http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/ en Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:08:50 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.chatanplay.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-part-3-278/ Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:05:06 GMT Its been almost a week now since I had the surgery. :nurse: The wound on my neck is healing much better than I thought it would considering the... Its been almost a week now since I had the surgery. :nurse:

The wound on my neck is healing much better than I thought it would considering the problems I had with my previous surgery. Basically, the previous incision opened up 3 times, and had to be restitched. During this time, the wound became infected, and greatly delayed the healing process.

My voice is still pretty husky, but is starting to come back a little. Occasionally, i get a deep tone pop out, rather than the sound of Rod Stewart on a bad day :)

The thing that causes me the most problems at the moment, is the pain at the back of my neck, where the surgery actually took place. Holding my in a normal position aggravates the neck and makes things worse.

As previously mentioned, a cage was implanted to replace the disc that was removed, and in time, this will heal, and Fuse the surrounding bone in my spine together.

The pain I'm getting is simply where the surgeon was manipulating the disks, and prodding and probing around. The pain at the moment is actually more than it was before prior to surgery. Sitting upright, particularly in front of the computer is very uncomfortable, to say the least. I can only manage a little at a time before I call it a day.

Surprisingly, I haven't been given a Neck Brace this time, to help take the weight and offer support to me neck. I've been told this is due to the disk being lower down in the neck, a Neck Brace wouldn't achieve very much, if in fact anything at all. Its just a matter of resting the neck as much as I can during the fusing process.

Im still taking antibiotics, to try and get rid of the chest infection i managed to pick up, and think its starting to clear up a little now. I still feel and sound a little wheezy, and chest hurts a little when breathing in and out, but other than that, not too bad.

It's Still early days, in fact its been just 6 days since surgery, so all in all, doing pretty good so far ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-part-3-278/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-part-2-277/ Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:53:40 GMT Well, finally the day came, and I went into hospital on Monday 13th at 7.15am. Got changed into the Hospitals standard Operating gown, complete... Well, finally the day came, and I went into hospital on Monday 13th at 7.15am.

Got changed into the Hospitals standard Operating gown, complete with Paper Underwear ( very sexy ).

Around 9.15, I was finally ushered of to the Operating theatres Holding room.

The best news I was given, was that the surgeon would not be using a bone graft from my hip to use as a replacement of the disk for fusion. When I had my last double fusion, I remember the hip being the most painful and also taking the longest time to heal. Instead, they would be using an artificial disc with cage implantation.

This image shows what it looks like when in place. Please note that this isnt my neck though ;)

The surgery took just under 4 hours, and I woke up in the recovery room with no pain or discomfort of any kind. After staying there for about an hour or so, I was moved onto the main ward.

Not long after moving onto the surgical ward, the anaesthetic had completely worn off, and the pain suddenly kicked in. As is usual these days, you are put on a machine that dispenses morphine as and when you want it. Surprisingly though, the dosage I was getting didn't come anywhere near close enough to giving any relief, and it had to be topped up with other drugs.


The first night on the ward was horrible. The Obs were done on the hour, every hour and as such I wasn't able to get any sleep at all.

The very next day, the staff were talking about how many new patients they had coming in, and how they had no bed spaces for them. Others on the ward also had surgery that same day for things such as Hip and Knee replacements. We were all told we would more than likeley be discharged the following day due to the bed shortfall.

At this point, I, along with a few other patients weren't even able to get out of bed, let alone walk about, so to be told wed be going home the next day seemed a little unrealistic.

On my 2nd night, a doctor came for a chat and listened to my chest. He sent me off for a chest xray, and said the results were " suspicious " and that I had managed to pick up a chest infection, a minor case of pneumonia, so was put on antibiotics straight away.

On the third day, I was told I was able to go home, which was great. Its so much better being in the comfort of your own home to recover, rather than having to listen to all the bells, beeps and alarms that go off in hospital, not to mention the "snoring".


The pain at the moment is unbearable at times, and is actually worse in my neck area than it was before the surgery. Also, as partly expected, My voice is pretty much gone. I can manage a few croaks and at times sound like one of the chipmunks :) I am hoping this will soon pass, though it has been mentioned that sometimes with this procedure, you never get your voice back properly. Fingers crossed on that one.

Im glad I had the surgery though, and the one thing that has gone, is the pain, tingling and numbness in my right arm and hand. I no longer have the burning sensation in my little and ring finger. Before the OP, this was something i had to endure 24 hours a day with no relief.

Will update again in a few days :) ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-part-2-277/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-acdf-276/ Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:24:11 GMT I thought it might be interesting, and of some use to anyone else who may have to go through this procedure, to have a journal of my experience with... I thought it might be interesting, and of some use to anyone else who may have to go through this procedure, to have a journal of my experience with the operation.

This will be my third fusion, having already had disks C4 - C5 and C5 - C6 already fused.




At the time of the last surgery, I simply reached over to turn the alarm clock off, and slipped two disks. Since then, following surgery, I have been in constant pain, and have been told that I have muliple level compression at other levels of my cervical spine ( Neck ).

The pain I experiance is all over my right shoulder, down My right Arm, and into my hand. My left Little finger and ring finger constantly burn and have pins and needles. The main thing thing though is the loss of strength in the hand. Even opening a door, or turning a key in a lock causes problems with this hand.

Anyway, after numerous tests, and a long wait, Ive finally been told that level C7 - T1 of my spine is putting pressure on my spinal cord, and it this that is causing my "main" symptoms.

Surgery is scheduled for later today.

I really am looking forward to getting some relief from this, but due to the other areas of my neck which are compressed and pushing against the spinal cord, I feel it will only be temporary until the other areas degenerate.

One of the main reasons I have been less active on chatanplay, is I find it hard sitting at a computer for any lenght of time before it becomes uncomfortable. I do however sit in fornt of a PC for 12 hour shifts, which if Im honest, find unbearable at times. Needs must though, and Bills still need to be paid.

Anyway, I digress.

I will post another entry as soon as i can after surgery, and let you know how things are doing.

Thanks for reading :) ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/anterior-cervical-discectomy-fusion-journal-acdf-276/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/surgery-now-pending-274/ Sun, 08 May 2011 00:40:09 GMT Been awhile, so time I did an update :)

Having seen the surgeon, and had a "wasted" second nerve conduction test, to rule out any problems with right Ulnar neuropathy, It has Finally been confirmed that I have Multi Level compressive cervical radiculopathy.

In simple terms, I need more spine surgery and need another vertabrae to be removed and fused.

The surgeon went into great detail about the possible complications, some of which I experianced on my last 2 level fusion. These Include:

• Wound Infection
• Bleeding
• Hoarseness
• Swallowing Difficulty
• Perforation of the oesophagus
• Cerebrospinal Leakage
• Nerve or spinal cord damage
• Muscle weakness or paralysis in arms, Legs or trunk
• Loss of bladder function
• Loss of sexual function

As mentioned, I had some of the above previously, but despite the risks, am going ahead with the surgery due to the amount of pain I am currently in.

I continue to work and plod on without pain relief, simply because the morphene makes me spaced out and not able to concentrate on anything, and also knocks me out :)

It will be so nice to be pain free if all goes well.

The only concern I have, is that my issues are Multi Level again, and only the vertebrae at level C7 - T1 is being fused. This means the other areas will still be a problem for me, and may need further surgery at a later date. Personally, id prefer they did it all in one go...

Will keep you updated when I know more :) ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/surgery-now-pending-274/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/under-knife-postponed-273/ Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:12:36 GMT After what seemed like an eternity, I finally had my appointment to see the surgeon about issues Im having with my Neck. He had my MRI scan... After what seemed like an eternity, I finally had my appointment to see the surgeon about issues Im having with my Neck.

He had my MRI scan reports and confirmed to me that there are three further areas of my neck that have gotten worse. Basically, the canals from which nerves emerge from the spine, have narrowed significantly, and as such, the nerves get pushed against the spinal cord. This in turn is what causes me the severe pain i experiance.

He did mention that the pain I get in my right hand and fingers, can also be caused my a trapped nerve in the elbow, and wants me to have a nerve conduction test before he decides what to do next. I explained to him that I had already had this conduction test done, and I was even able to describe word for word what the results came back and said. I DO NOT need this conduction test, but because he could not find any notes from my GP, he is making me have the test again.

SO Frustrating. I know there is no trapped nerve in my elbow, and I also know that any movement of my neck, triggers the pain in right hand. The surgeon has confirmed issues in my neck, so why oh why am I having to undergo a procedure that simply isnt neccesary.

I desperateley need to try and find a job, and feel that any delay is a delay I could well do without. Money is at an all time low for us.

I will have this test again, and then wait to see the surgeon again. this could be weeks away, an I wonder what will happen, or not happen as may be the case.

Watch this space. ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/under-knife-postponed-273/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/prince-mio/world-aint-right-271/ Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:37:43 GMT * Something must be wrong with the world these days or maybe it is only me. It is hard, if ever possible to tell, but even though I feel so much...
Something must be wrong with the world these days or maybe it is only me. It is hard, if ever possible to tell, but even though I feel so much stronger inside, there are little things that are too disturbing... Coming back to life has never been easy, but realizing that the whole world is rolling down the hill and appears far not as you thought it is, hurts, to say the least. Maybe the world still spins the same, but some people have changed and it feels just as if the weight of the world got too heavy for some people I considered special and they just took an easy way to go through life, - without fighting and without standing for their beliefs. I really want to thank all of the people here for staying true and for being true friends, for not forgetting me, for always keeping the doors open for me. I can't find the right words to explain how much it means to me. I love you all very much and thank you for all you have done for me in the past and for all the things you do to keep me going, to keep my hopes up high.

The week that passed has been really difficult in terms of health. My heart was failing and my blood was changing all the time which got all the doctors frightened and confused. I could not say what went wrong. I felt really weak and it was hard to do just anything, but the sleep and rest did not help any. I wasn't feeling sad or terribly tired. Every move was echoing with dull pain and all of the feelings felt as if half erased. The taste of food seemed dull and all my body felt really strange. When my immunity would decrease, it usually felt this way, but this time it took too long and my immunity did not go beyond the critical level. I was close to panic myself, but decided to let it go and do not force myself to anything. Pappa was told that it would be better to put me to the hospital, but we had to refuse due to pappa's work and Lex.

Few days ago Lex got verbally hurt by a very close person and even though he took it well, it somehow struck me bad and I just did not expect it from someone so close and the insult was health related. I still try to understand where do people find so much cruelty. Lorenz said that it is natural to men, to some part of our being, but while he may be right to some extent, there must be something that is forcing inner insecurities turn to outward failures. It is hard to tell.

I am trying to spend a little time online and I have tried to visit few places where I have been before all the bad events took place in my life. It feels strange, but no one seems to remember me. I took it with a smile as there is not much I can do. This time Lex got teary and told me that they weren't real friends if they can't remember who I am or if they remind and say nothing at all and keep cold or ignoring. I am not going to walk through the same river again and I hope that if I am taking it right, then Lex will not get sad. I spoke to him and tried to explain. Then we spoke of how much hard it is for me to start talking to certain people again... And once again, I want to thank everyone in here for remembering me, for doing so much for me, for all of your care and love. *hugs you all tight*
]]> prince mio http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/prince-mio/world-aint-right-271/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/prince-mio/unconditional-love-270/ Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:16:29 GMT *Out of all the things we have been given by God, we have time and even though it may seem eternal, it is still not and the time has the ability to... Out of all the things we have been given by God, we have time and even though it may seem eternal, it is still not and the time has the ability to pass and every little moment that forms eternity in the end can still be considered dead and probably alive only in our memories and no matter how hard we might be trying to save them, help them remain, they are still not eternal. But there is still something that passes through the minutes of time, the ravages of fate and bad luck, something that knows no distance and no conditions. It is love, the unconditional love. And I am not speaking of human desires or the attraction caused by the physical chemistry which is also a mystery on its own, but I speak of the deeper feeling that unites us all no matter what we believe in, no matter what may all of our intentions be, something that still guides us and makes us stop when we are close to the edge, when we are close to anger, when we are wishing to smack someone's face and when we feel like we had enough and have no wish to go on. Love is the only eternal power and love is what God means to me. Even for people that claim they do not believe in God, I always reply that God means love to me and backwards, the unconditional love that asks no questions where not needed, love not demanding for anything at all, love that forgives, listens and even learns the hard way with the trial and error.

I have been thinking for the causes and the reasons of the darkness and the anger that we all see around us. I have been thinking of the reasons why I have been showing the weakness through life, why I could not be brave enough and defend myself, try to feel what my heart is telling me. I know that even though I have always tried to fight matrix of this world, I still allowed it to swallow me and I had to learn all the things again right from the start. It was not only physically, but also deep inside of me I had to play the game of connecting all the dots into lines and trying to link all of my inner strength with the present day. Remembering everything, feeling all of the broken bones still aching and all the hurt still bing there was not easy and it is still not easy to bear with all of it. I had to be painfully honest with myself and had to admit where I went wrong and where I have made my mistakes. I knew that I still had to go on and with so many questions still left without an answer, I fought and tried to define all of the feelings and emotions that were filling me up.

Each time something went wrong and I was hurt and insulted, it just made me realize that probably I was not good enough, was not sincere enough to show these people that I never meant any harm and it felt bad that I could not show them a way out of anger and the fear, the way out from the cage of being the tiny angry creature that tries to defend itself using the Sicillian defense.

But now the hardest part is to realize that people have seen you in the wrong light and it is one of the peculiarities of this life that always come in a new and unique package where no experience of the past ever helps. It is always a surprise and very often people ask me if I do regret something or if I am for real because they can not believe that there is truly these feelings and the words behind them mean what they really do. The answer is to try to love unconditionally, for no profit, sake or a reason. To love and care because we all need to hold on to something that is eternal... ]]> prince mio http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/prince-mio/unconditional-love-270/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/my-recent-experiance-nhs-262/ Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:51:43 GMT As some of you may know, I suffer with severe pain in my neck due to disc problems. The pain over the last few month has been getting unbearable.... As some of you may know, I suffer with severe pain in my neck due to disc problems. The pain over the last few month has been getting unbearable. Pain is now across my right shoulder and radiates down my right arm and also lately, into the right hand. I approached the Dr to try and get something to help better manage the pain and was given Diclofenac and Dihydrocodeine. ( im already on morphine ). My normal Doctor wasn't available so I had to see a Locum.

Friday afternoon, I started to throw up, and this continued all through the night. I was vomiting Blood by the tub full and at one point was doubled up in pain on the kitchen floor. At around 6am, I called NHS direct and was advised to get straight to A&E. I woke Tracey and Wills, and off we went. Whilst there, they immediately booked me in. I was given some meds, and the vomiting settled down. The following day, a Dr said I needed to have a blood test and then I could go home, he also advised that an appointment would be made for me to have an Endoscopy as an outpatient. The nurse did query with the doctor as to whether I needed to wait until the results of the blood test were back and he said no.

That Evening ( Sunday ), we were settling down to watch the X factor, and the hospital rang. They said my blood test results were back and that it showed my haemoglobin levels had dropped, possibly indicating that I was still bleeding internally. I was asked to get there asap and that a bed was ready waiting for me.

Tracey took me back in, only to find there wasn't any bed for me. we had to wait hours until one did appear. I was advised a Dr would come and see me to explain what was going on. No Dr ever did see me.

The following Morning, I was taken down for endoscopy. This was on Monday morning. Still no one came to see me to explain anything. Even during Meal times, I was skipped, and was told my name wasn't on the list! Despite constantly asking to see someone, I never did. It got to the point that I told Tracey I was going to discharge myself...I was that peeved off!

Anyway, Tracey rang the hospital, and spoke to head nurse. It turns out the nurse had no idea of the mess of the situation, and that I had been missed of all the lists.

This explains why no doctor came to see me, and also why I had no food. Even the medication I took in with me, I wasn't allowed to have it. Bear in mind, this medication is what I am on for pain relief! and without it cant function very well. ( I don't function to well while im on it, feel sleepy all the time, but at least it helped control pain lol )

There are several other things that went wrong and im sure when Chewy reads this, she will fill in the missing details.

Finally, and only because Tracey phoned and gave em hell, I was told that during the Endoscopy, they took a couple of Biopsies and found i had swelling in my oesophagus. They were still uncertain whether the bleeding was due to the new meds i was prescribed, or whether it was caused by the swelling they found. They still haven't got the results of the Biopsy yet, so not sure what that will show.

Finally I was discharged with a whole load of medication.

The irony of all of this is simply that I approached my GP to get help with the severe pain I am in ( neck / shoulder and arm ), and this issue is still left Unresolved. I still throw up after eating, and feel bloated inside, haven't been to the loo for over a week now and generally am feeling a little unwell.

Tracey has made me an appointment with my "proper" Dr for next week, and I am waiting on another appointment with neurologist.

If you've managed to read this far, thanks lol. So due to all the above, if im not as active on the site as i usually am, hopefully this will explain the reasons why. ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/my-recent-experiance-nhs-262/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-can-you-increase-your-twitter-followers-252/ Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:53:11 GMT How do i Increase My Number of Twitter Followers?

Many people, in fact millions of people, are now using Twitter. That's a whole lot of people! If you could gain even a very small percentage of these people as your targeted followers, you could market yourself and your products to them quite successfully. But there are some things that are important to cover before you can start amassing your targeted followers. If you miss these steps, you are not making the most of your time and efforts to get followers and if you can't get followers, how can you brand yourself, let alone make a sale?

I'd like to first ask you to turn the tables… what makes you want to follow someone on Twitter?

A Bio
Having a bio on your Twitter page is very important. Do not skip this step. If you don’t know how to create one, have a look at the bios of Twitterers which you admire or are in your same subject. Bios are a very individual thing, but you can get a feel by looking at what others have done.

People like to tell with a quick glance what you're about. Without having any bio, you're shooting yourself in the foot because they won't be back. Consider getting one up as soon as possible. What you put is very important as well. If it's just a pitch fest for your products, it's certain to scare people off. Your bio should display what your business interests are first, then some of your own personal interests and possibly some humor.


An Avatar
Twitter has a default avatar - a brown square with o_0 in it, but that is certainly certainly not you. This is the spot where you show your real face to the world, so to speak. If people get to associate your face with great twitter posts, they are much more likely to click on your links. Not having a image does not endear you to people and many won't follow you exclusively based on the no picture thing.

What exactly is in your Twitter Stream
Do you send out marketing, or always send out random tweets to no one in particular? Potential followers don't want to see that, these people want to be able to interact and have conversations. They want to follow people who can help them with their problems or answer questions. If your Twitter stream shows you haven't "talked" to people with @replies then you are seen as only caring about you.

Conversely, if your Twitter stream shows you are communicating and creating relationships, you turn out to be much more fascinating to them. As soon as they get to know you, they are much more likely to follow your links.
Well, There you have it. A few Simple Twitter Tips to help you get more followers. The bottom line is you need followers, especially targeted followers before you can use Twitter to help your business bottom line. ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-can-you-increase-your-twitter-followers-252/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-waste-time-251/ Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:20:04 GMT Is Twitter a Waste of Time?



Unless you have been living in a cave, you will of course have heard of Twitter.

Twitter is a social media platform that is not going anywhere soon. Many people poo-poo Twitter claiming it's a colossal waste of precious time and no one wants to hear what other people had for lunch. Others claim Twitter has helped them land jobs. Still others say that because of their Twitter use they've seen a surge in income. Which is true?

All three.

Yes, Twitter is a social tool. It's a way to talk to your friends as well as make new friends and talk to them too. Twitter has also helped people find 9 to 5 jobs and given some contract workers more than enough work to do. Entrepreneurs have made money with Twitter by tweeting about their blog posts and selling their products to those in need.

But.... Twitter can easily eat away at your time. You can blow hours just b.s.ing with your new friends - cracking jokes and retweeting some excellent one-liners. In order for Twitter to work for you while you still get the important things done during your day, you have to go about it smart-like.

Have a purpose before you log into Twitter. Obviously you can't just tweet your promos and leave, or when people look at your Twitter stream they are going to consider you a spammer. No, you need to have a plan.

Let's say you want to promote your ebook about xyz. Start off in the morning by saying hi to your friends, some individually, the rest in mass, and answer some of the tweets you see.

You don't want to read every single tweet - that could take hours and hours and hours if you have a lot of followers. Look at maybe the first two pages.

Next do a search using Twitter's search function to look for any comments or questions regarding xyz or similar. Answer any of those tweets that you can. Now you have several tweets under your belt for the day and you can go ahead and tweet your xyz promo. Then leave!

Come back midday and again read the first one or two Twitter pages and shoot off a few answering tweets. Retweet any great quotes or other tweets you find informative. Don't forget to check the @yourname mentioned function to see who's talking to you so you can answer them. Send off a few tips about xyz that are useful information to others, including a link to your new blog post. Tweet your xyz promo again, using different wording from your first promo tweet. Then leave!

In the evening, repeat the process of answering tweets, sending out a few more xyz tips, and retweeting. Send yet another xyz promo. Then leave!

You are not being a pushy salesman by tweeting about your product promo three times in one day because you've got lots of other tweets going out between each one. Plus, people are not on Twitter all the time. Some people are only on in the morning or evening, plus you need to remember there can be quite a time difference between where you are and where your next Twitter follower is based.

To sum it up, plan your time with Twitter and use it as a business tool. It's a great way to market your products or website if you do it right and don't spend all your time there. Go on with a purpose and set a timer to limit your tweeting if you have to. ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-waste-time-251/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-etiquette-250/ Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:51:38 GMT Twitter Etiquette and Beyond



Twitter may be the latest, hottest thing in social marketing right now and it's still evolving. But even though it's fairly new there are unspoken Twitter Etiquette rules that you should consider following. Twitter comes with some concrete guidelines like Ye Will Not Spam other people, you cannot use another person's name, and you also can't follow a lot of new people in a single day, amongst others. Nevertheless, there aren't written guidelines concerning considerate Twitter usage and if you are fairly new to Twitter they might be a little fuzzy to you.

Let's discover a few areas concerning Twitter manners now. The reason is because you need to not just have followers, but you want to build human relationships with these followers so that they will value you, provide you with lucrative deals and/or purchase from you.

1. The Golden Rule. Do unto other people as you would have them do unto you. This does apply to Twitter. If somebody takes time to reply to your tweet, say thanks to them or agree with them or something. Be respectful and respond.

2. Retweet what other Twitterers say. Retweet the truly amazing quotes or serious ideas that resonate with you. Retweet some of the funny stuff. Retweet other people's questions so that they reach a broader target audience. Retweet the great special offers or blogs.

3. Tweet about the superb blog post or article you recently read including the link, regardless of whether you know if they are on Twitter or not. These type of tweets are useful to others also it's good karma. :)

4. Thank someone whenever they have retweeted (RT) your tweet. If a number of individuals have retweeted anything you submitted, you are able to say thanks to them in a single post (remember always place the @ before their Twitter name) or single them out with one person thanked per posting.

5. Don't tweet a similar message again and again. Likewise, do not tweet twenty times inside a 3 minute time period. It clogs up people's Twitter streams plus they won't appreciate it. Actually, they will most likely un-follow you.

6. Unless of course politics is your business, it's wise to leave politics away from your twitter posts. Politics, whatever side of the coin you're on, make many folks angry. An additional don't is do not tweet while under the influence. Enough said on that one.

This next one falls within the "beyond" Twitter etiquette:

7. When you observe a tweet in regards to a article that seems helpful, visit the blog, read it, and leave a comment. I'm not referring to the gurus' blogs but the blogs of the new entrepreneurs or little-known marketers. You'll have discovered out something intriguing and they will have acquired a much desired blog remark. The funny thing is, while you did this because you wanted to help out somebody that is totally new, you wind up benefiting too simply because they generally run over to your blog and leave you a comment.

That's it, some unofficial Twitter polite usage tips. Most of all, bear in mind the golden rule and watch what you tweet as you do not want your hundred and forty characters to be misinterpreted. ]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-etiquette-250/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-tips-249/ Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:25:55 GMT Random Twitter Tips


Here are some random, but none the less important, Twitter tips for you:

1. Watch what you tweet, it is readily available to the public. You might think that stupid or lewd comment you made will get buried, but believe me, it can be easily found by anyone searching the internet.

2. If you plan to be off Twitter for a period of time, make sure your last tweet was a good one. That tweet is what people will see when they check you out to see if you're worthy of following. What you had for lunch is not going to cut it.

3. Don't rush right in and follow 2000 people. When people go to check you out and see you are following a lot of people and hardly anyone is following you, they'll be suspicious you're a bot. Take your time building up a following and give your potential followers a chance to follow you back and even up your numbers a bit.

4. For that matter, have more than 1 or 2 tweets under your belt before you start running after followers. If you don't know what to say, retweet (RT) someone else'sexcellent tweet, and/or @reply to others' tweets.

5. If you suspect you're not seeing all your replies (like maybe someone forgot to put the @ in front of your Twitter name), use the search function to locate these lost tweets. Simply click on the search function and put your Twitter name in.

6. Use hashtags in your tweets so others with an interest in that same thing will find you. For example, using #bowling in your tweet will ensure your tweet will be found by those interested in and searching for bowling. The more eyes that see your tweet, the better, right?

7. Don't send blanket promotional DMs unless you want people to un-follow you and consider you a spammer. That is not what the DM function is for. DMs are reserved for talking personally, yet privately with someone. There are times when you should the conversation off the main Twitter stream and that's when you would DM.

8. You may have a reason for locking your Twitter stream, but if you're using Twitter for business exposure, don't do it. It's much harder to get followers and let's face it, you want followers.

9. Don't forget to promote your Twitter usage on your blog(s). Cross promotion is a good thing. You let your blog readers know you're on Twitter, and you let your Twitter followers know your blog address.

10. Stay active on Twitter. If potential followers or current followers visit your Twitter page, they're going to form some negative opinions as to the reasons you have not tweeted in 3 weeks. Perhaps you might be just playing around, perhaps you aren't real serious, perhaps you have difficulty staying with something, maybe you have just lost interest? Get on there more than once each day throughout the work week.

These are powerful Twitter guidelines to help you get around Twitter's learning curve. Make use of them or disregard them as you would like, but don't say I didn't advise you. ;-)

]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/twitter-tips-249/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-upload-picture-our-gallery-245/ Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:51:14 GMT Like anything, its easy when you know how. Please near in mind, any image you upload needs to be under 2meg in size, or the Upload will fail. ... Like anything, its easy when you know how. Please near in mind, any image you upload needs to be under 2meg in size, or the Upload will fail.

]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-upload-picture-our-gallery-245/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-subscribe-threads-244/ Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:49:53 GMT Threads you open can oftern be forgotten about. This means you can miss peoples replies. By subscibing to them, you need never miss a reply again. ... Threads you open can oftern be forgotten about. This means you can miss peoples replies. By subscibing to them, you need never miss a reply again.

]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-subscribe-threads-244/ http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-customise-your-profile-243/ Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:48:12 GMT Whilst the options look intimidating, it really is easy to change the look of your Profile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pXRqfgqGR4 Whilst the options look intimidating, it really is easy to change the look of your Profile.

]]> Magic http://www.chatanplay.com/blogs/magic/how-customise-your-profile-243/