The body is weak, but the mind is chillin’. Back from Baltimore at last, I can barely move a muscle, I’m so tired. Some unforgettable moments and late nights of great conversations with brilliant people made this the best Balticon I’ve ever attended. Sharing it with my wife and son made it that much better.

I have only one complaint, and I’ll share it now to get it over with: <begin rant> PLEASE FIX THE DAMN A/C IN THE NEW MEDIA ROOM OR PLEASE GIVE US A BIGGER ROOM NEXT YEAR! SHEEEEESH! </end rant>

Seriously, I sweat buckets in the Chesapeake room this year. If it weren’t for some merciful souls handing out paper plates to fan our corner of the smoldering room during Tee Morris’ and Philippa Ballantine’s big announcement, I would have missed one of those great moments at Balticon! (And BTW, Tee and Pip were fantastic. I can’t say this enough: I love Pip’s voice.)

In all fairness to the designers of the A/C system, it was more an issue of sheer body heat. No A/C system could adequately accommodate the number of human beings that stuffed themselves willingly into that tiny, hot sanctuary of media madness. Solution: get a bigger room, please, I beg of the organizers!

Alright, I said I’d share my complaint and be done with it, so now I’ll get on to some of my other thoughts and impressions of a truly great Memorial Day weekend.

Where to begin? Well, what jumped out at me this year (surprise, surprise) were the cool people I got to spend time with, both in and out of the sessions. Old friendships reaffirmed and new friendships kindled, combined to enlighten and inspire me to create more and better work. More music, more stories. More, more, better, better, that’s what I wanted to do as I hauled out my gear to the car in the humid May afterglow of a truly memorable weekend.

Standout highlight of the convention for me this year? Well, besides participating in the program in some fun sessions (more on that later), it HAD to be the PG Holyfield, Nathan Lowell and Patrick McLean book launch on Saturday night. For me, that was a sublime moment of pure awesome.

Now, I don’t make it a secret that PG Holyfield has been a big influence on my podcasting, and anyone who knows him knows what a talented storyteller and great guy he is. As a fan, I hope for his success. As a friend, I hope for his happiness. It was particularly exciting to see him launch his book, something that has meant so much to him for so long, something that he spent years developing and pouring his heart and time into… all to have that distilled down into one soul-satisfying physical object in his hand. What a great moment by any standard.

Now, the event included two other ridiculously talented writers who also launched books that evening, and so it was a great moment in the New Media family, and we all felt the excitement and — to be blunt — joy, of the event. But then, it got really interesting…

They were each going to read excerpts from their own books, but someone — perhaps one of the authors or someone in the audience — suggested that they take turns reading from each other’s works… not their own. Whoever came up with this spontaneous flash of brilliance made the evening the stand-out session of Balticon for me. And what happened next was magic.

They agreed to take turns reading from one of the other authors’ books, and it was clear this was not planned in advance. These would be cold (as in, unprepared), honest, pure reads from esteemed colleagues, in an intimate audience of friends and fans. The magic started with Nathan Lowell reading a short story from Patrick McLean’s book, and that set the tone for the other readings.

Nathan’s reading was nothing short of brilliant, and Patrick’s story was so clever, pithy and perfectly written, I honestly felt like I was witnessing a live Sci-Fi/Fantasy version of a secret Dead Poets Society gathering. Only the writers weren’t dead. And they weren’t poets. (Although, Patrick’s work might qualify in terms of bang-for-the-buck per word.) But you get the basic idea.

And then a murmur of restrained awe seemed to spread through the room, when we realized no one was recording the event. And this, in the New Media room, where everything is recorded. The unspoken message was loud and clear: this would be a one-off moment in time. Something to etch in your memory. And we better pay attention, ’cause it was gonna be special.

PG, Patrick and Nathan each took turns reading, and the stories came alive in a way that reminded me of my childhood — in a golden-hued memory of a magical campfire evening with a master storyteller.

Damn, it was simply awesome. I love going to conventions in the hope of experiencing just one of those types of moments, and sure enough, it was Saturday night with PG, Patrick and Nathan for me.

Now, Balticon this year was filled with great moments in many different ways. I had the excitement of participating in the program with some panels and presentations. I did a session called “Podcast Production Gorefest” about audio production which I think turned out reasonably well. I also did a reading from another novel I’m working on (insert evil laugh here), which I was pretty damn nervous about, but I think it also went well. I participated on a lively panel with Guest of Honor Tanya Huff and Gary Ehrlich about music in science fiction stories, which is a topic I love.  And I was blown away by joining Mattie Brahen, Kim the Comic Book Goddess and Norm Sherman on an insanely fun songwriting panel.

When the excitement and fun of my own panels were over, I enjoyed other events at Balticon, from great New Media panels and presentations to the film fest, the masquerade, and so forth. That is, if I could make it to the sessions. What happened was that I kept on running into great people in the hallways and lobby and engaging in some great conversations, late into the night.

Highlights include many discussions and run-ins with some amazing writers, podcasters, musicians, costumers, social-media-acquaintances-turned-friends, and I could go on and on. That’s what makes Balticon special for me.

I want to list names, but I swear I’m going to pass out from lack of sleep at any moment, and chances are I’ll miss a couple of names of some wonderful people that I really enjoyed meeting, conversations that made Balticon so memorable this year. Some people I still only know from their social media handles! <sigh> What has become of old social norms? Are we all just physical avatars of our online personas?

The only thing I regret is my lack of stamina to talk with everyone for as long as I would have liked to. There are some loose threads of conversations I’d love to resume one day soon. Conversations about music, favorite writers, publishing ventures, crime scene investigation issues, film noir favorites, dreams/hopes/aspirations, love-hate relationships with movies and directors, life and family conversations, the supportive nature of the podcasting community, things like Second Life and the anthropological implications of the future of social media. Alright, I better stop there.

In the end, time passed too quickly. My wife and son were awesome and we all had a great time. It was filled with a quality of experience that, thanks to some old and new friends, made this year the best Balticon I’ve ever attended. It inspired me and fueled me for a huge upcoming summer of intense work and production as I wrap up all the remaining FETIDUS episodes (woo-hoo!) and a killer score for 95ers. Thank you so much!

And now, for some sleep.

Now, before you do anything else, I dare you to say the title of this post five times fast … waiting … waiting … waiting … Okay, great! Now we’ve got some reader interaction, and this is already heating up! By way of introduction, I am a total Twitter neophyte and a complete social media newbie. However, with my keen powers of insight I have been able to pull five seemingly random tips about Twitter for new Twitterers out of my magical tip generator and now I will share them with you in all their glory!

Twitter Tip #1 – Make your own way, blaze your own path, be your own guru, and explore!

Every single week I see another brilliant new application of Twitter, another new development, approach, or clever idea! Twitter is still evolving at a break-neck pace and who the heck can possibly consider themselves a Twitter guru or expert at this point? I’ll concede that I’ve seen a few who do genuinely seem to know a lot, but I contend Twitter is so remarkably complex and far-reaching in its potential, that we all have a lot to learn… and a lot of room to experiment in.

What we’re witnessing with Twitter, I believe, is the beginning of a mighty change in the fabric of human relationships, where new social paradigms are evolving at an insane pace! We’re in the middle of a revolution! So that means, I believe you can make your own way, blaze your own path, and be your own guru! And by all means, explore! Learn Twitter, embrace Twitter, investigate the nooks and crannies while it is still a young and wild frontier! Have fun with it, enjoy it! I’ve been blown away by what I’ve found so far.

I believe that the social and anthropological ramifications of Twitter are deep enough for dozens of doctoral dissertations and “how-to” books! I know a great guy writing one right now, and I can’t wait to read it. And while you should obviously listen to the people you want to listen to, I humbly suggest that you reserve judgment for yourself and try your own ideas too! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Twitter Tip #2 – Equip yourself with the best tools for taking advantage of Twitter!

One of the first things I noticed was how overwhelming it could be to have a stream of tweets slamming me in the neural cortex in 140 character bursts like a fire hydrant gone amuck. In no time at all, I wished for a superior Twitter interface and some tools to manage and explore the Twitter universe.

Well, apparently the Twitter developers thought the same thing and they made an extensive API (Application Programming Interface) available to third-party developers so that clever little programming elves could create new, amazing Twitter programs to help you enjoy Twitter even more.

I won’t bore you with my current list of cool Twitter apps that I use, since whatever I say will be out-dated soon anyway. Just know that there is a Twitter application for almost anything, and if it doesn’t exist right now, it probably will soon. In fact, maybe you should develop it!

There are multiple apps for your iPhones and BlackBerries (or is that BlackBerrys?), special websites with funky statistics and tools, and stand-alone Twitter apps that cut through tweets like butter. I will only mention TweetDeck for now, but the best thing to do is ask people in Twitter itself what the coolest and best tools are. This is a constantly evolving landscape, but you’ll soon get a handle on it, and your tweeting experience will vastly improve.

Twitter Tip #3 – Following is fun, and plus, it’s a great way to gain your own followers!

When I joined Twitter eons ago, yes, those many, many, many days ago, I didn’t initially get the whole “follow” thing. What the heck was that all about? See what a neophyte I am? I’m not ashamed of being a total newbie at this. It just makes me want to learn! And so I began to learn without any preconceptions by simply following interesting people. And I discovered that following is fun!

There are so many fascinating people out there! And as time progressed, I noted that some of them followed me back. I read what they wrote, and interacted with my new-found fellow Twitterers.

Now let me be clear here. I’m not suggesting you follow just to get followers. (Although, that appears to work to a degree for many people who are interested primarily in numbers.) I’m suggesting you follow people that interest you, for whatever reason, and then let human nature take its course. Interact, and you will be followed back by many.

So how do you find people that are interesting to you in the first place? Ahhhhhh… that’s why I have another tip for you!

Twitter Tip #4 – How to find great initial people to follow, then expand your network by following the people they follow and those that follow them!

Make sense? I thought so. So how do you find those initial interesting people? Well, three ways for starters:

First, start by clicking “Find People” at the top of the page. Pretty obvious. Look up favorite writers, artists, musicians, friends, celebrities, real-world experts, etc., who are already on Twitter, and follow them. Inside the Find People menu you’ll also see “Find on other networks,” “Invite by email,” and “Suggested users.” Use those tools!

Second, use the “search” box on the Twitter page… and search for anything that interests you. If you like zombies, search for zombies! And there you will find the pulse of Twitter as it pertains to zombies… and the people who are talking about zombies at that very minute. Check them out, and follow people who are interesting to you!

Third, pay attention to the other websites you normally visit out there on the Internet! Many people that you normally get content from are already on Twitter… but you may not easily find them via the two methods above… so as you visit their sites, check out if they have a Twitter account, and if not, encourage them to get one! I’ve already invited or found a quality group of friends, colleagues and businesses this way, and it’s great to connect with them on Twitter!

Then, once you start to find that initial core of people, tap into their networks! One of the beauties of Twitter is that you can see who anyone is following, and who follows them… once you find someone that interests you, look through the profiles of some of both their followees and followers, read what they have to say, and you may find yourself amazed at the cool and fantastic people out there in the Twitterverse. Click “follow” on anyone that interests you!

Twitter Tip #5 – Tweet unto others as you would have them tweet unto you!

Well, there’s always room for the Golden Rule. Basic kindergarten behavior that seems obvious, but apparently some Twitter users somehow forget this basic social concept. I’m all for inventing The Great New Way to Use Twitter, and would love to see where brilliant new Twitter minds take us, but for most people, basic common-sense respect and even a little kindness go a long way. Please remember the “social” in social media! Those are human beings on the other side of those 140 characters. (Well, most of the time. )

On top of that, I’d humbly suggest never taking anything personal in the Twitterverse… I’ve already seen numerous little bouts of misunderstandings break out and much-needed apologies issued over things that were never intended to hurt someone. Actually, they were kind of hilarious to watch unfold, but sometimes let’s face it, we take things personally that don’t need to be.

Well, that’s it for now! My humble “Top Five Twitter Tips for New Twitterers from a Top-flight Twitter Neophyte” is now coming to a close — I have more, but the title wouldn’t have been nearly as fun to say out loud, so I’ll save my other ideas for my next Twitter-related post. Above all, I hope you enjoy Twitter and I hope to tweet you around! Oh… almost forgot… if interested, you can follow my tweets at:  twitter.com/jamesdurham