You Are All Invited For Some Holiday Cheer

One of the wonderful benefits of becoming active on Twitter has been the opportunity to meet and learn from so many new friends. Sure, it’s crazy and chaotic at times, but I’m constantly amazed with everyone’s intelligence, wit, creativity and generosity. To leverage the medium, the opportunity to connect with someone new and in the spirit of the holiday season, I invite you to come Twitter caroling with me. This is not Christmas caroling, just an opportunity to toast the site we’ve come to know and love.

Here’s what I propose -? a little bit contest, a big bit fun and a chance to meet someone new

• You and one other Twitterer will work together to write a Twitter Carol (rather than a traditional Christmas carol).
• Carols will be a maximum of 280 characters (2 x normal Twitter limit of 140).
• Keep it PG rated. Leave out the politics, religion, advertisements/promotions/links and other potentially controversial commentary.
• Carols can be humorous, tell a story, rhyme. Have fun, be creative. Let your inner poet or lyricist shine.
• Carols have to be in English. (Sorry about that.)
• Costs nothing to participate and can be done from the comfort of your home or office. What’s not to love about that?

Timeline:

• December 10 – Deadline to participate. Just go here to sign-up.
• December 13 – I will randomly pair you with another participant and forward you their contact information. Be sure to watch for an email from almostsavvy.com. The earlier you sign up, the sooner you’ll be paired with someone else. Collaborate through email, DMs, Skype, telepathy – whatever works for you.
• December 17 – Deadline to submit your carol to me at carols <at> almostsavvy <dot> com.
• December 19 – Carols will be posted online to be voted upon by all participants.
• December 23 – Top winners to be announced.

The Fine Print:

• I’m definitely not trolling for followers, but…if you follow me, it will make life much easier as I will be able to DM you with information or questions. I’m at http://twitter.com/irenekoehler. Totally up to you.
• If you happen to be paired with someone you already know, shoot me an email and I’ll connect you with someone else.
• Don’t tell anyone else which carol is yours. No vote swapping, offering bribes for votes or promising to encourage your followers to follow someone else if they help spread the word about your pithy carol.
• Only one vote per person and only those who participate get to vote. It’s the honor system, so do the right thing.

The Prizes:

Who needs prizes beyond bragging rights and a fun opportunity to build a relationship with someone new? We’ve got one prize sponsor so far and would welcome more. If you would like to donate a prize, please contact me at carols <at> almostsavvy <dot> com.

Sign up now and retweet (Join us for Caroling in the Twitterverse http://twurl.nl/vovexw Pls RT #carols) to your friends to invite them to come caroling. I’ll bring the cookies, you bring the hot cocoa.

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On a Somewhat Unrelated Note…

To participate in this caroling event, you needn’t read any further.? Since I’ll probably never have another opportunity to share my own caroling experience, I’ll take advantage of the chance to do so now.

I went Christmas caroling only once. As a Jewish kid, the concept seemed a little foreign to me, so I was thrilled when my high-school friends Barbara and Mary Jean invited me to join them. We went from house to house in their neighborhood singing (or, in my case, mumbling where I didn’t know all the words).? I was amazed; people actually came out of their houses, joined in the singing, and offered us cookies. What a concept!? As I became more comfortable, I volunteered to knock on the next door, only to find myself face-to-face with my own Rabbi. (This was the crotchety-on-the-outside/softie-on-the-inside man who had once thrown a chalkboard eraser at me for yawning in Hebrew School.)? My friends immediately began? to sing. To me, though, time seemed to stand still, as my Rabbi and I stared at each another attempting to dissect the context which brought us together at this moment. After those painfully long seconds, we both burst into laughter easily finding the delight and humor in it all.

My takeaways from that experience (and others since):

• Opportunities to share others’ culture and holidays are always special and should be cherished
• People are almost always good and kind, if you give them a chance
• Find out where your Rabbi lives *before* you go caroling

I hope you’ll come caroling with me. My Rabbi would be so proud.

UPDATE:

Here are the Twitter Carols you are wrote. Your mothers would be so proud of you!

#1

On the last day of Tweetmas my true love gave to me: 1 sweet kiss,2 hungry kids,3 cups of java,4 warnings,5 angry pings,6 curt voicemails,7 tearful pleadings,8 interventions,9 interruptions,10 men in white coats,11 packed bags,12 last requests…to stop tweeting or he’d leave me!

#2

some see twitter as a way to fritter away time, but i don’t. holidays are upon us, another year, more resolutions, less problems, more solutions.how time has flown by. my tweets have fluttered like a butterfly into the new year they twitter along to 2008 I tweet “so long”.
O little blog of Twitterville

#3

O little blog of Twitterville
How on thee we rely
Below one hundred forty characters
The limits we live by
Yet in thy short tweets lieth
The everlasting plight
That our links, our dreams, our ideas meet
Our followers delight
#4

Rudolph wasn?t near the sleigh
On the feast of Stephen
‘Fraid he was, he’d fall that day
On rooftops so uneven.
Santa said ?the kids will cry,
And think that you?re a quitter ”
Prancer said, ?no worries guy,
He?s tweeting them on twitter.?

#5

Holy hell! my eye burns (fail whale! fail whale!)
That’s the way the Tweet turns (fail whale! fail whale!)
Writing rhymes for Ms Irene (fail whale! fail whale!)
Makes me want some ice cream (fail whale! fail whale!)
Good thing Deuce reminded me
We have to get this done by 3 (PST)

UPDATE 12/28/08: Winners Announced !

Congratulations to the authors/lyricists of Carol #1 – Chandlee Bryan (http://twitter.com/chandlee ) and Sarah Johnston (http://twitter.com/SassyJay )

And thank you to Terry Hartley for providing prizes to the winners!