Handy Twitter Tools: TweetDeck

On Twitter, I started out with a few followers and following a few people. It was manageable. But it eventually got to the point where I am now following over 1000 people and close to 1000 are following me. I couldn’t keep up with all the tweets!

I heard about TweetDeck when I started twittering and thought, “Oh, I don’t need that. I’ll never have that many people to keep track of.” But I do now, and TweetDeck has made it possible.

TweetDeck is a tool that allows you to break Twitter down into bite-sized chunks. It has columns you can see at all times… your @ replies and your Direct Messages are two examples of columns you can have open, all at the same time as watching the tweets refresh in real time. So I don’t miss replies or Direct Messages anymore.

I also have two more columns open. You can create “groups” columns as well. One of my groups is “People I Like” and I added people whose tweets I do not want to miss to this group. This breaks down the whole stream into a smaller stream where I can keep up with my friends more easily. Just the tweets from this group of people I have selected show up in this column. This allows me to reply more often to people I have built relationships with. It’s also useful for building new relationships as I add more people to this group.

My last column is comprised of all the members of the Etsy Twitter Team. So now I don’t miss out on what my team is doing, and I can help promote them better.

So if your Twitter is starting to feel out of control with keeping up with certain people or groups of people, try TweetDeck. It is easy to use, customizable, and fun!

Blog Badge

I created a badge for our blog!

You can copy and paste the code below the badge in our sidebar into your blog to help promote our Etsy Twitter Team blog. This will also let your blog visitors know you are a member of the Etsy Twitter Team. The badge is a link to our blog here.

Please put our team badge on your blogs!
I would and our team does appreciate it very much!

Shop of the Week: Paw and Claw Designs

Die, Die, My Darling - Scarab Scarlet

Nichole Jeske of PawandClawDesigns.etsy.com creates a mix of many different types of jewelry from traditional earrings to fun, geeky necklaces for “one-of-a-kind people with one-of-a-kind taste”. Paw and Claw Designs is filled with necklaces made from 20-sided roll playing game dice, stamped sheet metal earrings, wire and beaded pendants, and beaded earrings. Truly something for everyone can be found in her shop, even for the geeky man in your life. Her shop has been open on Etsy since October of 2006. She offers free worldwide shipping on all her items.

I asked Nichole where she gets her inspiration from and she said, “I'm most often inspired more by the materials than anything. I'll see a beautiful die, or notice a random bend in some scrap wire, and just run with it. I'm a bit of a ‘geek’ and I love to incorporate that into my work. Little elements, 20-sided dice, and other obscure pop culture references make me happy. Since making jewelry makes me happy, too, it was only natural to me to mix the two.”

“When you buy something I made, you are essentially buying a part of me. I would never sell something I was not 100% in love with. If I wouldn't present it as a heartfelt gift to my best friends, you won't see it in my shop. I pour my heart into every piece, and I think it shows in each and every item.”

"Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything" Earrings

I asked Nichole to tell me how she makes Twitter work for her and her shop: “I'm a HUGE fan of TwitterFeed. I have it set up to automatically tweet when I list an item in my Etsy shops, upload a new image to flickr, and post a new blog post on either of my blogs. Basically anything I can RSS gets put onto TwitterFeed. This frees me up to tweet about ME. The ‘promoting’ is automatic. I tweet about what I am doing, thoughts that amuse me, funny or interesting links, and to chat with my pals.”

“On Twitter, everything has ‘been done’. I worry less about getting people to look at my shop and more about making friends. Real good friends. That's the stuff of Life. More important than sales, more important than making money, more important than most anything.”

I have to agree completely about that… creating relationships is key to using Twitter to make sales.

When asked how Nichole promotes her shop, she pointed me to an Etsy forum thread where she outlines her daily, weekly, and monthly promotional plans. If you need some promo ideas, read this thread for some great information. I have to say, this gal is organized as well as very talented!

Paw and Claw Designs’ Special for this week: Use the coupon code "Twitter” in "Notes to Seller" for an upgrade to free gift wrapping with every order.

Order and shipping deadlines for Valentine’s Day: Domestic - February 6th; International - January 31st

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Paw & Claw Designs

All photos © Paw and Claw Designs/Nichole Jeske

ClassTools.net - Free Flash for Online Teaching

So it has been quite a few months since I was last inspired enough to talk about something on this blog. However, I was going through my list of new Twitter followers today (again, something I have not done in a few months) and found http://twitter.com/russeltarr, who is a history teacher in Toulouse, France, and who developed the ClassTools.net website. According to Russel:

• Classtools.net provides free, customisable flash templates to embed into blogs, wikis and websites. There is no signup, no passwords, no charges...

This is very cool for anyone who teaches online or has a class website. Russel has created 17 templates that are available for teachers to fill in the blanks and images. Some are interactive games, others are fill in the blanks. Students can save their work, which is saved for 12 months on the Classtools.net website.

As an example, the Venn Diagram template allows the teacher to fill in as much of the diagram as they want -- they could be questions, for example -- and provide instructions in a side box. Students can enter their name, then follow the directions to create their own venn diagram. They can then save this online and both print it out and copy and save or send the URL for later access and revisions.


The current 17 templates are:

• Arcade Game Generator!
• Flashcard Generator
• Countdown Timer
• Random Name Picker
• Dustbin Game
• Post It
• Diamond 9
• Fishbone (Ishikawa)
• Venn Diagram
• Animated Book
• Timeline
• Lights Out
• Target
• Hamburger
• Living Graph
• Learning Cycle
• Jigsaw Diagram
• Priority Chart
• Source Analyser

Note that the results all have Google ads on the right, and an advertisement for classes offered by the sites author on the bottom.

This is a very useful teaching tool that I plan to try out in my online classes.

Handy Twitter Tools: TweetReplies

Every so often I come across a handy Twitter tool or website that makes my Twitter life easier. I’ll share the really good ones with you here on this blog!


Ever missed a really important @ reply? Forget to check your @ replies? Then TweetReplies is for you! It sends you an email when you get an @ reply. Never miss one again.

@ replies are the heart and soul of using Twitter to build relationships. How can you build those relationships if you aren’t even getting your replies? The answer: you can’t.

I just started using TweetReplies and it has already saved me once from missing a really good reply. I highly recommend using this Twitter tool.

Shop of the Week: Flying Zoo Toys

First of all, let me welcome you to our new project called “Shop of the Week” where a different Etsy Twitter Team member will be featured each week. I’m looking forward to getting to know our team shops!

Our very first Shop of the Week is Flying Zoo Toys. From flying ladybugs to flying fish, this shop is filled with handcrafted fun! Each of the flying wood mobile toys has wings that flap when set into motion via a tug on a string. The artist, Monika Mrozkova, originally from Czech Republic, has been making these wooden mobiles for more than 15 years. She is a full time artist whose work can be seen in galleries across the USA. She has been selling on Etsy since April 2008.

Currently, she only ships to the US and Canada. To receive your purchases for Valentine’s Day, order by February 6th.


Her toys are painted brightly and have a whimsical quality about them. Anything from her shop would make an excellent gift for a baby or adults of all ages.

Everything in Flying Zoo Toys is 15% off for this week. A refund will be issued through PayPal after completion of your purchase. Take advantage of this offer – you won’t be let down by the magic of these toys.

(Photographs © Flying Zoo Toys/Monika Mrozkova)

"Shop of the Week" Promotion

In order to promote our team Etsy shops, I have created a project called “Shop of the Week” for our team. What does this mean for you, our members? It means promotion, promotion, PROMOTION!

The “Shop of the Week” will receive a feature on the Etsy Twitter Team blog, their Etsy mini prominently displayed on our blog sidebar, blog features on team member’s blogs, and lots of promotion by all of our members on Twitter.

To be “Shop of the Week” you must to sign up for the week you want to be featured. Please think about this week carefully and choose a week where you will have a lot of items in your shop as well as not be on vacation mode at all during that week. There will be a few interview questions for you to answer for your blog feature.

Weeks will run from Monday – Sunday. I don’t want to split the weekend up so we’ll start fresh with a new shop on Mondays. The first week available is Monday, January 19th to Sunday, January 25th.

Week reservations will be given on a first-come first-served basis. If the week you want is already taken you will have to choose another week. If you must cancel your scheduled week please do so as soon as possible so I can get another shop in for that week.

As members of the Etsy Twitter Team, you are kindly asked to promote the “Shop of the Week” every week on your blog and on Twitter. We want to reach as many people as possible with our promotions. This is only going to work if we all participate!

In order to sign up for the week you want, please email Vickie at inmyhead[at]rochester.rr.com. Your email MUST include the week you want, your second choice for a week, and your Etsy shop address.

Let’s all work together to promote our shops and make the Etsy Twitter Team shine!

UPDATE: 1/26/09: We are filled up until May 24th. I will keep updating to keep you posted.

Two Twitter Treasuries!

Gina from ginamstudio kindly created an Etsy Twitter Team treasury when she snagged one earlier today. Thanks, Gina!!


I also got a Treasury West and made a pink themed treasury of team member items!

Please click and comment!!

A letter I wrote about Prince Harry's comments

Happy New Year to all. I thought I would post this up to show my views on the comments made by Prince Harry which I sent to local newspapers. I'll come up with something more inventive next time.

In light of the recent racist comment made by Prince Harry about a Pakistani member of his Platoon as well as a complaint made by a constituent over racist abuse; I am compelled to air my views on the subject.

Racism or any type of discrimination in any shape or form is unacceptable. It should be stamped out at root and branch in institutions like the Army, like the Police. That is why it is so important that members of the British National Party are not allowed in the Police Service.

This outburst highlights a problem that many people still believe that the term in question is not racist. In most cases I believe that the use of the term is down to ignorance and is not malicious in intent. However this type of language is still derogatory and must be erased from casual conversation. This is not about political correctness; this is about treating each member of society equally and with respect.

Britain has come on leaps and bounds from the utterly abhorrent days sparked by the Rivers of Blood speech from Enoch Powell. We have moved forwards together in our communities to look past skin colour and vicious lies spread by fascists and racists like the British National Party.

Whilst Britain has moved forward to become a more tolerant society; this recent outburst illustrates that there is still work to be done to ensure that old unjustified prejudices die and are not revived by violent thugs who wish to destroy our communities for political gain.

Our First Treasury!

It's our first Etsy Twitter Team treasury!!

Please click and comment!

I will probably switch items out so more team members get promotion. So check back often!

UPDATE: I changed out the whole treasury for new items from other team members! Check it out and click and comment!

Faith groups

I read an article in the papers today illuminating the growth of faith communities. Politicians and pastors a like met to discuss the roles in which these groups can play in local communities. While I respect the right of individuals to undertake their private beliefs, I'm very sceptical when I see the words religion and politics in the same sentence. However well intentioned these people are, faith is not the answer to solving problems like housing, fuel prices and the like. Although what some of the faith groups said on increasing understanding and diversity is to be welcomed, faith is still very much a cleavage and is very divisive. The inclusion of groups in community initiatives and activities could create more problems than solve them.

Third camp physicians

I experienced not one, not two, but THREE consultants applauding vehemently when I mentioned the dreaded word "socialism" at a meeting with the Royal College of Physicians on the subject of co-payments last week. Does this suggest that instead of reading medical journals consultants are reading Capital and the New Left Review? Are we in a pre-revolutionary situation? Are we going to see the Countryside Alliance calling for workers control? Make haste comrades and don't stop until the pips squeak!

Food for thought?

The highlight of my trip back to Norwich is to partake in a Delia Smith charged meal on the restraunt car of the train. Sometimes you are joined by Mail on Sunday journalists who are always a danger, Daily Telegraph who are even more of a danger, fortunately though you do meet an odd nice constituent. The meals are excellent and usually finish by the time you get to Ipswich.

To take that service away will destroy I think the concept of British rail travel, which has been part of our lives for years, from getting a bacon roll in the morning to sitting down to dinner in the evening. So many people rely on this on the way back home from London. By the time I arrive back in Norwich it can be as late as 11 which is far too late to be getting pots and pans out to cook a meal. This service is well appreciated, well used and helps to make ammends for what is a pretty poor service with there often not being enough seats for passengers, services being severly delayed and cancelled. The decision to cut this service makes no sense at all.

Tony Benn spoke in the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich yesterday afternoon and unsuprisingly captivated a large audience with his views, especially on democracy. Although an elder statesman (yes he's older than me!) he is still as quick as a whistle. He said it was clear that Bush needed Blair's political support on Iraq, the fact that it would be more pallitable internationally if it was not just America "going it alone" so to speak. The troops that went with the support that Blair gave, Benn went on to say weren't needed.

Please check the member list!

Here is the latest list of members of Etsy Twitter. Please check it over as it will be sent to make this an official team on Monday. If you are not on it, please convo me on Etsy: http://scraparcs.etsy.com . Thanks!
-scraparcs

3zart
acageybee
adnagam
AmbientLights
Ameesadornments
amorevivo
AngelKissesJewelry
ara133photography
arawlins
artmixter
babycakes1011
bamdesigns
BellflowerTextiles
blackbird72
crochetgal
cupcakechristmas
curiousmess
CutthroatBodyArt
EirewolfCreations
elysiumbeads
Emmakat
flutteringdesigns
flyingzoo
gemheaven
GemsByJerri
GulfCoastCottagePDF
handmadebydiana
HomemadeZen
humblethings
IguanaMakeIt
inmyheadstudios
invitesbyjen
jermantowicz
jewelcraftdesigns
joojy
journeyoflovedesigns
kimforbeads
koup
KreatedbyKelly
kyko
laurali
LazyTcrochet
LCFashion
lelephantrose
littlealouette
LMcreation
LMcreation
lpathia
MaineLeeCrochet
MeaCulpaBodyandBath
miapie
missficklemedia
mixdclay
mommylion
moonofglass
Morganmelim
mufi
MysticStarTreasures
MySweetThree
noadi
pancakesandnoodles
pandjcrafts
Parrish
PenguinwareBoutique
pinksugarninja
prettywhimsical
racheljasmine
rainbowrevolution
ReneeSuich
RockisSupplies
RoseBushDesigns
seedtobead
SimplyShell
soaprehab
somavenus
starrydeborah
stitchingcrafts2
StylinPupPillows
SugarAndSpice
sunrisecrafts
tangocatgems
TheCupcakery
thepinksamurai
thewildhare
Timeless
TweedleBee
umlauf
vickijoycedesigns
VKnO