go feeling to it ( Especially the little girl with the absent incisors, how original, I’m sure many people had a collective “aww” while watching),  makes a guy want to go out and get a claro device, but seriously i think this  CAN  be considered child labor. If you observe  the little girl at 37 seconds into the ad you’ll see how long she held that note for…that’s preeeetty impressive ( and hard, just ask Denny). My favorite claro ad of all time though is this. Congrats to Admark Jamaica for the good work, and no dammit I’m not being paid, and this is not a sponsored claro post or anything of that nature….well maybe, but why would it matter.

Anyhow, i have some cool things planned for 2010, keep an eye on my blog, have a Great Cashmas Christmas and Wonderful New Year ( Full of taxes, and very hungry people).

P.S Tell me my new blog theme is awesome, make me happy.