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The following is a list of very Infrequently Asked Questions about my tweeting (@hataroni), the answers to which you may find helpful.
1. Who are you?
I'm Paul. Just another nerd who hangs out on the 'net.
2. What do you tweet about?
Random thoughts, puns, observations, news, liberal/progressive politics, science, and whatever else seems interesting. (And, of course, replies and RTs.) The mix changes depending on what's going on.
I do not use obscenities. Or, rather, I reserve them for the very rare times that actually call for them, so that they still mean something. (As a result, I personally find their more casual use... distasteful.)
I also believe in the sanctity of truth/information. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I will not lie (even polite little white lies) without a strong moral reason for doing so. I'd also rather (almost always) have more information than less, and unconsciously assume that most other people should feel the same. This tends to lead to a certain level of verbosity. Twitter can be hard for me that way, sometimes.
I pun and joke. A lot. Partly because it's fun. Partly because it's how I deal with the more unpleasant side of reality.
I'm part of The Human Mosaic Project, a game which uses social media to encourage more local community involvement and personal growth. It's currently in beta testing.
I watch The Rachel Maddow Show and read the show's blog every weekday. If I'm watching the show live (9pm US Eastern) and have my computer with me I'll often join the "online watch party" in the #maddow stream. At other times during the day, I'll sometimes tweet something with the #maddow tag if I think it would be of interest to fans of the show.
For further progressive politics, I follow @MoveOn and @Other98, and sometimes tweet about things relevant to those movements with the #other98 tag.
I'm also a founding member of The Coffee Party, a movement to reform US politics. Different people have different ideas of exactly what the Coffee Party is or should be, but on the whole it's about civility (bridging the widening partisan divide), equality, and campaign finance reform. (I am not part of @CoffeePartyProg, a Progressive movement intended to be a reaction opposing the Tea Party.) Coffee Party started off strong on Twitter when the movement first developed, but it's since tapered off. (Things are much more active on Facebook I'm told, but I personally hold stubbornly to my disdain of all things Facebook.) With the one-year anniversary of the group's founding, there's been a push to get things rolling again on Twitter (#coffeeparty). I'm hoping it will work out.
3. When do you usually tweet?
My schedule is somewhat unstable, though I've been getting a better handle on it lately. Generally, I'll get online in the early afternoon (US Eastern time). When I do, I scroll back through everything that's come in since I left off. Which generally means a small flood of RTs and MTs as I catch up. I try to keep that limited, so as not to be too annoying, and I also try to stretch it out a bit.
My other main active period is, as mentioned, during the live airing of TRMS.
Otherwise, it's a smattering of whatever comes up when I'm at the computer and have something to talk about.
4. Wait, you're on Eastern Time? What about that SF thing in your bio?
I live in NJ. But Twitter's HQ is in San Fransisco. And the word for Twitter messages (or the sending of them) is "tweet." When I was growing up, Rice-A-Roni had a very active TV ad campaign with the slogan/tagline "The San Fransisco Treat." So I decided that whatever my Twitter name was going to be, it would end in -aroni and would reference the San Fransisco tweet.
What can I say? It amuses me. And I'm a firm believer in taking every (reasonably appropriate) chance to laugh.
5. Okay, so that's the -aroni part. What's with the hat?
HatMan (or some version thereof) has been my online identity for nearly 20 years. It started off as MadHatter - a combination of cheerful insanity and a predilection for hats (I was very sensitive about going bald as a child). HatMan became a superhero who fought boredom by having wacky adventures during chat room conversational lulls. MadHatter was left behind because too many other people were using it - most of them apparently real jerks. HatMan wears a beanie copter because it's colorful and amusing, but also because I really do have a hat like that - a treasured gift from my siblings.
6. What's your follow policy?
If I find your tweets interesting, I'll follow you. I have my following list split in two (possibly soon to become three) so that I can have an easier time catching up with the backlog. I try to keep a balance between the two, and the sorting between "people" and "organizations, news outlets, and celebrities" is very loose.
I do not personally see follow-backs as a necessary courtesy. If I don't follow you back, it's not intended as any kind of rebuff. It may just mean that I don't share enough of your interests. (I'm not much for professional sports, for one thing.) Note that I do, for example, keep an eye on the #maddow stream anyway, especially during the show. Also, I strongly believe that we need to learn to work together despite political differences, so I don't follow more confrontational tweeters (particularly the ones who tend to use derisive names for people on the other side).
7. What about following you?
What about it? I'm just a guy. This is my personal account. If you like what I have to say, follow me. I'm always happy to have a new follower, and to talk to new people (so long as they're reasonably polite). If you follow me, I will take a look at your stream to see if it looks like something I want to add to one of my lists (or if I need to report you as a spambot).
If you don't want to follow me... don't. If you change your mind about following me, unfollow at any time. It's just Twitter.
8. I have another question/comment.
Okay. Ask. I'll answer just about anything (so long as it doesn't violate someone else's privacy or something). Comment here, send me a tweet, DM me, email... whatever works.
1. Who are you?
I'm Paul. Just another nerd who hangs out on the 'net.
2. What do you tweet about?
Random thoughts, puns, observations, news, liberal/progressive politics, science, and whatever else seems interesting. (And, of course, replies and RTs.) The mix changes depending on what's going on.
I do not use obscenities. Or, rather, I reserve them for the very rare times that actually call for them, so that they still mean something. (As a result, I personally find their more casual use... distasteful.)
I also believe in the sanctity of truth/information. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I will not lie (even polite little white lies) without a strong moral reason for doing so. I'd also rather (almost always) have more information than less, and unconsciously assume that most other people should feel the same. This tends to lead to a certain level of verbosity. Twitter can be hard for me that way, sometimes.
I pun and joke. A lot. Partly because it's fun. Partly because it's how I deal with the more unpleasant side of reality.
I'm part of The Human Mosaic Project, a game which uses social media to encourage more local community involvement and personal growth. It's currently in beta testing.
I watch The Rachel Maddow Show and read the show's blog every weekday. If I'm watching the show live (9pm US Eastern) and have my computer with me I'll often join the "online watch party" in the #maddow stream. At other times during the day, I'll sometimes tweet something with the #maddow tag if I think it would be of interest to fans of the show.
For further progressive politics, I follow @MoveOn and @Other98, and sometimes tweet about things relevant to those movements with the #other98 tag.
I'm also a founding member of The Coffee Party, a movement to reform US politics. Different people have different ideas of exactly what the Coffee Party is or should be, but on the whole it's about civility (bridging the widening partisan divide), equality, and campaign finance reform. (I am not part of @CoffeePartyProg, a Progressive movement intended to be a reaction opposing the Tea Party.) Coffee Party started off strong on Twitter when the movement first developed, but it's since tapered off. (Things are much more active on Facebook I'm told, but I personally hold stubbornly to my disdain of all things Facebook.) With the one-year anniversary of the group's founding, there's been a push to get things rolling again on Twitter (#coffeeparty). I'm hoping it will work out.
3. When do you usually tweet?
My schedule is somewhat unstable, though I've been getting a better handle on it lately. Generally, I'll get online in the early afternoon (US Eastern time). When I do, I scroll back through everything that's come in since I left off. Which generally means a small flood of RTs and MTs as I catch up. I try to keep that limited, so as not to be too annoying, and I also try to stretch it out a bit.
My other main active period is, as mentioned, during the live airing of TRMS.
Otherwise, it's a smattering of whatever comes up when I'm at the computer and have something to talk about.
4. Wait, you're on Eastern Time? What about that SF thing in your bio?
I live in NJ. But Twitter's HQ is in San Fransisco. And the word for Twitter messages (or the sending of them) is "tweet." When I was growing up, Rice-A-Roni had a very active TV ad campaign with the slogan/tagline "The San Fransisco Treat." So I decided that whatever my Twitter name was going to be, it would end in -aroni and would reference the San Fransisco tweet.
What can I say? It amuses me. And I'm a firm believer in taking every (reasonably appropriate) chance to laugh.
5. Okay, so that's the -aroni part. What's with the hat?
HatMan (or some version thereof) has been my online identity for nearly 20 years. It started off as MadHatter - a combination of cheerful insanity and a predilection for hats (I was very sensitive about going bald as a child). HatMan became a superhero who fought boredom by having wacky adventures during chat room conversational lulls. MadHatter was left behind because too many other people were using it - most of them apparently real jerks. HatMan wears a beanie copter because it's colorful and amusing, but also because I really do have a hat like that - a treasured gift from my siblings.
6. What's your follow policy?
If I find your tweets interesting, I'll follow you. I have my following list split in two (possibly soon to become three) so that I can have an easier time catching up with the backlog. I try to keep a balance between the two, and the sorting between "people" and "organizations, news outlets, and celebrities" is very loose.
I do not personally see follow-backs as a necessary courtesy. If I don't follow you back, it's not intended as any kind of rebuff. It may just mean that I don't share enough of your interests. (I'm not much for professional sports, for one thing.) Note that I do, for example, keep an eye on the #maddow stream anyway, especially during the show. Also, I strongly believe that we need to learn to work together despite political differences, so I don't follow more confrontational tweeters (particularly the ones who tend to use derisive names for people on the other side).
7. What about following you?
What about it? I'm just a guy. This is my personal account. If you like what I have to say, follow me. I'm always happy to have a new follower, and to talk to new people (so long as they're reasonably polite). If you follow me, I will take a look at your stream to see if it looks like something I want to add to one of my lists (or if I need to report you as a spambot).
If you don't want to follow me... don't. If you change your mind about following me, unfollow at any time. It's just Twitter.
8. I have another question/comment.
Okay. Ask. I'll answer just about anything (so long as it doesn't violate someone else's privacy or something). Comment here, send me a tweet, DM me, email... whatever works.