Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

Twittering Away in Amish Country

I am honored to have been included in the Lancaster Twitterati roll call created by Daniel Klotz of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce. Folks, if you have any connection at all to Lancaster, PA, whether as a tourist or as a current or former resident, and if you are currently on Twitter or are considering joining, these are the folks you want to follow!

One of the pluses of having some extra time on my hands recently is that I have had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends, forge new friendships with some very good folks, and reconnect with the goings-on in my own town. The folks you'll find in the Lancaster Twitterati list are a large part of what rekindled that hometown pride.

Twitter, like any other Social Network, does have a global reach. But one of the neatest aspects of Twitter is its ability to bring together a strong local community, who can not only serve as ambassadors for their locale but can also work together to improve it.

If you are reading this saying, "Great, Bryan, but I'm not in Lancaster, PA, and have no reason ever to be," I say to you: Create the Twitterati Roll Call for your town. Build the group that will welcome travelers to your community, that will foster that sense of local pride, and who can be your ambassadors to the Twitter universe. Not sure who those folks might be? There is a great piece of Freeware called TwitterLocal that allows you to filter down your Twitter stream to a particular zip code or area, and can give you a start on discovering your Twitterati.

Oh, and even if you're not from around here, consider following the folks on the Lancaster Twitterati list. I can attest to the fact that they are among the most friendly, open, and occasionally goofy group of folks you'll find.