Ginny from the Blog

More than 50 people gathered Thursday for the second Triangle Tweet-Up. If you still don’t know what Twitter is, check out this video. Then start following me. Here’s my take on the tweet-up.

Pick up @girloncamera. Take a wrong turn. Follow the paper signs to the pillow room. Thanks for hosting, Capstrat. Greet @waynesutton as he sets up. Climb the benches and position myself overlooking the room. Tweeple begin streaming in. Friendly banter with @kitch about his bicycle blog. Picture time. Wishing I understood camera settings. Blurry photos of lots of Tweeple. Log on to Twhirl. Room full of mostly white guys. Tweet about lack of diversity. @Critter teaches us about the g-spot. Debating the merits (or lacktherof) of Brightkite. It’s getting hot in here (pretend I sound like Nelly when I say here). Thirsty for a sprite. Settle for a ginger ale. Time to meet some Tweeple. There’s 50+ Tweeple in the room and I know almost 20 of them. Meet some new Tweeps including @davecrist and @lockjaw. You’re Ginny from the Blog. Why, yes, yes I am. So nice to Tweet you. Twitter Diva photo time. Thanks for the Seesmic invite. Now all I need is a Mac. Locked doors make it tricky to get in and out. Love for Twitter is affirmed.

I think I have more paddle boating experience than most people my age. Growing up, my best friend Kelly and I would paddle around her parent’s small pond in their yellow paddle boat. My dorm at Southern Illinois University was just a few feet away from the campus lake, where paddle boats and kayaks provided ample distractions on warm days.

So I was thrilled when one of my friends suggested we spend Memorial Day on a paddle boat. We rented one from Lake Johnson in Raleigh for $7 an hour then pedaled the next three hours away. We saw a giant snake, a heron and many young couples snuggling along the shore (*gag*).

There are several public lakes in Raleigh and Durham where you can rent boats. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially since these lakes are likely subsidized by local taxes.

I’m also big on swimming holes. I’ve heard there are some good ones around here, especially along the Eno River. If you know of any that are worth checking out, please fill me in. Also, let me know if there are other cool local spots where you can rent boats.

I was shopping at Target Saturday, when this man pass me on these bouncy-stilt thingys. I smiled politely and then pulled out my camera and snapped this picture. I should have asked him what, why and how, but I just let him bounce out of my life as quickly as he bounced in it.

Poweriser running and jumping stilts will enable you to jump to heights of 5-7 feet and run at speeds of 17-21 mph!

I was about to write it off as absurd and unnecessary (at least inside a Target, right?) but then I remembered my love for the Pogoball in the 80s. But then again, I was also like 7-years-old.

Seriously, why would anyone need to wear these PoweriZers, especially to Target or the mall? Is there something I’m not getting?

I was surprised to see this creepy sand sculpture still standing Sunday, when I was walking through Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.

The sandy sculpture went up for Artsplosure on May 17 and 18.

I’ve never been cynical though. So maybe good ol’ fashioned warning signs really work.

(Please don’t take this as encouragement to dive into the sculpture). Are you surprised this sandy creation was still standing a week later? Has anyone been down there since to see if it’s still there?

I’ve wanted to be a journalist since middle school. I loved reading my hometown newspaper, and when a reporter from the paper came to speak to my English class, I thought she was a celebrity. How cool would it be to get paid to be noisy, I used to think. So I did the whole college thing and the whole grad school thing, focusing on government reporting. I wrote obituaries. I had internships covering cops and state government. I was obsessed with the idea of becoming the city hall reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

But times change. And this thing called “the Internet” started to seriously impact the newspaper business. Not only were people getting more of their news *gasp* on-line, but blogs and other Web sites made it easier for everyday folks to become reporters. I saw the value in climbing aboard, so I took this gig as a community content manager for MyNC.com, where I oversee all the user-generated content and also try to drum up stories from citizens living in the communities that MyNC focuses on.

I used to scoff at the phrase citizen journalism. But that was before I was familiar with awesome local blogs like Bull City Rising and the Raleigh Connoisseur. Those bloggers don’t wait for the local media to cover things happening in their cities, they do it themselves. And one of the things that I love about MyNC is that it allows every day people to submit their own stories, photos (and soon, videos). We’re still in beta, working some issues out, but I’m so excited about the platform we’re providing for the greater Triangle community.

Anyway, I bring all this up because I’m sitting on a panel that will discuss the evolution of citizen journalism and its role in the larger media landscape. The panel is part of the Citizen Journalism Academy that the Society of Professional Journalists is sponsoring Saturday, June 7 at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C.

The academy is open to the public and covers all aspects of how to be a good citizen journalist — from ethics to responsible reporting. It only costs $25 to attend. So if you’re a budding or practicing citizen journalist, I strongly encourage you to sign up to learn more.

I like to explore on the weekends. On a rain Saturday last month, I was driving around trying to learn my way around Raleigh a little better, when I happened upon the JC Raulston Arboretum.

It was chilly and rainy, but I went inside the visitor’s center to see what it was all about. I was greeted by a sweet woman who briefly explained the whole layout of the gardens, the mission, etc. She handed me a map and I was on my way.

The Arboretum is part of the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University and is used by students and staff for research and teaching, according to the Arboretum Web site. It’s a neat spot to wander around. Supposedly it’s open 365 days a year (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during April through October and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during November through March).

I need to stop back by on a sunny day and see what’s blooming. I also need to make a trip to Duke Gardens sometime soon for a picnic. Last week I told you about the hidden urban garden in Durham that I love. Are there any other cool, local gardens I need to check out?

Meet Masa Tanaka. I spotted her last week sitting with some friends at Cafe Helios in Raleigh’s Glenwood South district (which has become the unofficial local Tweeple hangout) sporting this well-layered outfit.

The N.C. State University student graduated last weekend and scored a sweet gift to her mom: A medium-length grey skirt trimmed with several layers of white ruffles. You’re probably thinking: Wait, that adorable chick is sporting a royal blue dress, not a skirt … Well, you’re half right.

Masa understands the fine art of layering. Under that cotton slip dress she scored from Urban Outfitters is the skirt her mom bought her. By wearing the skirt under the dress, she’s managed to add texture to an otherwise simple dress. And she didn’t stop there. She also paired the dress with skinny jeans and a long-sleeved, white cotton shirt, which helps add emphasis to the snowy layers in her skirt.

The red flats were the perfect finishing touch, providing a splash of color. “I just like colorful stuff,” Masa said, when I asked her why she went for the red shoes. “I try to be as colorful as possible.”

A final fun detail: Masa’s mom lives in Japan and came to Raleigh for her graduation last weekend. She brought the skirt from Japan, telling her daughter the ruffled skirts are all the rage over there. Masa just so happened to be wearing the skirt for the first time the day I spotted her.

Raleigh’s city chicken owners invite you into their backyards for a first-hand look at keeping chickens in an urban environment. Discover the variety of breeds that might be nesting in your neighborhood, learn about raising chickens, and see how families integrate chickens into their gardening practices. In addition, you’ll be impressed by the ingenious coops that can be devised to shelter these feathered pets.

For information on where the tour stops and how to get tickets, click here.

Did you know there was such a thing as urban chickens? Could you kill a chicken you raised and eat it (I’m not saying thats what these folks do, I’m just curious)?

You have to wear shades.

Check out whatistwitter.com for more info.

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Do you think Twitter is stupid? Tell me why, let’s see if I can convince you otherwise.