Ten Years After...

Today marks ten years since our move from sunny San Diego (where I grew up) to the beautiful, green and rustic woods near Gig Harbor, Washington. I woke up this morning with the smell of Fall in the air and realized what a wonderful life-changing move it was. We still spend lots of time back in Southern California visiting family and friends but Washington has really become our home.

We were in escrow and packing for the move on September 11, 2001 when America's world was turned upside down. In a way, it was good for us to be consumed with the details of moving and settling into our new home in the woods. It immediately became like a cozy cocoon and a sanctuary for us - a safe place in a world that was suddenly unsafe.

Plus, we've got our own backyard bear (Rosie) who comes around every year from April thru October to tear down our bird-feeder and peer through our windows.

And, of course, we have Mt Rainier - at least on clear days.

I've got my office looking out on the woods, with fast Internet and all the techie tools to support my work. We can't see any of our neighbors' houses unless we go stand out in the front yard, and we've gotten snowed in a couple of times in the Winter - - but we're close enough to Tacoma and Seattle to get a little culture whenever we need it.

It's a perfect place to write and to think... and a truly great place to live.

I am wonderfully blessed! Looking forward to the next ten years here.

As someone who manages numerous Twitter accounts, both for my own businesses and for my clients, I found these recent statistics from eMarketer quite interesting. It seems like almost everyone (92%) is aware of Twitter but a much smaller percentage (13%) have used it.
Of course, it's important to keep in mind that the usage number has grown by more than 62% in the past year.
In managing client Twitter accounts, I've found that it has become a very rich source for connecting with "active influencers" such as trade publication editors, industry analysts, etc. as well as with prospects and customers.
With some targeted up front work and a commitment to on-going activity, it's now pretty easy to quickly build a quality following/follower list and to become a recognized participant in specific communities of interest.
While broad-based Twitter usage still has a relatively long way to go, it has already become a very useful tool in the overall bag of business-to-business marketing methods.