twitter deficiency.

remember that time 4 months ago when i was lamenting about how i had lost 2 of my 6 twitter followers, and feeling very pitiful about the whole situation? well, things have turned around a bit. not only do i now have 120 followers (still sort of sad, but a distinct improvement), but i have also become a complete twitter whore. neither of these facts are probably of any real interest to most of you, but in my slutting it up all over the twitterverse (twittersphere? twittopolis?), i’ve learned a few things worth sharing:

1. don’t be scared. despite the fact that justin bieber has never not been a trending topic, twitter is not just for the youngins. actually, this article clearly shows that twitter is for grownups. so take that .

2. yeah sure i can use twitter to tell people that my dog’s farts smell like peanuts, or that i just got a bitchin high score on guitar hero. but more and more people are actually using twitter to send out  news stories, or start discussions, or to promote businesses, seminars, and networking groups. the point is that twitter right now is more thoughtful than you think. twitter is saying things that you want to hear (with a little bit about dog farts on the side).

3. but still, why am i bothering with this shameless twitter pimp? well, just about every coupon blog lady on the continent has one. instead of having to keep up with a roll call of bookmarks and daily website visits, or copious email subscriptions, you can give a quick scroll through their daily tweets- blatantly ignoring the ones that don’t interest you. find out what’s free, what’s on sale, what’s worth doing, what’s not worth doing… pick a topic- it’s all there (especially justin bieber). in the last frew months since i got my tweet on, i have:

1. been reminded that i needed to opt in to get a full size bottle of shampoo from vocalpoint.

2. learned that there was vegetarian broccoli cheddar soup @ a local coffee house that i had never been to.

3. had goodwill tweet me the color of the week, and marden’s let me know when the good stuff has arrived.

4. said something clever enough that my mommyblog hero (mindi cherry @ mom’s need to know) started following me! (spoiler- it involved hardcore hamster sex)

5. learned about a kick ass twitter management program called hootsuite. (thanks josh!)

6. been contacted by the reporter who would eventually interview me for the press herald.

7. found out that there was a monthly tweetup where my twitter friends materialize into real people.

8. been informed that the review i wrote got posted on the counter at peanut butter jelly time.

ok, so i meant for there to be 10 points, but it’s late and i just ran out of big love, so i’m going to bed. but i think my message is still clear. twitter is about connecting. whether it’s with deals, or locals, or just people who have something good to say… it has the potential to save you time, and money, and give you a reason to think or laugh. it’s everything interesting that the day has to offer, all rolled up into bite size (140 character) chunks. and you can keep the dog fart level as high or as low as you want.  come on, you’re missing it!!!

for my fellow twit-hos, who’s your favorite follow? (and how can i be following you?)

cheap eats- peanut butter jelly time!

no, not the dancin banana (although i love that guy too), i’m talking about the peanut butter & jelly stand that recently opened on the 2nd floor of the public market house. what, you didn’t realize that the public market even had a 2nd floor? yeah, you and 90% of the peninsula. i don’t know if it’s the lack of signage, or the fact that the stairway is way way way in the back and not nearly as well marked as it should be… but at what should have been a busy lunch hour- the place was pretty dead. very sad, because there’s lots of seating, delicious big-sky pizza, a bathroom!, and of course- the best PB&J i’ve had in ages.

one might scoff at paying $3-$4 (depending on how upscale your tastes are) for a peanut butter sandwich, but do you really want to go to whole foods and spend $78 dollars for a jar of almond butter- and then have to eat only almond butter sandwiches forever until it’s gone (or gone rancid)? the key here is variety. nut butters up the yaz from good ole skippy to custom blends. jellies (pomegranate! blueberry!) fluffs, nutella, and some other crazy crap that i cant remember. oh, and the bread! i got organic crunchy peanut butter and raspberry jelly on aroostook wheat. liberally applied, diagonally sliced, comfort food perfection. i got the sexy sandwich above, bottled water, and baked cheetos for a little over $5. apparently, if you’re extra snacky or want to share, you can even get 2 for $5.

randomly enough, they also serve breakfast, and have a liberally stocked cold cereal bar that’s open all day (half price refills).  haute cuisine, no, but delicious and affordable comfort food that doesn’t involve purchasing an entire loaf of bread or washing sticky peanut butter knives. we already lost one public market- so maybe this time you should shop the hell out of this place so it doesn’t go away.

on a related side note, i also picked up 2 sandwiches for a coworker and not only did he cut them diagonally and put them in zipper bags- he also put them in a paper bag and wrote my coworker’s name on it. service!