What is Twitter? And what the heck is a haiku? A haiku is a form of poetry that is really short. I mean, really short. This form of Japanese poetry is based on syllables. In English, a haiku would be written in three lines, with the first line containing five, the second seven and the third five.
Jane Reichold offers really great resources for reading and writing haikus on her website, if you want more detailed information and articles to read.
Twitter is a “micro-blogging” service that allows you to set up an account and follow interesting people. I use it for link-sharing, networking and friendship; one of its benefits for me is that it connects with my Facebook and LiveJournal accounts.
When you “blog” on Twitter, you are limited to 140 characters which can make some “tweets” quite challenging but can make for some interesting bouts of creativity.
After putting some initial feelers out there, many fellow writers were interested in my idea for a “haiku day” on Twitter. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought we could have our first #haikuday next week and have a love theme.
For those of you who are new to Twitter, when you put the “pound” sign on Twitter in your tweet, it allows other people to references your topic of conversation. Using #littlelove will ensure everyone’s haikus can be read, regardless of whether or not you are following that person.
First Haiku Day is Thursday, February 12, 2009
Join me in spreading a little love next week on Thursday by sharing your own love-themed haiku poems. If you aren’t already, I invite you to Follow Monica on Twitter. I don’t auto-follow new people because I’d like to get to know you, so be sure to introduce yourself and say “Hi.”
Here’s a sample 5/7/5 format using that love theme:
red flowers remind / cold, blue winter is melting / warm hearts all year round #littlelove
Let’s see if we can get the word out there so we can all get our creative juices flowing for a Haiku Day on Thursday, February 12th! In the meantime, I’ll definitely work on my haiku writing skills!
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gregorylent February 5, 2009
great idea … of course .. and, marginally ruined by that bot on twitter that steals every haiku and reposts it as its own .. so, careful on your hashtag
Monica Valentinelli February 5, 2009
Hmmm… Maybe we should change the hashtag to something else. Thoughts?
Dorian aka coffeesister |_|) February 12, 2009
This is a fun & worthy TwitDay, Monica, my mug’s raised to you.. ^_^
As for the bot, I’ve blocked @haikutwaiku & hope all my fellow haikists on Twitter will do so too. Since I track the word “haiku” thru Twhirl, blocking that account has kept me from getting the plagiarized versions & should keep my own haiku out of its stream. ~_~
(|_|*cheers*|_|)
tweeted haiku
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© @coffeesister