Wow. It has been awhile since I have had as long a streak of this much pain. Heat, ice, lying prone, standing, walking, stretching, adjusting the neurostimulator—nothing is helping except distraction (i.e. Twitter). Pain meds help but that went terribly awry yesterday.
It’s not a coincidence that my big surges in Twitter participation were in 2012 (shortly after I was disabled due to #chronicpain) & 2015 (3 surgeries for a neurostimulator implantation). When I can’t leave the house or even bed, I can still connect on my phone.
I saw the power of Twitter for connection starting with @twilidiot’s #Twilight Trivia live game & connecting worldwide on #toolschat with @LeoWid @michaelqtodd @Twylah. Most of what I know about the potential of social media I learned from that #TwitterChat.
Yesterday, I countered an assertion that #Toastmasters is not about rectangles and online clubs have no value. Not a new argument, but a fallacious one. I can’t travel to an International Convention—even when it was here in Denver (had a bad few days).
I was a Charter Member of the first online-only #Toastmasters club @FirebirdsOnline which was valuable not only for online meeting skills (which are vital in today’s world) but connected me with Toastmasters around the globe.
Twitter is a hard but to crack for #Toastmasters clubs. The number of abandoned accounts attests to this. For members, I think Twitter chats are the best way to connect and learn. Engagement is the goal; simple PR broadcasting doesn’t work here.
It took years to bring #TMTweetChat to fruition. I envisioned it but still didn’t believe it. Now that it exists—it works. Launching this wasn’t self-serving but it does increase my feeling of self-worth, to contribute in a small way to learning & connection.
