by Jo Alex | Progress |
Spontaneous short story tweet
I am going to have a little fun with story ideas, primarily for laughter and intrigue. My friend Eric and I are going to start tweeting sentences to each other about a short story we are going to spontaneously create on twitter. If anyone wants to join us, welcome.
Short Story Tweet Description
Here is the idea, I will begin a sentence, and Eric will finish the sentence. Any one who joins can finish the sentence, or create a new sentence. Keep in mind when you add to the sentence of the story, stay true to the previous entries.
If no words are added, I will finish the sentence myself the next day.
The story could take any direction. Add intersting ficticious characters, if you wish. Talking dolls, dancing dogs, water cats….the universe is infinite. Keep it clean.
Amuse yourself.
Let the story began
I am starting with this sentence. He texted on his cellphone.
by Jo Alex | Progress |
Using Instagram as a beginner?
The first time I started using Instagram last year, I didn’t post a picture nor did I use hashtags. Mistakes made, lessons learned.
This time around I did posted my picture, added a bio, and started using hashtags. I didn’t know if I was going to focus on random subjects, or specific subjects like the three books I had fun writing, or have quotes about my upcoming novel, or just take pictures of random subjects, or use all of the above.
Responses
I started posting pictures and videos about nature and flowers using hashtags. What do you know? My pictures received responses. Hashtag do work? This made me wanted to work harder. What should I post next?
I then posted a video about a train trip, using hashtags. Again there was atleast one response.
I started experimenting with the children’s illustrative book I wrote by placing two illustrations on Instagram, using hashtags. Immediate responses from dog lovers,made me pleased. One or two started even following me. Knowing people in the Instagram community shared common interest with me made me wanted to post more. I started reviewing their pictures and and following them.
I then moved to the topic of trains, posting couple of sentences of the first chapter of my eBook Views from the Train. Again, I received responses.
Experimenting
Recently, I posted a holiday picture with two hastags. The response: minimal, almost dismal. My conclusion as beginner user: Use hashtags for reach unless you have loyal followers.
Unexpected response
Random people with different topics that they focus on started following me, then couple of days started unfollowing me. Ouch. I didn’t know what occured. I read upon it and talked to people who had other social media accounts. Users communicated I embracted a tactic execution, the follow and unfollow method. Personally, I don’t like that method.
At this point I am still learning. I am going to focus on what I want, have fun, engage, and talk about the things I love, and enjoy.
by Jo Alex | Progress |
Instagram
I am still learning more about social media. Being relatively new to Instagram, I really like the ease of use. You can load pictures. Instagram has it’s own 25 filters that you can use for pictures. You can load videos and live view photos (I will have to do a separate blog for that). You can write in the caption. According to Jennstrends.com, there is a 2200 character limit. That means you can write a short story if you have the time.
Don’t confuse the caption area with the bio area. The caption area is where you post hash tags and talk about your picture. In the bio area is where you talk about yourself or what you represent. The bio area allows only 150 characters.
Learning about Instagram, lead me to look at other platforms. Just the other day I heard the word Snapchat repeated.
Snapchat
Just like Instagram, Snapchat is a mobile App.
For Snapchat, when you your bring your smartphone to your face and touch the screen of the phone, the App picks up the shape of your face. A few seconds later, images shows upto the right of the big white circle with face filters and costume filters. Just slide each filter with the touch of you finger, scooting the image filter in the circle first from left to right. As you scoot the filter from left to right, a different form of face will appear on the screen.
My friend and I played with the pre-installed emoji like filters with dramatic punches, make up, and full blown baby like images. We laughed at a few of the way the face filters made us look, playful. It appears someone gave some thought in creating the filters. I have only tried this out for three days. In the past three days, a new filter replaced an old one. Two days ago, there was a drag queen filter that I liked, but it was not seen this morning.
Also, I heard the video disappears after 24 hours. I haven’t tested that out, so I don’t know where it goes. I hear this is the same for Instagram Stories.
Difference
Snapchat is different from Instagram though it is also a video and photo App and have message features.
Just from the last three days that I had been playing with SnapChat and comparing it to Instagram I learned one thing. At this point, unlike Instagram you have to have friends on Snapchat so that you can share the information. In Instagram, the uploaded contents can be viewed by anyone if you have contents set up to public.
by Jo Alex | Progress |
I am new to social media. Though I have started a couple of different mediums, something have always come up in a way that I never followed through with it. There is so much to learn. I have decided this time that I will start with one medium and learn the ins and outs.
Here are some of the lessons I learned from the mediums I tried. I would like to share what I learned for those who are late to the game.
Different Social Media Platforms
A quick recap of other popular mediums that I used. There are different types of social media: To name a few:
YouTube
You tube- video outlet. I have used this for How Do I for example open a tight jar? Yes. I have used youtube for that, and it worked.
It is also good medium for entertainment
Twitter
Twitter – Concise speak- 150 characters or less. I have tried this, but I haven’t used this enough to give any further explanation at this time.
Instagram
What is Instagram? This is more of a note for me.
It is a photo sharing App. Now Instagram has a video feature, too.
Instagram App is what I am currently trying to learn.
I tried it last year after someone told me about it. After five or six photos, I took a break. I didn’t use any hashtags, last year. Just took a few pictures and posted.
Now, I am ready to give it another try.
Some features of Instagram
-This is a mobile App, which means to utilize it fully you should have a smartphone. I can access the App from my desktop, with limited features.
-If you like colors and words, this is a good tool. To me it feels like it is a mixture of Youtube and Twitter. You can use hashtags, send your photo, or do a short video.
A little more about Instagram
To access Instagram: the first thing you have to do is create an account
The second thing start sharing your photos to the world, or atleas the Instragram users.
Third, read the fine prints if you want to know how your pictures will be used.
Fourth, this was something new I learned. If you want people to see your pictures, you must use hashtags, that is how they know your world exists.
Fifth, focus on what you like. I like food, riding trains, traveling, writing, stories, roadtrips, dogs, trees… so those are some of the themes that I would be focusing on.
What do you like? What do you want to share with others? You should focus on that.
Sixth, now as far as taking pictures, I am still learning about that. I hear that Instagrammers like bright pictures. From the few posts that I have posted, the App likes the square shape. This means if you are going to add Text in your video or your photo, you would want to ensure that your text doesn’t get cut off, as mine did.
I will share new knowledge that I learn about Instagram as I learn about it.
I might do a few videos in the future on how to use Instagram You Tube later.
In the meantime, if you like to share your tips, I would love to hear from you.
by Jo Alex | Progress |
The counter top was now filled with half-ripened mangoes, fresh cut pineapple slices, bright oranges, smooth bananas, cold blueberries, fresh strawberries and summer peaches and plums.
The smoothie experiment drove me to a newer height in understanding my sugar addiction. I never realized that I didn’t associate fruit to pleasure like I did with the bakery type of desserts. That has hurt me quite a bit.
To grasp more about nature’s creations, I researched a variety of fruits and how much grams of sugar each fruit contained. Some fruits did have surprisingly high amount of sugar such as mangoes, pineapples, and grapes, but the sugar itself was not enough for me to choose the fruits as my got to, as my rescuer, as my devilish angel or angelic devil.
I admitted that to myself while fruits were not as pleasurable as cookies immediately, I felt better afterwards a lot longer after eating a juicy fruit. After eating a fruit, at times, the craving was reduced to a point that I actually felt that I could choose to pass on cookies if I kept at it. 
On certain days, I still worked very hard to pass the urges. Making choices were still hard, and sticking with them were even harder at this stage. I reminded myself that fruit does not have to be passionless; it embodies nature, a wholesome goodness that just cannot be packaged.
by Jo Alex | Progress |
Talking about all this sugar and food led me to do further research which led me to the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. I watched that insightful film with a friend. We thought it was educating and left us motivated to try juicing. Uncertain about my total commitment to juicing, I told him I would try it but not sure if I could do it for more than 3 days at best. He heard me and proceeded to try out his Vita Mix blender given to him by his dad. He made a blueberry yogurt smoothie.
Not yummy as some of the chocolate treats, but gets enough marks to be drinking it again and again. After he gulped the tarty smoothie, he said he felt a change immediately, kind of like a good change. I felt good too afterwards; more so because I knew the ingredients were wholesome. The rest of the day we ate our regular foods, including ice cream. I felt guilty, but not so much. It was 84 degrees and something cool and melting quickly in my mouth would be the only answer I was going to accept at that moment.
The next day was a new twist: blueberry and raspberry smoothie with a hint of honey. With the raspberries added, we can taste the raspberry sourness but it was tolerable. After we finished our drinks, we preferred the blueberry version. To be frank, I felt something missing in my mouth with all the creamy drinks. Yes, yes, it is the crunching sound of a fresh, crisp apple or the bursting juice on my tongue from a succulent mango or pineapple. 
The tactile sensation of holding whole food in my hand and then biting the peach or mango and then slowly chewing, the fruit massaging the tongue as it goes down induced a pleasurable feeling. The best smoothies can’t fill those sensations– you just drink your food, which was kind of a new concept to my body. Besides, my friend and I both agreed we didn’t totally feel full even after a full 8oz glass. Smoothies would be better as a supplement than as a replacement for lunch or dinner if you prefer to eat. One advantage of smoothie drinks was that they did not require much planning or preparation like cooking, just a lot of mental strength.
