Energetic advice on twitter, life for #clarkclass

Heide Brandes @HeideWrite kept the class laughing and learning with her boundless energy, frank advice and many "unquoteable" quotes in twitter for journalists #clarkclass today. She was talking about far more than just twitter, but also about freelance writing, belly dancing, the sex life of possums, and other topics. She left us a list of 12 tips for twitter, which sounded more like life advice (one of them--"be nice").
For the record, this UCO grad worked for newspapers in Madill, Duncan and Moore, before working in public relations for the Salvation Army. Then a year and a half ago she quit to follow a dream and freelance full time. That's a huge risk, and she's been more than successful. Why? She is a very good writer, she has boundless energy and a great attitude.
After she left,  we debriefed with each student chiming in. Here's a summary, compiled by #clarkclass student @JenniferHasel:

• She is hilarious, loved her and how she embraces herself and doesn’t care what other people think
• Inspiring, lots of fun, and lots of energy
• Failure is important--learn from it
• Her quirkiness helps her in her work
• “You will regret the things you didn't do, not the things you did do”
• She has passion and energy 
• Twitter is a microscopic view of life 
• Twitter belongs to the people--it is defined by the users
• You can get three stories from every subject
• Everything she does she relates to her work, even vacations or visiting people and places.
• Twitter is your portfolio- use it to market yourself
• She doesn't have to sell herself--work finds her
• Help other people--it’s not just about yourself
• Use the last four words of the what the person said with a question mark at the end to generate more discussion
• She has a passionate personality and positive attitude 
• Everyone has a story and it’s an important story to tell, but it's your job to make their story heard and interesting
• She uses Twitter to network and promote links to her work
• Be comfortable in your own skin--don’t be shy about asking
• She's been successful yet kept her code of ethics 
• Follow people you admire or want to connect with
• She's genuine and stands up for herself 
• Attitude is everything--if you expect life to suck, it will, if you expect it to be great, it will
• She makes everything a story
• She opened up a new idea for me to consider, brought me a new perspective on journalism
• The way she talks reflects the way she writes-she doesn't follow a script
• She knows how to tell a story
• Be part of your community-if you’re not being yourself in your community then you're really not part of your community all
• People can tell if you're not being genuine-you're better at being you than anyone else
• “Be positive- nobody wants to hear a Debbie downer or an Eyore”
• Use Twitter to have other people market you
• She markets herself solely through social media, using Twitter to post links to clips that are parked on her website
• “Be nice-don't be the guy that hides behind the Internet”
• Listen-it's our job to listen
• Be flexible to let the story become what it is, not what you want it to be
• If you try to force it, it’s not going to be a great story 
• Be visible, be heard, be obvious
• “Make somebody’s day”
• “Be likeable”
• “Make a difference”
• Tell them why you're on Twitter through your bio 
• Twitter can make you a better writer--it helps you be concise
• Don't compromise yourself--it’s more important to be able to sleep at night 
• Have your career but don't give up your passion
  

Comparison with @MikeSherman

• They both have the same philosophy on attitude 
• They both told us to be genuine and be yourself
• They both use Twitter as a tool for life
• They both said to be a human being before being a journalist
• Both believe you should have a footprint on twitter and use it to post about your work
• They both said to own up to mistakes, apologize, learn and move on