Abraham Lincoln on Twitter

History Tweets: Abraham Lincoln's rare tweet about tweeting.

Half Way There

When I was young and learning fractions for the first time, my grandfather helped me grasp the concept by asking, "How many times can you cut a stick of butter in half?"

I didn't give it much thought. I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I don't know. I guess once."

He said, "I want you to really think about this. You have a stick of butter. You can cut that stick in half, and it gives you two halves. You can take one of those halves and cut it in half. That gives you two smaller halves, or two quarters. You can take one of those quarters and cut it in half for two smaller halves, or two eighths. You can take one of those eighths and cut it in half. How many times can you cut a stick of butter in half?"

Well at such a young age, this was really blowing my mind. "I don't know. But it's a lot."

He said, "In theory, you can cut it in half forever. You can always get one more half. But in reality you can only cut it in half until your butter is the same width as your knife."

That was a breakthrough movement for me, and not just with fractions. That incident has become a powerful metaphor for me about continual improvement. No matter what I'm working on, I can never fully reach perfection. However, in theory, I can always get a half step closer; but in reality, I can only keep taking those half steps forward as long as my tools get sharper and finer. It still kind of blows my mind.

Movie Tweets - Farmer Hoggett

Spending so much time on Twitter has certainly changed the way I look at things. I'm starting to see more and more of the world through Twitter lenses. It got me wondering what some great quotes from history or from the movies would look like if they were actual tweets. So I started with a character who is the perfect role model for saying a lot with very few words, Farmer Hoggett from the movie "Babe." Here is my first movie tweet creation.

If this scene had been tweeted...


I believe it would look like this.

Tweets from History - E.B. White

A lot of times the tough choices in life aren't between good and bad; they're between good and better. Planning involves setting priorities and choosing one path means letting go of all the others. Here's how E.B. White would have tweeted his thoughts on planning:

Connecting People in Real Time

Here's Twitter cofounder, Jack Dorsey, talking about how the instant tweet concept evolved from messenger service tracking to a versatile tool to connect people in real time.  He offers several innovative examples of how this application is being ultilized.



Jack Dorsey Presents Twitter from biz stone on Vimeo.

Use the Force, Todd

Create your own FACEinHOLE

My new favorite web site FACEinHOLE.com. Check it out.

3 Ways to Share Martin Luther King Jr.

Here is a word cloud of his "I Have a Dream" speech on wordle.net.



YouTube has several videos of him giving speeches, various tributes, and plenty of interviews with pundits talking about him. This one is a brief clip from the last speech he gave. His timing, cadence, and intonation are amazing. I also like the camera angle.



There are so many powerful quotes from this eloquent orator. Here's one my favorites.


Start celebrating today on his actual birthday!