Strate Talk on Twitter

So, in my previous blog post, You Are What You Tweet, I wrote about a less-than-pleasant incident that I experienced on Twitter and used it as an occasion to apply communication theory to social media. The overarching point is that the messages we send online become statements about who we are, in effect creating a self or persona and entering into a relationship with others. We are the sum of our communication behaviors, at least insofar as others are concerned. This is something that we talk about in the field of media ecology, along with the fact that our identities, relationships, and selves change in response to changes to the media environment.

So I was very pleased indeed to receive a message from one of my twitterkin, as some refer to folks they follow and are followed by on Twitter. In this case the individual could be taken for actual kin, since she shares the same last name as me. In truth, we are not related, I'm not related to anyone named Strate (outside of my immediate family), it was a name change as a result of my parents' immigration to the United States and naturalization as citizens. But I can't help but feel a sense of kinship with Ms. Strate nonetheless, as she did when she first contacted me. I think human beings are naturally hardwired that way, we gravitate towards human connection--we're social animals, after all, meaning that we are nature's own social media.

When I first started on Twitter about a year ago, my friend, the public relations professional and social media specialist Paull Young (see my previous posts All A Twitter and Social Media on Social Media) gave me a shout out, and I wound up connected to a bunch of PR professionals, students, and faculty, which turned out to be an unexpected treat. And Katherine Strate is a PR student at the University of Georgia, and a rather bright one at that. Naturally. Her Twitter name is @katlady, and here's her profile picture:



I was going to say something about good looks running in the family, but, well, again, we're not really related so never mind about that. All right, you may think this post is going nowhere fast, and maybe it is. But as I was saying, Katherine sent out a tweet saying that she liked my post and had written about it, sending me a URL for her post on the Public Relations Student Society of America at the University of Georgia website/blog. Her item is entitled From a Strate: You Are What You Tweet, and I want you to go read it now, or as soon as you're done reading this post. Just click on the title and go on over there.

Interestingly enough, Katherine's post also appeared on a site called tweetmoney, it's the same post but if you want to see this other site as well, just click on that name and show me the tweetmoney. This site has a subtitle of Using Twitter To Make Money Or To Start A Business @ TweetMoney. No comment.

So, that's pretty much it. Go check out Katherine Strate's post, From a Strate: You Are What You Tweet, maybe even leave her a comment, and tell her, um, well, tell her Strate sent you.