So What Have I Learnt?

Thanks to HeavyLight for providing the picture.

That's us just above "porn" and "Star Trek". The two constants from my adolescence.

Only joking. I never watched "Star Trek".

It's dropped off the Trending Topics on Twitter now, but that's cool. America woke up and then people got jolly annoyed with Twitter for reasons I don't completely understand.

Was it the interweb's first virtual flashmob? I hope so. That's funny.

Some people questioned the frivolity of the exercise. Okay, so we didn't change the world, but that wasn't the plan. In fact, there wasn't a plan. That was the beauty.

As Michael Stipe - a man who can turn a phrase much better than I can - once sang "No solution. Spleen-venting. But I feel better having screamed. Don't you?"

Mind you, he also sang "I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract", so maybe he doesn't have all the answers.

I'm fully aware that we were pretty much preaching to the converted. But maybe - just maybe - if one person read the links in the timeline and resolved to vote on 4th June where previously they had decided to stay at home, isn't it worth it?

Perhaps we should organise a Twitter campaign to persuade people to register to vote?

So, a big thank you again to all those who picked up the ball and ran with it. You all rock.

Don't worry. Normal service will be resumed and I'll be back to telling bad jokes about pot noodle, cartoon characters and swearing gratuitously.

EDIT: Oh, and the SpamBots getting involved somehow made it even better.

Why The Internet Is Great

Hello. Me again. 

Something weird happened today. "Good weird", though, rather than "My Ex-Girlfriend Jenny Weird".

I was at work, sipping my 48th coffee of the day and staring out of the window. I was mulling things over; Newcastle's victory, how to persuade the Better Half to name our expected child Johnny Joey Dee Dee Tommy Ramone Turner and the news on the telly last night.

There had been a segment about Nick Griffin and the BNP. I found myself getting angry about their lowest common denominator easy-answer politics. No. Anger's the wrong word. 

Exasperation.

"The BNP are twats," I thought. I wanted to tell someone that. So I tweeted this:

"Is it possible to get #theBNParetwats as a trending topic? No overarching reason other than I think the BNP are twats"

That's it. Not the most erudite political statement ever made, I know, but I've only got 140 characters to work with. 

Anyway, apparently, it was possible to get it as a trending topic. People liked the sentiment. They re-tweeted it. It snowballed. I sat there looking at my computer screen as it went around the country, then left these cyber-shores. People were posting links to sites of interest to educate those who were unaware of them. THAT was the bit I adored. 

There was a lot of Twitter-Love going on.

Then something really weird happened. 

It was the number one trending topic. It beat Star Trek. Honest. I was in the car and my phone had fainted from all the emotion, so I haven't got a screen shot. But I'm assured it was. 

As I've said on this site before, I truly believe in Evelyn Beatrice Hall's statement of "I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death your right to say it". But, bloody hell, some people make it hard work.

For further reading, I'd recommend Unite Against Fascism

And, remember kids, 4th June is the date in the UK for the European Elections. Get out there and use your vote. The BNP are hoping to secure at least one seat in this Parliament. Together we can -as one - say "No".

And if the rivals of the producers of Terminator: Salvation need me to start a #TheTerminatorIsaWanker hashtag, I'm available. 

Virtuocity Update

We Daves, as a breed, are a helpful bunch. So it's a big thank you to Dave Melkevik over at The Columbo Effect for updating me about the call for screenwriters by Virtuocity. My original post's here.

Apparently, in a last minute decision, the contract has been awarded to another company so Eyebrid Blaze Ltd aren't taking any more submissions.

I've removed it from the Screenwriters' Diary to avoid any confusion.

Right, back to Twitter. It's like networking, but you can do it in just your pants.

(Yes, those who are already tweeting, I know I used that line yesterday, but I quite like it!)

Gadget Boy

The Better Half puts up with a constant stream of gadgets (though, I think it's called "tech" now, possibly in an attempt to sound less nerdy and more like you're a member of Special Forces). Thanks to eBay, iPods, Blackberries, mobiles, notebooks, PDAs, iPhones and laptops pass in and out of the door with alarming regularity.

Now I've got the new Blackberry up and running, and spurred on by Gerry , I am all Twittered up. Always one to jump on a bandwagon too late, me.

I've set a little Twitter feed up on the blog. You can follow me here and I'll follow you.

Just another weapon in the armory against Getting Anything Done. Come on, people, let's waste some time!