Campus crushes: New Twitter fad part flattering, part creepy

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Andy Paras

A couple of the tweets are sweet: A secret admirer says a girl is gorgeous. A girl tells a boy he’s so funny and nice “and definitely boyfriend material.”

But by and large, the material on the new @CofCCrushes twitter account is way too raunchy to repeat here. And it’s all anonymous, except for the targets of the tweets who are either described in detail or named.

I have just discovered @cofccrushes on my timeline. It’s like @postsecrets meets the bathroom stall wall at Upper Deck. #chs #cofc

— Andy Paras (@AndyParas) March 27, 2013

Some of the tweets are funny – and seemingly meant to be – and so far no one seems to have taken offense to being a target, no matter how creepy the tweet.

The College of Charleston account has grown to 900 followers in about a week but it is not the first of its kind, not even in the state of South Carolina where there is already @USCCrushes 5,000+ followers; @ClemsonCrushes 2,800+ followers; and a @WoffordCrushes 260+ followers.

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Dude, local entrepreneur offering coveted Twitter account in exchange for financing

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Andy Paras

The Dude

What would you give to be The Dude?

How about the @dude?

The @dude

Summerville entrepreneur Billy Gadol has held the @dude account since January of 2007. He’s is offering to give it away in exchange for a $4,999 donation to a project he’s trying to start on Kickstarter, a website that helps people raise money for such things.

Gadol has been playing guitar since he was a little dude and came up with the idea of creating a foot pedal that would allow him to change the sound of his guitar during songs, not in between.

With 11 days to go he’s nearly one-third of his way to his $60,000 goal. He’s offering various prizes commensurate with the donation amount but the big prize is the coveted @dude account.

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Should journalists quote from your Twitter, Facebook posts without permission?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Andy Paras

Popular local food blogger Christina Orso recently asked a question on Twitter that fired up a lot of discussion.

You can be quoted on the news from a tweet without your permission? Seriously?

— christinaorso (@christinaorso) January 19, 2013

And yes, as a courtesy, I asked her for her permission before I reprinted her Tweet here but the question remains: Should I have?

It’s kind of hard to expect privacy when you publicly post something on a social medium where sharing is a rule, not an exception.

On the other hand, even I would find it a bit jarring to see one of my tweets quoted on a newscast or a blog or in another newspaper without any warning. At the least, I’d expect a tweet back letting me know or asking me to expand on my point beyond 140 characters. That seems easy and fair. That’s why our policy is to essentially stick to the Golden Rule: “Do unto others …”

But it’s not always that simple.

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That’s a Clowny account, bro: Will the real Clowney Twitter account please stand up

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Andy Paras

Which of the above Twitter accounts belongs to South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney? None of them. Not even this next one, which has more than 51,000 followers. (Update as of 1/23/13: The account below has been suspended by Twitter.)

It’s actually the one below, as verified by teammate DJ Swearinger.

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Colbert’s Twitter campain for DeMint’s senate seat begins; Haley responds on Facebook

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Andy Paras

After hours of speculation Thursday, Stephen Colbert took to Twitter and his TV show that night to implore his fans to tweet Gov. Nikki Haley and tell her why she should select Colbert, a Charleston native, to replace U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint.

The social media savvy Colbert instructed fans to use the #SenatorColbert hashtag, which is literally getting dozens of responses every minute. There’s also a website with a Tweet to @NikkiHaley button, but I’m not sure that’s a verified site.

Gov. Haley responded this morning on her Facebook page, her social medium of choice.

Is Colbert “campaigning” on Twitter for DeMint’s senate seat?

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Andy Paras

Reporting for duty, South Carolina!

— Colbert for Senate (@ColbertforSC) December 6, 2012

The above tweet appeared this morning just hours after U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint announced he was leaving his position, igniting all sorts of gleeful reaction from his South Carolina fans. After all, Colbert rocked Charleston like a Hermain Cain about a year ago and “ran” for president a time or two, if that’s what you call what he does.

So it wouldn’t be a surprise if he started a campaign for U.S. Senate, even though the next senator will have to be appointed by S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. So, is he or isn’t he?

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Celebrities recognize Charleston on Twitter, Facebook

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Andy Paras

Even the most famous celebrities recognize Charleston as a great city, so it’s no surprise when they’re recognized while shopping on King Street, frolicking on the beaches or just standing around the airport tarmac.

Celebrity sightings are so common now that we probably shouldn’t get so excited any more but we still do, especially when their Mount Pleasant wedding becomes national news. We just can’t help ourselves from taking out the smart phones and tweeting it.

That’s why I collected some of the best celebrity sightings captured on Facebook and Twitter from the last year or so often by the celebrities themselves.

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