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The Reasons I Love Twitter

/ Toni Williams / Leave a comment

Click here to read my series on simple social media

I love Twitter. It’s like the New York City of social media. It’s fast-paced. there’s always something happening, and it never sleeps. For any business, Twitter can be vital to your marketing and social media plan. On the flipside, for personal use Twitter can be entertaining and a way for regular people to engage with celebrities and other notable figures. I must admit that it did take some time for Twitter to grow on me, but like New York City, it is home to millions.

Here are the reasons I love Twitter, in no particularly order.

  1. It makes me a better writer. The 140-character minimum in Twitter posts require tweets to be succinct and clearly stated. When I was taking journalism classes in college, we would do assignments that focused on writing clearly and concisely. Today, I get to practice those skills everyday when I write copy and interact with others on Twitter.
  2. When I’m asleep, it continues to drive people to my blog. Until recently. I was only interacting on Twitter from about 8 am until 6 pm. It wasn’t until my blog analytics showed that someone from New Zealand visited my blog one night when I was asleep when I decided that my Twitter feed could do a better job of relating to my blog audience overseas. When I wake up each day, I do a quick preliminary glance at my blog stats and I am still amazed that people are so active on the internet when I’m asleep. I think I secretly wish I was up with them.
  3. It delivers the most recent up-to-date information from a variety of sources. Twitter is my go-source for the latest and greatest news events, and it gives me all sides of a story. I love it for it’s unbiased nature in transmitting important information.
  4. It is friendly to third-party apps. If you use a third-party app (like a post scheduler) with Facebook, your audience may or may not see the posts. With Twitter, everything is visible to your followers.
  5. It is the parent company of Periscope. Periscope has taken the social media world by storm in the past six months. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a live video streaming platform for anyone who wants to have a show with a mobile device. Scopes can be as long or as short as you’d like them to be, and it is very interactive for the participants.

Those are the biggest reasons I love Twitter. What are your reasons for loving it?

 

Momtography: Mastering Back to School Photos

/ Toni Williams / Leave a comment

mommywithcameraHi friends!!!!! Are you staying cool in this heat?!?!? Here in Texas the heat came down on us and has not let up! According to our the weather forecasts, the temperatures are going to surpass 100-degree heat rather quickly.
More importantly though, is the fact that school is starting soon and in Texas, this weekend is TAX-FREE WEEKEND on school supplies, clothes, shoes, and some electronics. So while we are helping prepare our Littles for the upcoming school year, I want to help you get your first day of school photos “on fleek” as my teenagers would say. I shared these types last night on Periscope (follow me there at @twillisbestshot) and I’m posting them here for you today!

  1.  Take a photo of you child holding a photo of themselves when they were little. This one is guaranteed to get lots of oohs and as and you and others can marvel over how they’ve grown.10532067_10152615996940731_2856085934567300787_o
  2. Take a photo of your child with backpack and stack of books currently reading. This is a good way to see changes throughout the years as your child progresses from Dr. Seuss to Captain Underpants to Harry Potter to Twilight and probably back to Dr. Seuss. This is one I wish I did over the years when my kids were younger.

ATTENTION. I interrupt this list to inform you that you do not have to take the photo on the first day of school. If there is too much anxiety in your house, take the photos the weekend before school starts and post it on the first day of school. Trust me, your Facebook friends and Instagram followers are not there to hep you recover in the aftermath of the first day, so take the photos when it’s best for you and your child! Shall we continue?

3. Take a photo in front of the school doors or near the school sign. This is a good one to get before the first day so you don’t actually have to wait in line for other families to get the perfect spot. 1930487_38544310730_3043_n

4. For older kids who may want to get out of your sight as soon as possible, grab a photo of your kids walking away but interacting with friends, greeting teachers, and going to class. If you have a DSLR camera, a 70-200 mm lens or higher could be particularly useful here.

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5.  When your child starts kindergarten, get an Adult X-Large t-shirt and use fabric paint to decorate the shirt with “Class of _____” for their high school graduation year. Each year, take a photo of your child in the shirt and you will be able to see the child’s growth throughout the years!

6. Use simple props. You don’t have to be glamorous for this one. Use an apple. a lunchbox, a backpack. Any of those items say “school” to those watching. This summer, Tyra has proclaimed to the world that she is only wearing Converse tennis shoes for the rest of her life. Only. Converse. Forever. In light of that statement, I will probably use her Converse as a prop, especially since I’m certain whichever pair of shoes she wears on her first day will match her backpack. So, even if I am faced with 13-year-old eye rolling and attitude when I pull out the camera on August 24, I will have a cute photo of the shoes and the backpack from the night before. And speaking of the night before…don’t forget to take photos of the outfit in the closet, the inside of the lunchbox, and the school supplies stacked on the table.

7. Find a school bus, any school bus, and use it as a photo back drop. Right now, school buses tend to be parked in school parking lots and are unattended to. Take a photo of your child with the school bus in the background!

8. Involve family members in the fun! Last year, my daughters and I visited their younger cousin for a quick photo shoot on her first day of school. It was fun because now the first day of school became a family affair and it made the social media interaction more fun for our cousins who live in a different state.10603476_10152608913120250_925844826717520577_n

9. Give your child a sign that says “STOP CRYING MOM.” Have them hold it and snap a photo as they are ready to leave the house. This is especially cute for smaller children who are in prekindergarten or kindergarten,

Have you seen any really cool ideas for back to school photos? Please share in the comments below!