Are you on Twitter? If not you should think about it. You don’t have to be a rockstar to get people to listen – you just have to have something interesting to say, like @theideamechanic.

You know two people I like to follow on Twitter? @copyblogger and @shepherdfx … they’re amazing!

The good and the bad about Twitter is you only have 140 characters to say what you’re going to say. The bad news is you always seem to have more to say than will fit into 140 characters.

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Tell you what … if you go to the next Triangle Interactive Marketing Association (TIMA) meeting, and we’ve never met, just find me and tell me you read this post on theideamechanic storySite. Tell me the serial number on this five dollar bill (the one you see here) and I’ll give you one of your very own. Hey, ask me to and I’ll even buy you coffee!

You can spend it, save it, or in the spirit of Chuck Hester – Pay It Forward, give it to someone who could use the help. If you decide later on that you’d like the Idea Mechanics to help you with a new project, give us the serial number we gave you and use it like a coupon.

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Read the “Getting Started” posts – Ever visit a website and wonder “Where do I start?” I have. That’s why I thought it would help you to follow the yellow brick road.

You don’t need to click your heels three times to find home – you just have to look over to the side of the page. See the picture on the right from The Wizard of Oz? I’ve got a list of posts there that – like the name of their category – are a big help Getting Started. Click the drop down list and start skimming.

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Make plans now to attend the 2010 National Storytelling Festival. October 1-3, 2010 inJonesborough, Tennessee.

Come hear tales unfold beneath big festival tents and nighttime stars. The festival begins Friday morning and continues through Sunday afternoon.

Storytelling is as old as humankind yet as new as this morning’s news headlines.

We have told stories since the beginning of time. They are the narratives of life, spanning the centuries and connecting the generations. They are the vessels in which we carry our history and traditions, our values and lessons for living, our hopes and dreams.

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Come out for the second annual Third Coast Filmless Festival, a celebration of storytelling, sound and listening “in the dark” to unforgettable audio documentaries.

Enjoy screenings followed by producer Q&As, a special presentation of documentary-in-progress with Joe Richman, a lobby humming with audio installation. In the evening, celebrate the book launch of the newly-published Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound, with Ira Glass and the Kitchen Sisters.

Screening Blocks: Each screening explores a theme – from first personal narratives to sound-rich features to audio essays. All screenings include a Q & A. Check out the entire day’s schedule.

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