But, I have always had a place to put my professional blogging. As in, a place where I can talk about what people seem to want me to share the most about on a professional level: social media tips, content ideas, community guidelines… I always have had a place to blog about them outside of my personal blog.

And, those times when I didn’t have a place, I either didn’t have the time nor the inclination to blog about the topic. Or, if I really felt compelled enough, I figured a personal point of view is best anyway.

Maybe because there were times when I felt like I already do so much social media and talk about it for work that the last thing I really wanted to do was to talk about it some more here on this blog. I liken it to being at work all day, then coming home and doing more work at night, at the weekends, and on holidays. (Granted, I love my work so much that I do have the tendency to do those things anyway, but that’s beside the point… )

In any case, I know I have been meeting many people who seem to want to know more about what I have to say on these work-related topics. That’s why I started writing more and more about it here on this blog.

Unfortunately, I do realise that many of my friends and readers who couldn’t care less about content strategy and social media ROI wouldn’t exactly want to see those posts here at Studio Notes. And, those very people who wish to find out about my professional opinions on blogging or social media tools and best practices might not really give a toss about my latest baking or crafting creations.

Of course, I’ve always known that that was always going to be the case. My experience in messaging and strategy has taught me enough to know that the concept I have long held on to for Studio Notes would always pose as a challenge.

But, I have stubbornly held on to the concept of making my two different audiences mix due to several reasons. I kept insisting on throwing a party for my lifestyle friends and my professional contacts together because I couldn’t bear the thought of splitting two groups of people I really care about in different ways.

And, though I do have geeky type artistic blog friends and artsy professional colleagues, I knew that they were never going to completely mix. There would always be silos within the community that I am building if I insist on the approach that I have been doing.

So, finally, I gave in.

I will still write about general social media matters and geeky stuff here every now and then, especially dedicated to my geeky artsy friends. But, for any posts that are way too work-related (eg, how to grow your Twitter and/or blogging audience, best practices for community engagement, etc), they will now be placed in my new virtual office space at Enkindlers.

In a nutshell, Enkindlers is my new professional blog dedicated to igniting ideas for content, community and creativity for social good. It will be the “party place” for anyone interested in my professional work in the field of content, community, and social good. Here’s my welcome to the virtual office party, if you’re interested to read it. And, my good online friend and supporter, Mitch Mitchell of I’m Just Sharing did an interview with me about my web history as part of my “office warming party”.

So, for those of you who are waiting for me to complete The Great Twitter Follow Project, I will be completing this now over at Enkindlers. I will be transferring other relevant posts in there as well.

This way, hopefully, I will feel more free to share what Studio Notes readers have always seemed to enjoy reading about: my food, life, travel and creative adventures. And anything else that I fancy.

Don’t worry, though. I still have no plans of blogging things that I wouldn’t want my mother to read. Those types of topics would be reserved for Shai’s Super Shocking Memoir (release date to be announced, as I hope to collect more material for it; especially good to collect more that would rival a memory that I call “A Boy, a Girl, and a Transvestite” – long story! ).

But yes, if Enkindlers is my virtual office, then Studio Notes is my virtual home. I intend to write here, as if I was writing to friends and family about things that I care about.

And, if you care to know both sides of me – my professional and personal sides – then, please subscribe to both Enkindlers and Studio Notes.

As always, I am honoured and grateful to have you in my online life, wherever you might decide to meet me on the web.

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It is always a challenge, choosing That One Word. You know, the word that I will look in to reflecting a lot for a full year. A focus word of sorts.

Since 2008, I have been doing this practice. At the end of the year, I spend some time reflecting and considering the year that has passed and the year that is to come. And, at the beginning of the year, I choose a word that I wish to embrace for a full year.

And this year, for me, is The Year of Possibility.

Frankly, I nearly chose three words for 2012. Partly because I read about someone else doing three focus words instead of one, and I thought that that might open up more options. And, partly because there was one other word that I also really fancied. And, it was the word Momentum. I love the science, art, and movement that seem to echo in that word. Plus, with everything that happened for me in 2011, I thought that perhaps I should keep the momentum going in my life based on that incredible year.

So yeah, it was hard to let the word Momentum go.

But, towards the end of last year, I saw this old TV-movie called “Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister”, which is based on a novel of the same title. Although it is another re-telling of the Cinderella tale, this one has a fresh voice, having been told from the perspective of one of the step sisters.

Other than the fact that it was quite an interesting twist to the old tale, and that my muse-of-the-moment Matthew Goode starred in it, I was really taken with the film mostly because of one of the themes of the story. You see, there was a message there that the Master artist kept trying to bring up. And, it was the message of POSSIBILITY.

The film made me think that when we think it’s impossible to change people’s perspectives about ideas, or even change our own perspectives of ourselves, we need to reconsider and think about possibilities. We are far more capable and worthy of great things than we could ever care to consider. And, the thing is, it’s only when we truly believe that that the possibilities can become real.

That message, for some reason, just lingered in me for weeks. That’s why even though I was about to choose Momentum (which to me, represented a backwards-facing look at finding my path), I was reminded of the message of that film, I ended up choosing POSSIBILITY (which to me, represented a more forward-facing idea that will take me towards the future).

So yes, in 2012, I intend to dwell in possibility. Just like one of my favourite classical poets, Emily Dickinson. Although, as always, I never know where my Word of the Year will take me. I’ll keep you posted with all the possibilities that will come my way.

I wish you a year of possibilities too.

“Our aspirations are our possibilities.” – Samuel Johnson

And for the curious, these are my past Words of the Year:

• 2011: Shine
• 2010: Connect
• 2009: Bliss
• 2008: Today

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I love keeping records and journals. I’ve got a huge collection of notebooks, sketchbooks, and other types of handmade books that prove my lifelong dedication to record-keeping.

Over the last few years, however, I’ve slowly slipped from this beloved habit. The last couple of years were particularly bad. So bad, in fact, that last year, I decided NOT to keep any journals at all. At least no handwritten ones. Just my blogs and digital scribbles. A first, after so many years.

So, this year, part of my goal is to get back to it. Keeping journals and records.

I now have my traditional annual journal, where I plan to record bits and pieces of life whenever the mood strikes; a pad of paper, right by my bedside where I can try to write morning and/or evening pages; and this mini notebook, where I intend to record daily notes.

This mini notebook is another one of my attempts to try a daily-something practice once again.

Yes, something inside me groans as I do this, knowing full well that I tend to suck at any “daily practice”.

However, inspired by something I saw online some time ago, I thought I’d work on a daily record by writing at least just ONE LINE A DAY. Something to remember the day by.

The great thing about this “One Line a Day” approach is that it takes off the pressure to write anything special or significant. Just a record of my passing days. A place to jot down some memories and thoughts. Write down a quote that I really liked. Or a bullet point list of things I did. Maybe even just a copy of an FB status or Twitter update.

If I end up writing more than one line, great. That’s all good. If, after a long and busy day, all I can scribble down is one simple line to remember my day, then that’s fine.

We’ll see how I fare with this daily practice. I’ll keep you posted!

Note: Notebook used for my One Line A Day journal is a gift from my sister. Thanks, sis!

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It’s the first day of a new year, and I love being able to blog today. Why?

It’s because it gives me the chance to start the year like how I want to spend the rest of it — doing things I enjoy.

Blogging here at Studio Notes is one of those things. And, it’s a practice that I hope to continue with much more ardour, frequency, and tenacity.

It’s also a great way to clear the “first post of the year jitters” away and just get on with it.

With my first 2012 blog post out of the way, I can just write about the rest of the things that I wish to post here.

Like my annual Word of the Year post. And continuing the Twitter Follow Case Study. Among other things.

As part of my Studio Notes tradition, I’d like to share some of the things that I look forward to in the new year…

Although after such an epic 2011, I’m not quite sure whether I long to have more exciting things happening to keep the momentum going… Or just wish for a slower, quieter year, so I can regroup and recover.

At this stage, the only two big things on my plate include:

1) Taking part in Connecting Up 2012 Conference as a member of the organising committee/keynote speaker/workshop helper;

and hopefully,

2) Completing my Masters’ degree in Teaching.

Oh, and I’m also looking forward to my husband’s completion of his PhD and my li’l girl officially starting school mid-year.

As always, I’ve already got my list of goals for the year. 12 things for 2012. I’m sure I’ll blog some of them in the coming days/weeks/months.

I also have a wish list of movies to see (Hunger Games, The Avengers, The Hobbit, Wrath of the Titans, etc), gadgets to own, activities and events to check out, and maybe even holidays to take.

How about you? Do you have any special plans and goals for 2012? What are the things that you’re looking forward to this year?

In any case, I wish you a fantastic year! May 2012 bring you a world of amazing possibilities…

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If I were to describe my 2011 in one word, it would have to be: EPIC.

How can any other word suffice when I’ve managed to pack so much more than I would ever hope to pack in one year? Life has changed so much for me within 12 months – both personally and professionally.

The people I met, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve experienced… From stories I’ve shared all over the web to those I can’t even begin to write about.

I’m just here to do a round-up of memories, as part of my annual tradition here at Studio Notes. Since I’ve done a semi round-up halfway through the year, I thought I’d skip the month-by-month. But yeah, something about looking back that makes me realise just how much life can take different turns within a year…

So, here are the highlights from my year, organised in 11 themes, for 2011…

Special Milestones
There are many day-to-day stuff that I’d love to remember and to celebrate. Some of them do stand out more than others.

• Studio Notes turning 11 years this year.
• Celebrating 12 years of marriage.
• Completing NaBloPoMo challenge for the second time. And yes, blogging more!
• Getting off my P plates (finally!)… And going on a couple of long drives for the first time.

Travels
I’ve travelled a bit in the past decade or so. But, I don’t think I’ve ever travelled so much within a year. Ever. So, to me, 2011 is really My Year of Travel. And here are some highlights…

• 3 trips to the Philippines – 1 for a family trip, as part of Christmas/New Year (Jan). Then, 2 trips for work, speaking in Davao and Manila (Feb), then Bacolod and Cebu (Nov). Work trips have been courtesy of Microsoft and TechSoup Asia, through my day job at Connecting Up.
• 2 trips to Malaysia – Again, 1 as part of a family trip to KL (Jan). And a return trip for work (Mar). Again, the work part is for Microsoft/TS Asia/Connecting Up.
• 2 Trips to the USA – Including my first visit to San Francisco (Feb), and a return to Washington DC (Mar). Both times, for work. Speaking and in two incredible events. This one’s primarily connected with Connecting Up, attending the TechSoup Global Summit and NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference.
• My first trip to Sri Lanka, speaking in 2 events in Colombo (May). Both events are for Microsoft/TSAsia/Connecting Up.
• Plus, some interstate travel: Brisbane, for Drupal Down Under (Jan); Melbourne, for Connecting Up Conference (June); Melbourne again, for Philanthropy Australia (Jul); and Canberra, for AuSAE (Sep).
• And, personal travels to (all for the first time): Mount Gambier, SA (Apr); Clayton Bay, SA (Jul); Narnu Farm, SA (Dec).

Work/Professional
There are many work-related highlights that I hope to remember from 2011. Some of them include:

• Growing from a one-person team, to hiring two new people and adding one new team member. So yes, by the end of the year, I conducted a meeting with THREE new additions in my sub-team. Needless to say, my role is constantly evolving and I’m always learning.
• Taking part in establishing NetSquared in Adelaide. Really feel happy that this has started off early in the year. While I haven’t had much to do with it after it was launched, I’m hoping that its growing community would continue to give it life.
• Completely ending my personal and professional ties with b5media, by finally selling my shares. It was a great ride, that one. But, it’s also good to have a complete break at last.
• Went back to postgrad school, after a year of leave. This is just to try and finish of my Masters’ degree in teaching. I completed two subjects this year (last semester), and now I’ve got two subjects left, so hopefully, I will finish and graduate in 2012.

General Learning and Personal Development
I love learning new things. I enjoy taking classes and workshops. Both formally and informally. That’s why I know I’d be a perpetual student, no matter what. Here are some of the things that I’ve learned this year…

• Enrolled in a virtual workshop on Visual Facilitation. Loving the practice, but haven’t had much time to develop it. Hope to keep doing this in the new year…
• Also went back to dance classes this year. I only had one term, but enjoyed doing hiphop and jazz/modern. Hope to get back again next term.
• When it comes to cooking and baking, I’ve returned to experimenting a bit again in 2011. Some of my favourite finds for the year: apple strudel, meat pie, baked cheesecakes, macarons, strawberry shortcake, char kway teow, and making fresh pasta/sauces/pizza.

All in the Family
This year has been a great time for seeing family. Considering we usually don’t have family around where we live, 2011 has given us more than our usual opportunities to spend some quality time with our loved ones… Plus, there are a few things we celebrated this year.

• Late last year/early this year, I’ve managed to see all my siblings, my brother’s wife and kids, and my mom, as well some cousins, uncles, and aunts…
• My sister also came to stay in Adelaide with my family for more than two months. She joined our road trip to Mount Gambier, and even followed me to Melbourne once.
• Also saw my mom and sis a couple of extra times, during my two unexpected trips back to the Philippines.
• And, to top it all off, my mum-in-law and dad-in-law is spending Christmas and New Year with us in Adelaide.
• Family birthdays: My boy’s 7th year birthday party, crabbing with his friends at Grange Beach. My girl’s 4th year birthday, celebrating it with a Fairy party. And yes, me turning 37, working in the office on my first strategic planning day. No parties. Meh.
• My girl starting kindy. Doing her first art exhibit and fundraising at kindy. Leaving Montessori and getting a nice report from teachers.
• The girl also doing really well with her two ballet recitals.
• When my girl just started showing off her reading skills. Picked up Green Eggs and Ham, for example, and read most of it to me independently.
• My son, winning 2 Oliphant Science Awards again (+ 2 special commendations). This is his second year joining the competition.
• The boy also joined a filmmaking workshop for kids and ended up in his first film festival through this class. His group won “Best Film” and he received a commendation on the “Best Overall Team Member” category.
• The boy also received a great end-of-year school report. On top of becoming SRC for the year. Amongst other things.
• It was also the year the boy has been asked by the school to finally get tested by an Educational Psychologist due to his abilities. The idea of getting a ‘label’ is something we’ve never really sought after, but the school deemed it necessary in order to receive extra support. I’m sure this is a blog post for another time.

On Friends and Socials
There are also a lot of times for friendships and socials. Much more than what I’m accustomed to, to be honest. Made a lot of new friends and contacts from around the world, especially thanks to the travels and events I’ve attended this year. And, there are a lot of new connections made right here at home in Adelaide…

• Some catch-ups with some of my good buddies: Christine (in Melbourne) and Jasmine (who I only saw 3-4x this year).
• Attending a couple of fun #socadl events.
• Starting Yam Basket Hunt lunch club with a few lovely folks in Adelaide. Making some great new friends through our love for food.
• Hanging out with some of my good work mates outside the office. Other than our usual Market Tuesdays and Pub Fridays, there are after-work stuff and some other fun antics. I especially enjoyed our post-event parties in Brisbane, San Francisco, and Melbourne. And some local ones in Adelaide too. Like post-AGM and post-Christmas in July. Heh. And hiphop dance classes and dinners. Plus a 30th birthday.
• After postgrad class hang-out at the Uni with one of my besties.

The Rough Stuff
Life’s not been all great, of course. There had been some rough and challenging moments. Thankfully, nothing that breaks the spirit too much.

• Like being quite unwell a bit this year. Including an unexpected week-long illness a few weeks ago.
• A couple of online dramas that were taken offline that I cannot blog about in full. At least not just yet.
• A question of personal and professional directions.
• Of course, all the travels and work commitments have taken a toll in a few other ways too. But, nothing too bad. However, I’m certainly up for making things less hectic in 2012.

The Light Stuff
Then, there are the little and shallow things that just tickled my fancy…

• Like my newfound love for coloured shoes.
• Getting my first swoon-worthy celebrity Tweet. Haha.
• Finding and falling in love with Matthew Goode
• Making a longer commitment with my new ‘do — curly long hair. And finally experimenting with colour. A lot.

Books, TV, and Movies I Loved
Although I managed to watch a few movies this year (hello, in-flight entertainment and streaming!)… and even got to catch up on some TV viewing… I didn’t really get to read as much as I’d like. And, I think I started reading several books but haven’t been able to complete them yet. Oh, and this is also the year where I actually bought and read many more digital book format than ever before. Anyway, some of my favourites from the year:

• My fave fiction books of the year: Rick Riordan’s follow-up to the Percy Jackson series — The Olympian Heroes. Read books 1 and 2 (The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune).
• Enjoyed Sisterhood Everlasting, the “when they were grown up” book follow-up to the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series.
• Also liked Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark, but really couldn’t get in to vampire stuff too much. So, haven’t read any other in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
• Some fave nonfiction reads: Content Strategy books and Drawing Lab.
• Love, love, love these newbie movies that I watched this year (not equally, mind you): Thor, Harry Potter 7 (Part 2), Cars 2, X Men: First Class, Leap Year, King’s Speech, and The Social Network.
• Some oldies that I just watched this year (and loved): Penelope, the first three X-Men films, Transformers 1, Brideshead Revisited, Chasing Liberty, Dorian Grey, and Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister.
• TV series I’ve loved: Merlin (Seasons 3 & 4), Masterchef (Season 3), Paper Giants, The Slap, Dead Gorgeous, Extreme Fishing with Robson Greene, and Chuck (Season 1).

Also see: Best Family Movies of 2011.

Gadgets, Apps and Tools Galore
When it comes to gadgets, this year has been quite amplified for me and my family… It’s the year where we all ended up with an i-something. Kids both have iPod touch, hubby has iPad, and well… here are the rest…

• Got myself a smart phone. Finally. Yes, succumbed to an iPhone 4 early this year.
• Also replaced my year-old first generation iPad with an iPad2.
• Bought the family a Microsoft XBox and Kinect for Christmas. Finally.
• The husband ended up buying 2 new flat screen TVs. Almost accidentally, really. Long story, but yeah… After having the old TV for years… We finally upgraded. A lot, it seems.
• Also started enjoying Apple TV.
• Oh, and yes, finally got a Time Machine/Capsule. The Apple variety, again.
• Favourite social media platforms of the year: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, FourSquare, and GetGlue.
• Some of my favourite apps and tools: Evernote (though it did collapse on me a little this year!), Wunderlist, BBC iPlayer, ABC iView, Notebook for iPad, Dropbox, Incredibooth, Kindle, iBooks, Keynote…
• Games that sucked some of my time this year: Sims FreePlay and Words with Friends.
• Breakout social media platform: Pinterest

Unfortunately, though, my Nikon D40x finally died this year and hasn’t been replaced yet.

Miscellaneous Memories
Here are just some random personal memories and world events that affected me in some ways…

• Watching Wicked (The Musical) with the hubby.
• Drinks of the Year: Mojitos and Cider. Especially pear cider. Heh.
• Major renovations for our master bedroom and study.
• World news and tidbits: Steve Jobs’ quitting as CEO and his death, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding, the Brisbane floods, Philippine typhoons and floods, Christchurch earthquakes…
• According to Facebook (thanks new Timeline): I’ve added 109 FB friends in 2011, 157 friends posted on my Wall, and 84 friends greeted me on my birthday.
• Oh, and I shall also remember this year as the year where I finally have my very own “stupid story” (yep, the kind that you can’t exactly blog about). Haha.

I’m pretty sure there’s more that I’d like to commit to memory somehow. But, this should do.

What did I say? 2011 has been epic!

What a year indeed. Bring it on, 2012…

Also wish to say special thanks to: Kari, Diane Lee, Melissa W, Nenette, Nicola, Christine Gooding, Connie, Jenseeya, and Kharen… For being the top commentators here at Studio Notes in 2011. You ladies help to keep this blog alive!

Source: tumblr.com via Shai on Pinterest

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Just wishing you all a very happy Christmas from my family to yours!

In the next few days, I’m hoping to resume some more blogging to round-up 2011 and to welcome 2012.

I hope you’re enjoying this festive season… and getting all the holiday loot that you desire.

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This is Part 3 of an ongoing series about a case study on increasing Twitter followers. If you missed the earlier parts and would like to read in order, check out:

• Part 1: The Great Twitter Follow Project: A Case Study
• Part 2: Setting a Baseline: The Great Twitter Follow Project

In this post, I’ll share all about Setting Up Goals and Strategies to Increase Twitter Follows. This will include some of the tools I plan on using.

Setting Up Goals

With the baseline data collected, it’s easier to look at goals for this study as such:

• To use at least 3 different tools and approaches to increase followers. The results of each tool/approach would then be compared.
• To increase daily follower count from 2.05/day. There are different ways to approach a follower increase rate. For example, I were to target an increase of 5 followers a day, I’m increasing my average daily following by 143.9%. That may seem a little high, but that’s only 35 followers/week. This is probable doable even with a more concerted organic approach. However, if I was working with someone who wishes to see a quick result in a matter of a short time, that approach might not work. So, I would like to see what approach is best to increase follower numbers to 100 within a week.
• Encourage engagement with new followers. Since I do like looking at both quantitative and qualitative results of social media, I’m keen to see what kind of engagement different approaches would bring. Some engagement I intend to look at include: Tweets from new follows, ReTweets, Faves, personal Direct Messages, and other forms of communication (emails, blog comments, etc).

Strategies to Increase Twitter Follows

People approach Twitter follows in different ways. In my work accounts, some of the approaches that I used both strategically and organically to increase Twitter follows include:

• Manually following people and organisations of interest based on searches and hash tags.
• Engaging with new follows by saying thanks, hello, or commenting on their Tweets using @replies and/or personal direct messages.
• Participating in TweetChats.
• Taking part in social media friendly face-to events (eg, conferences & networking sessions).
• Incorporating Twitter within overall communications approach (eg, adding Twitter handles to email signatures and business cards, integrating Twitter in to website, etc).
• Providing valuable content in the Twitter stream – both original and those leading to other sources.
• Speaking/presenting in events.
• Writing useful content on blogs/sites.

Based on the strategies and approaches that I’ve put in to place using such activities, I’ve increased a number of Twitter follows in the work accounts that I’ve managed over the years. Some, by up to 1,000+% in less than a year.

However, as I’ve said, I haven’t really used many of these deliberate approaches in my personal account. At least, not in a consistent, strategic way. And, I know that some of these approaches are worth working on further.

In any case, for the purpose of this study, I wanted to try to use at least 3 different tools/approaches that I’ve never used before. Meaning, none of those that I’ve already mentioned above. Seeing as I already know that those strategies do work one way or the other, I wish to explore other strategies that I’ve never tried before – whether or not I’ve heard of those approaches.

The 3 approaches/tools that I wish to use for this case study are:

• Using a “Twitter Follow app” to increase followers. I know that there’s a lot of controversy about using this type of approach when it comes to increase Twitter followers. I personally feel averse to it. But, I figured, if I don’t know what it is and I’m already saying “no” to it (which I have been for some time), then I’m no better than those people who say “I’m never using Twitter because I think it’s pointless,” without ever trying and understanding Twitter in the first place. So, for this case study, I intend on test driving one of these Twitter follow applications – and seeing what’s the best way to use this, should anyone ever ask me how to use it.
• Guest posting on a blog or site to increase exposure and following. Since I run a number of sites myself and I hardly have any time to maintain most of them, I very rarely guest post. The best I do, at times, is take part in blog carnivals or blog tours. A pity, really, as I do believe in the power of guest posting. So, for this case study, I plan to use this as an approach to increase exposure and followers. At the moment, I’m thinking of targeting three (3) different blogs/sites to guest post on and I’ll monitor my findings on this approach.
• Find a new, but tested, approach to increasing Twitter followers. This is a bit vague, I know, but the idea is to approach a number of Twitter folks with over 10,000 followers and ask them for their best advice on getting Twitter followers. Based on such advice, I would like to find at least one that I’ve never heard of before and test it for myself, and report my findings.

Over to you

If you have any strategies and tips that I haven’t mentioned here, I would love to hear about them! Perhaps, we can compile a list of ways people increase Twitter follower numbers.

If you’re enjoying The Great Twitter Follow Project, I encourage you to Tweet about it using the share buttons you can find in this blog post. Perhaps, you might even “Like” it on Facebook or +1 it on Google Plus. Or, leave a comment below! I would really appreciate it.

Next Step: Reporting on my findings for using a “Twitter follow app”.

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Every time I need to collect and study any type of information, I always find it helpful to establish a couple of things:

1. Getting baseline information – What point am I starting off from when I begin the study? Am I starting completely from scratch? If I have existing data, what are they and how did that come to be? What kind of information am I going to collect?

2. Setting goals for the study – Why am I doing the study – and what do I expect to gain from it? How am I going to use what I learn/gain? What tools am I going to use? What’s my strategy to achieve my goals?

In this post, I would like to focus on sharing about how I developed a baseline for The Great Twitter Follow Project: A Case Study.

Collect Basic Twitter Numbers

For this study, as I mentioned, I was going to focus on playing around with my personal Twitter account, @shaicoggins, which already has an existing following.

For the basic stats, these are what I needed to know:

• My following and followers count.
• Following:Followers Ratio.
• Average daily follows
• Average Tweets/day
• My existing Tweet Grade

Ideally, I would’ve liked to have some kind of an average on what types of content I share as well, but I think that would’ve been a bit too ambitious.

Twitter Tools for Collecting Baseline Data and My Statistics

In any case, here are my numbers at the time that I started this study (14 Dec, 2011):

So, it appears that my average daily follower is: 2.05 followers/day. That’s based on the formula: Follower Number / Days on Twitter.

To get my daily Tweet number, I checked out How Often Do You Tweet?. And, based on this Twitter tool, I Tweet 8.1 Times a day.

As I way to measure any type of improvement in what I’m doing, I thought I’d use Tweet Grader. I was going to use the baseline points I get there to see if I can bring it up in any way using the strategies I employ in this study. Unfortunately (but THANKFULLY!), I got a 100/100 on my Tweet Grade. It’s unfortunate because I won’t be able to show any “improvement” on how I’m using Twitter based on this tool, but I guess, I was also relieved to know that I did all right in the ranking. I suppose, at least, it can tell me if I did something wrong if my grade goes down (hoping not, of course!).

What’s Next?

So, after I’ve established baseline information, my next step is to identify my goals and strategy.

Read Part 3:
Setting Up Goals and Strategies to Increase Twitter Follows

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