Category: Twitter

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community Denver Life Twitter

Coworking Space Ship Lands in Denver

I really enjoy my life here in Denver.

I want one of these mugs.

Despite others telling me I shouldn’t attend a conference (“mini” one, at that) the night before finals, I went to the Coworking Space Ship, run by Deskmag and Deskwanted. Thankfully, the Denver stop was at Creative Density, a coworking space in town that I’ve been a loyal member to since the beginning of the year. I’ve begun to call a few of the other members my “CD fam” because I love spending time with them!!

Anyway, #CoWoSpaceShip was amazing. I love learning about new, emerging trends in the business world. Craig, the owner of Creative Density, was so animated and passionate about the industry (wouldn’t exactly call ‘coworking’ an industry…a sector?). Loved to meet the other cowork space owners from Denver & Boulder, too.

And of course, I was live-tweeting, which I have been doing for the DU Marketing Association on-campus just out of my own obsession with Twitter. Having the iPad has made me more enthusiastic about tweeting live from events. I just love sharing information. During my live-tweeting, I was discovered by a Brazilian coworking space, Pto de Contato. My my, the world is small!

The whole #CoWoSpaceShip night went “overtime” a bit as we continued asking questions to the local panelists and hearing insights from Carsten of Deskmag. I never knew that the coworking movement began in Europe, albeit it wasn’t coined “coworking” until 2005 in our very own City by the Bay (San Francisco). I never got a chance to visit a coworking space in San Francisco when I resided there, but perhaps next time I go visit.

I am happy that I attended the free event because I always enjoy learning new things. It was well worth the night off from studying. Besides, I think I did decently on my finals today. What’s done is done, right?

 

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inspiration Internet My San Francisco Chronicles Twitter weather

Opportunities Sneaking In

San Francisco Fog: A Few Weeks Ago

This is how everything looked like in San Francisco a few weeks ago. And now? It’s bright, sunny, and warm. The signature fog has disappeared for now and we’ve received our Indian Summer, at least for this week or so.

Don’t worry, folks, the fog will be back.

Anyway, seems the only Fiverr gig that is working out for me right now is writing short stories. I was going to delete my gigs on there after my previous job was finished, but lo and behold, I received another order.

I suppose it’s a good thing, considering each client has different needs and it’s a way for me to exercise my creativity more. After all, I get to learn about new topics that I wouldn’t have ever explored on my own before. It’s good to get a wide repertoire out there.

And, in general, other opportunities are coming in in terms of income. Small yet still significant opportunities. I can’t complain; I quite like this flexible schedule I have these days.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a TweetChat about healthy food. It was the first time I had participated in a chat in a long time; gee, I feel old a bit. I remember back in middle school when I was all about chat rooms, but of course, nothing of substance ever came out of those interactions. Yesterday’s chat was more focused and the energy of everyone’s enthusiasm was contagious. I felt quite happy after the chat, even though I was more or less a passive participant in the topic.

Let’s see what the rest of the week has in store for me. But I’m enjoying every moment I can. I realize it’s all best to continue to remind myself to go with the flow.

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#amwriting contest Internet magazine news Twitter

Cell-phone novels: A Fad or More?

I read about cell-phone novels in the latest issue of The Writer Magazine, and honestly, I hadn’t even thought about cell-phone novels before the article (didn’t even know they existed). According to the article, this genre really took off in Japan (not surprised), and is just now starting to catch on in the US (isn’t it always like that when it comes to technology/trends?). The point of a cell-phone novel is material posted serially via, you guessed it, cell-phones. 140 characters per post–sounds like Twitter to me. Two websites, Quillpill and Textnovel have popped up in the US serving this genre: post your clips on the sites, get user feedback, and, possibly win a prize for a well-written cell-phone novel.

I think this genre has potential, but it also seems too early to tell since I had never even heard of this genre before I read the article. Since the article was featured in The Writer Magazine, I’m not sure if non-writing folk know of this genre just yet.

For some people, reading novels on a cellphone works for them; for me, I still prefer to hold an old-fashioned book and read that way. I am sure there is still a considerable number of people who prefer to read books the old-fashioned way.

Also, I took a look at the two websites earlier and my first impression of both places (in terms of layout/usability of the site) was not so great. Quillpill had a cleaner look than Textnovel, but Quillpill was also pretty dark with colors. Textnovel uses lighter colors, but I can’t help but feel like the colors don’t work so well in usability either. The point of the websites is not to show off great layouts, but still…when it comes to drawing people in to use their services, it’d be better to have layouts that are usable and attractive to some sense.

But, that’s besides the point of what Quillpill and Textnovel are offering. Would I consider signing up with one of the websites to try things out? Well, I’d consider it, but I believe I could do the same (write a “cell-phone”/serial novel) via Twitter. The difference between Twitter and the other two sites is that Twitter doesn’t have the votes/feedback options. Textnovel offers a contest for the best written cell-phone novel, and one Textnovel writer is actually in the process of getting her novel published traditionally. Sounds like a good deal, right?

I’ll probably wait on this prospect since I’m already bogged down by my backlog of blog entries and other writing projects. I already post little clips of potential stories to Twitter, so I’m not sure if I’d be able to utilize Quillpill or Textnovel fully. Would you try these services out? Do you think the cell-phone novel can survive?

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#amwriting change Internet Twitter

Get the word out: New URL, Twitter URL, etc.

It’s already Sunday, but I feel like a lot happened over the course of the past couple of days: a lot of brainstorming, planning, etc. I have decided that I will not use a pen name, since I realized I was having trouble signing the pen name I had decided on (silly reason, but it’s important, isn’t it?). I have also decided that, instead of starting a whole new writing blog, I will simply use this current blog as my writing one.

You may notice that there have been some changes with this blog and my Twitter account–both have been “rechristened” with my name. No longer hiding behind my Internet moniker; I think I’ve grown out of that phase as well.

So please, update your bookmarks for this blog; the new url is http://helenekwong.blogspot.com/

I’m hoping by the end of today I will also have purchased my domain so I can begin building my website and getting the word out there. Oh yes, and I have also decided that I will self-publish my first book instead of going through an agent. Thank you to everyone for the additional insight, and I hope that you will join me along this journey of getting the word out on my works.

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#foodie editing Internet Novel 1 plug Twitter Work in Progress

More blogs, more progress, other updates…

I think I’m getting sucked into the blogosphere this year; within a week or so, I’ve started two additional blogs and there is another one coming soon (my writing blog/”blog book tour”). Let’s see if I will be able to keep up with all of these blogs in due time….

Anyway, yes, this morning I felt inspired to start a food blog: Cinnamon Juice. You’re probably wondering where the name came from, so that explanation will come soon enough. This blog will feature various food topics, including recipes, photos, additional insight on my Yelp! reviews, and so forth. Check it out if you can!

In other news, I have finished the initial step in the editing/revising of Novel 1, which was to figure out my story arc. Now, I’m working on a “movable outline” via Powerpoint, and hopefully will have a book synopsis ready for some of my confidantes to look at in the next week or so to help me figure out any plot holes and such. Progress is coming along well….

And, my Twitter has gone public again, after a month or so of being friends-only. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter now!

That’s about all for now; my arms have been hurting a bit at work due to a new desk chair. I sure hope I won’t be getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.