XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 01/18/12

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Marianne Gingrich, ex-wife of GOP candidate Newt Gingrich dropped bombshell that could “end” her ex-husband’s career -

According to Drudge Report, Marianne Gingrich — ex-wife of GOP candidate Newt Gingrich — dropped what sources claim is a game-changing bombshell about the former House Speaker — one that could “end” her ex-husband’s career. The interview, conducted last week by Brian Ross, is now causing major waves at the network, according to sources and a “civil war” has since exploded at ABC on exactly when the confession will air.

Drudge reports that executives at ABCNews say it would be “unethical” to run Marianne Gingrich’s interview so close to South Carolina Primary and that a tentative decision has been made to broadcast the interview next Monday after all votes have been counted.

According to Drudge, a source familiar with the incident finds the decision to hold off airing the segment until after the primary odd, given that ABC has been assailing other candidates aggressively.

Gingrich canceled a press conference on Wednesday, reportedly to address the matter.

Read more -
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ex-wife-to-unleash-potentially-career-ending-bombshell-about-gingrich-during-abc-interview-source-claims-network-now-in-civil-war/

Navy’s New Minehunter Can’t See or Stop Mines - and has wicked problems with corrosion -

It’s bad enough that the Navy’s newest ship has had wicked problems with corrosion, missed out on the latest naval wartime missions and is generally something of a Frankenstein’s monster. Now the Pentagon’s top weapons tester has found problems with its abilities to find and withstand mines — which is a big problem for a ship that’s supposed to be the Navy’s minehunter of the future.

That’s the assessment of the director of the Office of Testing and Evaluation, summing up a year’s worth of trials for the Littoral Combat Ship, the Navy’s cherished — and expensive — next-generation ship for warfare close to a shoreline. Little wonder that defense analysts think the ship is headed for the budgetary chopping block, even though the Navy wants 55 of the things and only has three.

The report finds that the Littoral Combat Ship’s systems for spotting mines, the AN/AQS-20A Sonar Mine Detecting Set and the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, are “deficient” for their primary task. That deficiency, if uncorrected, will “adversely affect the operational effectiveness” of a ship that’s already “not expected to be survivable in a hostile combat environment.”

In other words, right now, the Littoral Combat Ship could stumble, Mr. Magoo-like, into a minefield — like, say, the narrow Strait of Hormuz or the coasts of China or North Korea — and then it’s lights out. If the Littoral Combat Ship is going to carry the sonar and laser systems that it’s currently scheduled to carry, then like Fat Joe and Raekwon, it must respect mines.

Some necessary caveats apply. Just because the testers think there’s something wrong with a ship, truck, plane or gun doesn’t mean the program in question is doomed. Testing is how you discover flaws before they put someone in uniform at risk. And with the Littoral Combat Ship, those flaws might actually be less damaging than with some other ships, because everything the ship carries is designed to be modular — meaning you can swap out and substitute most everything on the hull.

At the same time, the inability of the Littoral Combat Ship to withstand a sustained assault places a lot of stress on its minehunting systems. “As designed, it wouldn’t, ideally, go anywhere near a mine field,” explains Chris Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea System Command. “It’s not designed to take a mine strike. It’s designed to send off-board sensors and systems to find and then neutralize the mine.” Emphasis on ideally.

Read more -
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/mines-littoral-combat-ship/

Do you suffer from 'Facebook depression'? - believe that their friends' lives are better than their own -

Have you ever felt as though your social media news feed felt more like a blues feed?

A new study by Utah Valley University looked at the phenomenon generally known as "Facebook depression."

It found that the carefully cultivated image of a happy life by Facebook users - including smiling profile pictures and ubiquitous "best day ever" status updates - can lead some to believe that their friends' lives are better than their own.

Sociologists Hui-Tzu Grace Chou and Nicholas Edge interviewed 425 undergraduate students about their personal happiness and the nature of their Facebook profiles, including the size of their friends list.

According to Chou, "those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives," despite the knowledge that everyone has good and bad days.

The "Facebook depression" phenomenon isn't entirely new - a study in March from the U.S. medical journal Pediatrics found that the website may amplify depression in teens.

Researchers in that study could not agree whether Facebook's effect was an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the site.

Read more -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/01/do-you-suffer-from-facebook-depression.html

New York Moves to Deploy Terahertz Imaging Detection Body Scanners on Street in Search for Guns -

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS in New York his department is looking to deploy Terahertz Imaging Detection scanners on the street in the war on “illegal guns.”

Kelly said the scanners would be used in “reasonably suspicious circumstances” and intended to cut down on the number of stop-and-frisks on the street. So called stop-and-frisks are considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
New York City is largely a Second Amendment free zone. The city’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has said that citizens “acting outside of any governmental military effort” should not be allowed to protect themselves with firearms.
“The NYPD and Department of Defense are working together testing Terahertz Imaging Detection, a new way to get concealed illegal weapons off the streets,” CBS reports. Terahertz Imaging Detection measures energy radiating from the body up to 16 feet away and can detect anything blocking it.
The ACLU and civil libertarians oppose the effort to use the technology on the street. “It’s worrisome. It implicates privacy, the right to walk down the street without being subjected to a virtual pat-down by the Police Department when you’re doing nothing wrong,” the NYCLU’s Donna Lieberman said.
In addition to violating the Fourth Amendment, the proposed technology would subject citizens to a documented health risk – the destruction of DNA.
Studies reveal that THz waves “unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication,” according to MIT’s Technology Review.
For more information, see this paper posted at the Cornell University Library.
If we are to believe CBS, most residents either are not concerned about the privacy aspects of the technology or think it is a reasonable trade-off to stop gun crime and terrorism.
CBS does not mention the ability of THz to destroy DNA. If they did, no doubt most people interviewed would oppose the new technology.

Read more -
http://www.infowars.com/new-york-moves-to-deploy-body-scanners-on-street-in-search-for-guns/

112 Questions To Ask Yourself In 2012 -

The beginning of each year is a great time to evaluate the direction of your life and to ask yourself some very important questions. Often we get so busy just living life that we lose our perspective. It is important for each of us to take time once in a while to reassess how our lives are going. It is also important for all of us to reassess the direction that our nation is heading in every so often. The truth is that America has gotten badly off track. We have abandoned the principles which once made this country great, and this country is literally falling apart all around us. Hopefully the questions below will not just get you focused on our problems. Hopefully they will also spur you to think about solutions. Both individually and as a nation, we are in a lot of trouble. We need to start asking better questions and we need to rediscover the things that once made America the greatest nation on earth. If we are willing to humble ourselves and change course then there is hope for us. If not, then the road that we are currently on will only lead to national disaster.

The following are 112 questions to ask yourself in 2012....

#1 Are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney really the best that America can come up with?

#2 Right now the nations of the world are 55 trillion dollars in debt. How long will it be before this system of debt totally collapses?

#3 What things in life are you truly grateful for? Do you ever take time to thank those that have been so good to you?

#4 In 2012, when you add the maturing debt that the Italian government must roll over to their projected budget deficit, it comes to 23.1 percent of Italy's GDP. How in the world is Italy going to be able to handle that in this economic environment?

#5 What do you feel like you are missing in life? Are you actively looking for those things?

#6 According to a survey conducted by the National Geographic Society, only 37 percent of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 can find Iraq on a map of the world. What does that say about our education system?

#7 Do you give more than you take? Would you rather serve people or be served?

#8 Why were gun sales in the United States at record levels as we entered 2012?

#9 What are you afraid of? Are those fears rational or irrational?

#10 168 million emails are sent every single minute. Are we rapidly getting to the point of information overload?

#11 Do you care enough about other people? Do you spend more time thinking about yourself or thinking about others?

#12 Why are there 18.5 million vacant homes in America today?

#13 Did you spend enough time with your family last year? Will you spend enough time with them this year?

#14 The number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 20 million over the past five years. What does that say about the state of the U.S. economy?

#15 Is your family prepared for what is about to happen to this world?

#16 Why do the poor in America just keep getting poorer?

#17 After you are dead, what will people be saying about you? Will they miss you or will they be glad that you are gone?

#18 Why have 10 million more Americans fallen below the poverty line since 2006?

#19 What do you need to change about yourself?

#20 Should we all be concerned that doctors in India say that "incurable" cases of tuberculosis are showing up in India?

#21 Who do you know that could use some more love?

#22 Why is the Department of Homeland Security scanning Facebook and Twitter for "sensitive words"?

#23 Is your country a better place because you live there?

#24 Why is the FBI building a massive new biometric database?

#25 What do you think your life will be like ten years from now?

#26 40,000 new laws went into effect across the United States as 2012 began. What does that say about the culture in this nation?

#27 If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would that be and why?

#28 What did Mitt Romney mean when he stated that he wants to "eliminate some of the differences, repeal the bad, and keep the good" in Obamacare?

#29 What is the best piece of advice that you have ever gotten? Are you still following it?

#30 Is it a good thing that the wealthiest 10 percent of all Americans have 56 percent of all the wealth?

#31 What books do you need to put on your reading list this year?

#32 About half of all Americans are now either living in poverty or are considered to be low income. So are we still a "wealthy" nation?

#33 What are the things that you do that waste the most time?

#34 Why aren't more Americans concerned that the trade deficit is increasing again? This is one of the things that killed the Greek economy and it is most definitely sucking the life out of our own economy. Could it be that most Americans have become so "dumbed down" that they don't even know what a trade deficit is?

#35 What would happen to you and your family if you suddenly lost your job?

#36 How is Germany able to build twice as many cars every year as the United States does?

#37 Have you done anything worth remembering lately?

#38 Why is the average age of a vehicle in America now sitting at an all-time high?

#39 If you only had one day left to live, how would you spend that day?

#40 How stupid are the American people for piling up 700 billion dollars in credit card debt?

#41 Is there anything that is worth giving your life for?

#42 If Obamacare is so great for working people, then why are so many unions requesting (and getting) Obamacare waivers from the federal government?

#43 Do you believe that you can be a hero?

#44 Why is the government allowing genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in the United States?

#45 What is one great decision that you can make right now?

#46 Why is Mitt Romney taxed at a lower rate than most middle class Americans are?

#47 If someone gave you one million dollars today, how would you spend it?

#48 Who decided that it would be a good idea for TSA "VIPR Teams" to set up thousands of internal checkpoints across the United States every year?

#49 What is the number one thing on your Bucket List? Why haven't you done it already?

#50 Why is the federal government spending billions of dollars to militarize local police departments across the United States?

#51 If it was possible, would you want to live forever?

#52 Should we be concerned that 30% of all Americans get arrested by the age of 23?

#53 Where would you rather be than right here right now?

#54 Why did the D.C. government pass a new law that protects the rights of rats?

#55 Which is greater - the number of people that you love, or the number of people that you hate?

#56 Are CEOs really 243 times more valuable than the average worker is?

#57 What will your legacy be?

#58 Is the massive swarm of earthquakes that New Zealand is experiencing a sign that the "Ring of Fire" is becoming more active?

#59 What would your plan be if there was a major volcanic eruption on the west coast of the United States?

#60 If 63 percent of all mortgaged properties in the state of Nevada are still "underwater", then how in the world can anyone claim that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the housing crisis?

#61 Why is the federal government arresting people who produce raw milk?

#62 Is the world on the verge of an absolutely nightmarish water crisis?

#63 What are you really good at? Are you using that skill to make a difference in the lives of others?

#64 Why is the U.S. government giving nearly half a billion dollars every 12 months to an organization that performs about 300,000 abortions a year?

#65 What is the meaning of life?

#66 Why are so many Planned Parenthood executives earning well over $100,000 a year?

#67 How can you make tomorrow better than today?

#68 While the TSA is groping millions of Americans at airports every year, rampant sex trafficking is going on in virtually every major American city. Isn't it time that we admitted that our allocation of law enforcement resources is very seriously flawed?

#69 How can you make next week better than this week?

#70 One recent survey found that only 29 percent of people would describe themselves as "very happy". So what does that say about the state of our country?

#71 Do you consider yourself to be good? If so, how did you determine that?

#72 If we are on the verge of a global recession, then why is the stock market still so high?

#73 What would happen if government spending was cut by 50 percent?

#74 Is the euro going to eventually fall to parity with the U.S. dollar?

#75 If the euro fails, what will Europe do? Would national currencies make a comeback or would a new "European currency" be created?

#76 Are we getting dangerously close to a war in the Middle East?

#77 What would happen to the price of gasoline if foreign oil supplies from the Middle East were suddenly cut off?

#78 Is Germany going to just stand by and watch Greece default?

#79 Is it likely that your eating habits will send you to an early grave? If so, why not make this the year when they change?

#80 Why aren't politicians from either major political party doing something to stop the massive flood of blue collar jobs that is pouring out of this country? Don't they care about average Americans?

#81 Why do we spend so much time on things that simply do not matter?

#82 Since 1971, consumer debt in the United States has increased by a whopping 1700%. Is that a sign of a nation that is going to be prosperous in the long run?

#83 Does the U.S. need a new major political party?

#84 The U.S. debt problem continues to escalate. During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office. Very few of our politicians seem alarmed by this. Are we the stupidest generation in American history?

#85 Does the U.S. need a new Constitutional Convention?

#86 When we finally see the U.S. economy collapse, who will be in better shape - those that have spent years preparing or those that have not prepared at all?

#87 Are you so afraid to fail that you simply do not even try anymore?

#88 We are facing the most horrific retirement crisis in U.S. history. Right now, more than 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 every single day. So where in the world are we going to get all the money we need to pay them the retirement benefits that we have promised them? Isn't the Social Security system essentially one gigantic Ponzi scheme?

#89 If people started following your example, would that be a good thing?

#90 According to one Gallup survey, 7 out of every 10 Americans believe that religion is losing influence in the United States. Is that good for America or bad for America?

#91 Do you ever do anything that is outside of your comfort zone?

#92 The U.S. dollar has lost well over 95 percent of its value since the Federal Reserve was created, the U.S. national debt is more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was created and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a track record of incompetence that is absolutely mind blowing. So what possible justification is there for allowing the Federal Reserve to continue to issue our currency and run our economy?

#93 If you lost everything that you currently own, would your life be over?

#94 If the European financial system is going to be just fine, then why is the UK government preparing feverishly for the collapse of the euro?

#95 When you meet someone for the first time, do you tend to instantly love them or do you tend to instantly judge them?

#96 If the one thing that almost everyone in the Republican Party seems to agree on is that Obamacare is bad, then why is the candidate that created the plan that much of Obamacare was based upon about to run away with the race for the Republican nomination?

#97 Do you feel like you are truly alive? If not, what can you do to change that?

#98 Why have we allowed the "too big to fail" banks to become even larger?

#99 Who are you living your life for? Does the answer to that question excite you or depress you?

#100 One recent survey found that 77 percent of all U.S. small businesses do not plan to hire any more workers. So where are all of the jobs for the "economic recovery" going to come from?

#101 As you have gotten older, have you also become more loving?

#102 Since 1964, the reelection rate for members of the U.S. House of Representatives has never fallen below 85 percent. How stupid can the American people possibly be? They keep sending the exact same Congress critters back to Washington D.C. over and over and over.

#103 Do you treat others the way that you would like to be treated?

#104 According to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all U.S. adults were married. Without strong family units, can America survive?

#105 Do you prefer to forgive those that have hurt you or do your prefer to hold long grudges?

#106 According to an analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center, the median net worth for households led by someone 65 years of age or older is 47 times greater than the median net worth for households led by someone under the age of 35. So why are so many young people so broke?

#107 Do you tell your family and your friends that you love them or do you just assume that they already know?

#108 According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty. How bad are things going to be when the economy gets even worse?

#109 If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days. How in the world can we justify putting so much debt on to the backs of future generations?

#110 How do you want the story of your life to end?

#111 Will the years ahead find you cowering in fear or will they find you enjoying greater adventures than you ever dreamed of?

#112 If you had the opportunity to tell everyone in America one thing, what would it be?

Read more -
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/112-questions-to-ask-yourself-in-2012

Fake Apple iPad 2s made of clay sold in British Columbia -

Walmart and London Drugs say that fake Apple iPad 2s made of clay are also appearing on their store shelves, a day after electronic giants Future Shop and Best Buy revealed they are launching a major fraud investigation into the scam.

In most of the cases, the popular tablet computers are bought for cash and then swapped out for a piece of modelling clay. The boxes are then re-wrapped and returned to the store, only to end up back on the shelves and resold to other unsuspecting customers.

Future Shop and Best Buy say as many as 10 fake models were sold in their Metro Vancouver locations. A Victoria resident wrote to say she purchased one of the fraudulent models at a Vancouver Island Best Buy on New Year's Day.

Since CTV broadcast its exclusive story about the frauds on Monday, more victims have come forward and two more major retailers have confirmed they're also dealing with the fake products. London Drugs said it is aware of four incidents in the past month. Walmart officials haven't provided an exact tally, but officials said they are investigating fewer than 10 cases.

Scam artists are taking advantage of the popularity of Apple's latest offering, says Future Shop spokesperson Elliott Chun.

"It's really sad that people stoop to these low levels to take advantage of really hot sellers. As you probably know, tablets were the number one touted gift items for the holidays this year," he said.

Dayna Chabot purchased a bogus 32-gigabyte iPad 2 at Walmart in Langley, south of Vancouver, on Jan. 5.

She recalls being shocked opening the "perfectly sealed" box with her boyfriend once they got home -- and seeing a block of clay instead.

"It was all sealed properly and everything. It was the shape of an iPad. They even had a piece of clay where the charger went and everything. Like, they knew what they were doing," she told CTV's Steele on Your Side in a telephone interview.

Chabot said she was immediately worried about how the retail chain would react when she brought back a hunk of clay that she paid $600 for.

"I understood that it could have easily been us that did it and went back. But they were really good about it at Walmart. They were all just kind of baffled," she said.

Chabot was given a full refund within 20 minutes after speaking with a manager. Her experience is quite different from Surrey resident Mark Sandhu, who said he was treated like a criminal by a manager when he tried to return his fake device to Future Shop on Boxing Day. He has since been given a full refund, an apology and a new iPad 2 after coming forward to CTV with his story.

For its part, Apple says it is part of the investigation, but has refused to comment on any of the frauds.

Both Walmart and London Drugs say the shrink-wrapping on the bogus products was professionally done, so the items did not look tampered with.

Future Shop and Best Buy said their policies on returning wrapped tablet computers changed in early January because of the frauds.

"We still give them the benefit of the doubt that they're coming in for a proper return or exchange … and then we will physically open it up right in front of them as well and make sure every component is there," Chun said.

Chun said in the future all iPads sold from Future Shop's stores will only come factory sealed, direct from Apple.

London Drugs is also adjusting its refund procedures for computers in a bid to prevent any more incidents. Returned computers will now be opened in front of the customer.

"It is unfortunate there are criminals who try to take advantage of our commitment to customer service and our customer-focused return policies," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News, adding that fraud is a "well-known and unfortunate phenomenon" that affects all retail business.

Walmart calls the scam "upsetting" but said it will not change its policies at this time.

All of the retailers say they are working with their loss prevention officers as well as corporate security to solve the problem.

While Walmart said it is reaching out to local police as a part of its investigation, neither the Vancouver police nor the RCMP say they've never heard about the scam -- and aren't involved in any probe.

Read more -
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120117/bc_steele_more_ipad_fraud_120117/20120118/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

The 100 Twitter Rules To Live By -

1. Twitter is for everyone. A person in any profession can help his or her career if he or she utilizes it correctly.

2. Only follow your friends if they have something you want to hear. Facebook is for friendships.

3. For the rest of eternity, no one is going to believe you if you said you were hacked, even if you were. Sorry.

4. Please don't link your Foursquare and Twitter accounts. Your Twitter followers signed up for your Twitter content, not the fact that you just became the mayor of Starbucks.

5. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your Twitter account. Developing a strong following takes time and effort.

6. Always credit your source if you find content worth sharing. Think like a journalist when you're passing along quality info.

7. Don't ask to be followed. Twitter is a meritocracy. Earn it.

8. Don't tweet out inspirational quotes unless that's the purpose of your account. By now everyone has heard "Carpe Diem, seize the day." -Horace

9. Don't tweet that you are bored. Now I am too.

10. If you follow someone, don't be offended if they don't follow you back. Not everyone plays for "Team Followback." Earn their follow from strong, periodic @replies if you feel that you have something to offer.

11. Don't be tempted by the speed of Twitter. Take a breath before each tweet and ask, "If I was a follower, would I want to read this?” If not, delete it.

12. Unless you are a pro athlete, don't tell me that you are at the gym. I get it, you work out.

13. Proofread your tweets. The amount of typos in 140 characters is mind blowing.

14. Find your Twitter niche, but don't be afraid to branch out a little. Most followers enjoy a little variety every now and then.

15. Quantity of tweets is fine as long as it's quality. I average more than 40 tweets a day.

16. Unless you are 14 years old, don't make your account private. No strangers will want to request to follow you.

17. Do not use a default Twitter background. Instead, use an image or photo that complements your interests or personality.

18. Follow Friday’s are perhaps the emptiest tweets on all of Twitter, unless you tell me why they deserve my follow.

19. Want to give your recommendation more oomph? Do it on Tuesday; nobody is expecting it.

20. Just because you are getting slammed doesn't mean you should blame Twitter. Learn to absorb the hate and get a thicker skin, it's useful in life.

21. If you're RTing (retweeting) someone with comment, it's OK to shorten up their original tweet in order to keep it under 140. Just don't alter the original person's intended message.

22. Don’t harbor on the fact that you lost one follower. Rejoice in the fact that you gained two.

23. Athletes & celebs blame Twitter when “sharing” goes wrong. It’s not the sharing of information that’s the issue, it’s what you share.

24. Never ask for a RT (Retweet) for your birthday (or for any reason).

25. Never fulfill a birthday RT request.

26. Your avatar should intrigue/humor viewers. Change it up. But whatever you do, no animated GIFs! (Graphics Interchange Format)

27. Make good use of your Twitter bio space. "Mother, Sister, Daughter, Lover of Life" does absolutely nothing to spark someone's interest.

28. Don't get offended if someone unfollows you. Instead, use it as a learning experience. Perhaps your tweets need some tweaking. Everyone is entitled to a trial run before purchasing your product.

29. People love screengrabs. Those that are experts at capturing the perfect TV shot (like @bubbaprog and @jose3030) do well on Twitter.

30. Know when something has reached a critical mass. Look around to see if your entire timeline has tweeted the same quote. Hold back.

31. Know why people follow you. If you're a foodie, don't send 20 Florida Marlins tweets on a single night.

32. Instead of complaining about spam bots offering you free iPads, take 3 seconds and report them as spam. Help solve the problem.

33. Check out your followers. If someone's bio looks interesting, follow them.

34. Go through who you're following every few months. Weed out the bad, the non-existent & those you feel don't suit your interests.

35. If you get retweeted, don't automatically expect new followers. People evaluate your feed before following, so it's not an automatic process.

36. Twitter Search may be the most valuable search engine on the Internet. Use it.

37. Always put your comment before the RT. Commenting after the original tweet makes it difficult to distinguish your comment from the original.

38. Twitter is the ultimate on-the-go tool. Find an app you can tweet most comfortably with & learn the heck out of it.

39. Don’t tweet and drive. Unless you are very good at it.

40. Twitter isn’t a Monday to Friday site. It flows straight through the weekend.

41. Don't ask your followers what’s going on with a certain topic. Follow the right people & use Twitter’s search box.

42. Double-check your links to make sure they work prior to tweeting. If you do happen to screw up a tweet, don't follow up with a "Whoops, here's the correct link" tweet. Just remove the old and tweet the new.

43. Have a friend who bashes the fact that you’re on Twitter? Log them in for a week & show them how it works. In no other walk of life have people bashed something so fervently that they haven’t tried.

44. Friend didn’t adhere to Tip 43? People who don't use Twitter don't get it. They’ll mock you, but it's their loss. Keep doing your thing.

45. Want to partake in a funny movie-related trending topic? Tweet one, not ten.

46. Good follow partaking in #AnnoyingHashtag? Some Twitter apps have a temporary "Hide" or “Mute” feature. (Your secret is safe with me.)

47. Often referred to as a "Master Tweet," never, ever RT yourself.

48. When sharing a link, try to add a little flavor to it. Your followers want content from a person, not a robot.

49. Ask your followers for good accounts to follow. Twitter can suggest everyone they want to, but the best follows will come from your followers.

50. Create lists to sort your interests. It will come in handy when you want a specific group’s most recent tweets.

51. Don't announce when you've unfollowed someone. Egos run rampant enough on Twitter, so just quietly unfollow and move on.

52. Don’t obsess about missing something in your timeline. Obsess about furthering the dialogue.

53. See a tweet with content that you'd like to check out later? Many Twitter apps have an "E-mail Tweet" option. Maximize efficiency by using your inbox as your personal "to-do" list. Also, “Favorite” a tweet for later.

54. Avoid using underscores and long, jumbled number sequences in your Twitter handle. People should be able to recite your handle from memory.

55. Don't RT something with comment that is better suited for an @reply or DM. Wasting your followers' time is a no-no.

56. Stop tweeting how much your Twitter account is valued at. The only thing your account is worth at that point is an unfollow.

57. Don't tweet about something amazing you just saw without including a pic. That's the ultimate Twitter tease right there.

58. People don't care what you’re doing, they care what you’re seeing.

59. If you are going to tweet a long quote, use Twitlonger. Don't continue a quote through three tweets. It becomes very fragmented since most people are following a lot of people.

60. Short tweets stand out. Try saying something poignant in 50 characters. It has a great chance of getting RT'd.

61. If you're a journalist, take it easy on the pre-promotion. Reading that you are going to be on in Grand Rapids is annoying. Now if you say something good after you're done in Grand Rapids, tweet it out.

62. Don't go too long without checking your @mentions. Twitter isn't a one-way street and you should take in valuable feedback.

63. Just because this isn't face-to-face communication doesn't mean you should disrespect people. There are real humans behind the computers.

64. Only change your Twitter handle if you're absolutely convinced that it will be a smart move in the long haul (i.e., fewer characters, easier to remember, etc.). Your handle becomes your identity. Change your background/avatar/bio if you're looking to switch things up.

65. Don't give your followers a play-by-play or box score of a sporting event. If they are interested, they are watching.

66. Go easy on the Instagrams. Yes, your iPhone takes pretty good pics and there's an app to age them. It doesn't make you a professional photographer.

67. Show your gratitude when a company goes above and beyond for you. If you are impressed, let your followers know.

68. When mentioning a person or brand, use their Twitter handle if they use the service.

69. Unless replying to a specific Tweet, don’t start your entry with an @mention because only those who follow that person / brand will see it (unless that is your intention).

70. If including a photo with your message, make sure it is crisp and represents the subject matter correctly.

71. All photos should have the correct orientation, don’t make someone rotate their head when you could take the time to rotate the photo.

72. If you have 200,000 followers and you follow no one, you aren’t getting the full Twitter experience. Twitter isn't a megaphone, it's a telephone.

73. Don't always use Twitter's "Retweet" button. If you find something worth retweeting, use "RT" & get the credit you deserve for finding it.

74. Get hate-tweets? It probably means you're doing something right. Chances are the hater has less than 200 followers anyway.

75. Following athletes/celebrities is usually pointless. Twitter is about good tweets; not hearing an NBA star say, "What's good, fellas?!" Make a list if you want to follow them, but don't invite them into your timeline.

76. Run a company? Don't have your employees sign the tweets with their personal signature. Followers don't care & you're just wasting characters. Unless it’s “BO” on the White House feed.

77. Have a good tweet at 3:17AM? If you're not the first to tweet the Vancouver riot kissing couple, hold on to it. Chances are you'll get more eyeballs at 10:00AM.

78. Use a real location in your bio, not a state of mind or something pretentious like “On the move."

79. Have 3 good tweets to send out that aren't time sensitive? Schedule them at different times (you can use platforms like Tap 11) so each one gets the proper attention.

80. Network! Twitter allows you to connect with just about anyone. Reach out... You'd be surprised how quickly you can hit it off.

81. Don't plainly RT someone; add your touch to the tweet - even if it's just a word or two.

82. Choosing a new Twitter name? Again, keep it short. Do the talking in your bio (i.e. @JoeSmithWCQR should be @JoeSmith).

83. When someone visits your account, your tweets are your resume. Fill it up with @mentions and you're missing out on potential new followers.

84. Stop forming your tweets as hypothetical letters to inanimate objects. "Dear Sun: I am very hot today. Shine away. Sincerely, Me." This was creative about a year ago.

85. If you have a critical mass of followers, use amount of retweets and mentions on certain topics to gauge what's generally hot and what's generally not.

86. Keep the smiley faces & CAPS to a bare minimum. I'm sure you're happy, but you're not that HAPPY.

87. Funny tweets speak for themselves. There's no need to add "lol" in a retweet.

88. Stay away from song lyrics, even if it describes your mood perfectly.

89. Don't overdo it with the #hashtags. A few key words is fine, but the run-on sentence hash tag has been done.

90. If any athlete/celebrity ever says anything good, it will be retweeted quickly.

91. Don't be afraid to follow, and tweet out, strangers. There are smart people outside of your circle of friends.

92. Never RT a list of Follow Friday's that someone included you in. If you're really that excited about it, mark it as a Favorite and spare your followers.

93. If you're with a group of people who also happen to have Twitter, refrain from going on a tweet-tagging spree. Instead, take a picture and tag your friends on Facebook.

94. If you're using Twitter primarily via text, you're selling yourself short. Depending on your notifications setup, you'll be either bombarded or behind. Also, good luck fixing errant tweets. It's time to invest in a smart-phone.

95. If you experience Twitter writer's block, just take a break. You don't have a daily quota to meet, so there's no need to force it. Your followers will be pleased with consistent, quality content.

96. Get people who surround you on a daily basis on Twitter. Believe me, it’s a marriage tip too.

97. Don’t tweet during important life occasions. Savor the moment; Twitter will be there for you when it’s all done.

98. Klout Score > Follower Count. Check out Klout.com and see where you rank.

99. I don't care how ugly you think you are, set an avatar. Nobody wants to follow a colored egg. It only means your future on Twitter is "cooked."

100. Spend time with people you know in real life because who are you going to talk to when Twitter gets over capacity?

Read more -
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43759244