I’ve been a fan of social networks for awhile now, and over the years have tried a few. Some stuck, some didn’t. Twitter seems to be one that’s sticking. So far so good. I like Twitter. I like it a lot.

By using Twitter as a networking tool, I’ve been meeting some interesting people. Mostly music related because that’s my main interest, but there are also some people that I’m following just because they seem interesting. There are also some tech related twitterers that I follow because I like to keep up-to-date with the online tech industry.

Before I found Twitter, about a year ago, I knew that I wanted something like it. Because I’ve been spending more time lately publishing press releases and other people’s music reviews, my blogging has been lacking. Which is disappointing really, because I do enjoy it. The good thing, though, is that Twitter has allowed me to keep up with blogging – just on a different platform, and with shorter entries. Much shorter. 140 characters per tweet.

So Twitter has helped me to get back on the blogging saddle as well as meeting some cool people. Its become a great place for community. Special almost.

Through Twitter, I was asked by Oxford City Guide (@OxfordCityGuide) to review Swedish band Baskery at The Jericho Tavern in Oxford. It ended up being a great night out and I really enjoyed their music.

In the review, which included a short write-up of local Oxford band InLight, I noted that it would be great to see InLight play as a full band, as that night they were there as just a 2-piece. Well. Lead singer Charlie happened to see this, got in touch with me, and then invited me to see the full band play, which I did, and that then lead to an interview with Charlie for Band Weblogs. That’s just two bands as examples, that I’ve been turned on to because of Twitter.

My latest Twitter story is not affiliated with music – but baseball. I’m following someone (@GallagherMeow) who tweeted that he made a list of his ten favorite Red Sox players of all time. After following the link back to his blog, I noticed, in my opinion, a couple players were missing, so I replied to him on Twitter asking “Where’s Jim Rice and Fred Lynn?” because they happen to be my favorite Red Sox players of all time. He didn’t reply back, but that’s okay…he pretty much answered that question by writing up his own personal top 10.

The next day I opened up my email and saw that: “Jim Rice (Ask14) is now following your updates on Twitter”. I just sat there for a minute and had to digest the information. I re-read the sentence and clicked on the link. I was pretty excited.

I added a message on Twitter – “I can’t believe it. Is that the REAL Jim Rice following ME??? @Ask14″ hoping that I might get an answer.

Sure enough, a couple hours later I received a tweet from the real Jim Rice, “Yes. How are you?”. I was walking on air for awhile after that. Growing up in NH/VT area, when I was very young, Jim Rice was like a hero, along with Fred Lynn. Probably because my dad and my brother really liked them.

So, my “inner child” certainly came out the day Jim Rice unexpectedly got in touch and asked me how I was. Warm fuzzy childhood memories came rushing back, and the feeling of what me as a little girl might have felt like if I had met Jim Rice then.

The meeting wasn’t in person, and some might think Twitter is just a silly site they can’t figure out, but it’s because of Twitter that these wonderful experiences have happened.

Jim Rice – Ask 14 Official Blog

Jim Rice on Twitter

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Jenny May on Twitter

By: Jenny May – BandWeblogs.com