black and (A)broad

• Hillary Clinton’s act of defiance: a longer hairdo - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/27/AR2010082702109.html #
• Essence’s hiring of a white fashion director should http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081904265.html #

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• Thank You, Dutch Cats http://ping.fm/iz1BJ #

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After years of making our back yard available for neighborhood cats to do their business, one of them finally left a token of appreciation. I went to take the trash to the container and, right smack in front of the back door, I found a gift: a dead frog with its head ripped off. Whoever said cats had no home training? Oh, I guess I did.

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• “Single Wo(men) - Rejoice” http://ping.fm/lGn1Y #

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• Summer Vacation 2010 http://ping.fm/f4NPb #

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• How to get articles published – the six pillars for success http://bit.ly/9YSh4l #

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• At the end of the day my 6 ur old still has energy enough to do water aerobics to Michael Jackson musicwith the adults. Awww. Cute #

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• Warm sunny in France. Gonna shave legs put on bikini and try out those massive slides at the pool with my 6 yr old #
• Hi @JustMeInHolland maybe it is regional
  I usually hear donkere mensen & translate that as people of color in reply to JustMeInHolland #
• I know it’s cliche but for the 1st time we lunched on croissants and baguettes. Mmmmm #

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• Bye Prats de Perigord, village of no Internet access. On our way to the Loire region. Never been there. Curious. #
• Took 1 hr to get to hiway. After 5 min, traffic jam. Vive la France #
• In Pierrefitte-sur-Sauldre. Settled in our TRAILER.kids& hubby swam. Kids watching movie. Sitting outside with glass of rose wine. Ahhhh #

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• Drove 9km for groceries and service on iPhone. On terrace with Coke. Sigh. I miss ice. But it is sunny today. #

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• Day 3 in Dordogne. Patience running out with rain and temperamental (being diplomatic) 3 year old. Experts help!!! #
• Tasting wine in Bergerac. #
• Not sure where we are, but we’re having dinner here. http://ow.ly/i/30PO #

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• On today’s agenda: Proumeyssac caves. Hmmmmm #
• Tour of cave less than spectacular. Headset broken. Three year old scared and crying. Left early #

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• Rain today. Why not visit Josephine Bakers Chateau des Milandes. Can’t wait to take a peek inside http://ow.ly/i/2Y4p #
• Care for a stroll in the garden? With a backyard like Josephine Baker’s who’d need the park? http://ow.ly/i/2Y4Q #
• Restaurant Le Pompon Rouge. Isn t it charming? http://ow.ly/i/2Xsm #

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• Dinner in St Pompon. Quaint restaurant middle of nowhere. Not kid friendly Food better be extraordinary service is not #

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• Left City of Lights for the French countryside. Nearest village is 9 KM. No internet but there is a pool. 1 week of quiet. Ahhhh (I think) #

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• In Paris with Sarah M. Best gelato this side of the Alps at Amorino. #
• Me and Sarah at park in Paris http://ow.ly/i/2TVs #

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• have a BIG piece of bread pudding @MsTerryMcMillan. Ur eating Jamaican, right? #
• family vacation begins today! Final destinations are the Dordogne and the Loire in South France. Driving away at 15.00. #
• First stop Lille France. Dying for glass wine in charming Vieuw Lille http://ow.ly/i/2SU8 #
• At Restaurant Au Vieuw Louis w/a glass of Ugni Blanc. Our 3yr olds getting ornery. Is that allowed in France? #

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• Listening to TableTalks of Uncaged Birds. Tonite’s topic is Afro-European Women. Join us. http://ping.fm/maoyr #

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• “Twitter Flies” http://ping.fm/9O0vx #

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Flies. They walk over s**t. They trample through carrion. Their babies are maggots. I know they’re God’s creatures. I know they have a purpose. I know they have as much right to life as I have. But. I hate flies. I abhor them. I despise them. I kill them.

Unlike spiders, flies do their best to announce their presence. They fly recklessly around the room, eventually two centimeters from my face always at eye level. And they buzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Twitter for me is like a fly. All day long tweople buzz their quotes from Ghandi and the Dalai Lama around the head of the internet. They recklessly toss their products and free offers in my face, whether I want them or not. They fly around my home space and stop to show off the long trains of conversation they’re privileged to have with this celebrity or that entertainer. They distract me with insignificant news of being stuck in traffic or of how busy they are buzzing in their followers’ ears.

As an independent publisher, I know only too well that Twitter is a necessary tool that can empower someone like me who’s responsible for establishing her own reader base. After I’ve posted this piece on my blog, I’ll head straight to Twitter to inform those who are following my tweets of its existence. When I read an enlightening article from a Muslim woman on wearing a naquib, I retweeted. When my book is released, I will announce it. I do indeed have a powerful, ready-made venue at hand for spreading my messages. But at what point does a tweeter become as pesky as my friend the fly?

A celebrity that I USED TO follow repeatedly tweeted her request to increase her reach to 10,000 followers. She tweeted a message that went something like this:
“I follow hundreds of people who don’t follow me. People, why aren’t you following me back?” Is there a magic number of followers you need to interest sponsors and advertisers? Is it to prove how popular you are? I used to follow another person who’d save up at least 10 inspirational saying just so she could tweet them at the same time, in succession. If I want to be reminded that “early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” I’ll read up on my Benjamin Franklin.

I love the tweets that link useful writing tips. I love links to articles that teach me something about another culture. I forward articles and link to blogs that show black women doing something creative and positive with their time here on earth. I’ll check out the websites of twitterers of quality. I may even buy their products. Quantity is just that, and I won’t waste my time following up on someone who buzzes about waiting in line to pump gas or about how delicious organic apples are.

We’ve become so obsessed with numbers that we’ve lost sight of what they really mean. My understanding of Twitter etiquette is that if I follow someone, s/he’ll follow me back regardless of who I am or what I might stand for. Chances are, s/he will never know about my writing process or about my daily life as a black woman living abroad or about how I overcame the limitations of my identity. Therefore, s/he will not read my book. So what’s the point? I may lose a follower or two or a hundred. But, then again, I’d rather communicate with people who are actually willing to listen to my message than simply be an irritating fly in their ear.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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