I am an idea person. I don’t like to see a good idea die on the vine, choked by excessive caution, hemming, hawing or general “over thinking”. Sure, you need to plan, but there comes a point where you also have to take that leap and try the idea out – set it free to roam the wild. It’s the only you can grow as a person or business.

Some ideas fly high, like Uptown Uncorked, the Topics on Fire podcast (currently on summer hiatus) or the recent Twitter for Dummies project with Laura Fitton and Michael Gruen that just wrapped (hitting stores soon). Some build momentum more slowly. Some struggle to get past the enthusiasm stage. Some end up being put aside as not viable after all.

Some of my projects are building momentum at a nice steady pace now, like a new book I’m going to be writing with Jim Keenan from A Sales Guy. Some are building momentum slowly, like Social Mic, a fun music side project I’m working on with Maria Thurrell and a new hush hush project I’m creating with Alexa Scordato.

A few took off like rockets, going much faster than anticipated. One of those was Social Media Breakfast NH. The people in the business community of NH have embraced this idea and are instrumental in how successful it has been, and I can’t thank you all enough for the enthusiasm you bring to each month’s meeting (next month: Education 2.0 part two, by the way – save the date: 7/17). SMBNH grew so quickly I had to bring on the fabulous Kevin Micalizzi and Matt Turner to help. Another of these is PodCamp NH, which is really starting to gather steam behind the scenes. It’s a good thing I have a good team helping with that (Thanks team: Kevin Baringer, Kevin Micalizzi, John Herman, Christine Major, Nick Plante)!

One of my favorite ideas is struggling to get past the enthusiasm stage, mainly due to unexpected issues with red tape. That one is Strong Women in Tech, which I discussed the other day. Luckily, I reached out and am now getting some fabulous responses to that cry for help, and this idea may finally push past Stage One and really take off.

Some people look at all of the irons I keep in the fire – clients, speaking, writing, side projects, blogging, and more – and ask how on earth I can do everything I want to and still have a life. Simple: my network. Every single project or idea, as you can see, involves me reaching out to someone (or several someones) from my network I think would be a great fit for the idea actually getting legs and growing. If I didn’t have a strong network, none of this would work.

It isn’t just about me tapping my network, either. My network taps me for their projects all of the time (case in point, Laura tapping me for Twitter for Dummies). Be helpful. Be willing. Be supportive. This collaborative culture and collaborative economy we are in now is a two way street. Grow your network, take leaps of faith, help, support, DO, be bold – and you will grow in return.

Twitter Fashion Tip # 1: Just say “no” to the Manga-tar

Twitter Fashion Tip # 2: Unless you are a corporate entity with multiple people running one stream, logos are so ‘last season’

Twitter Fashion Tip # 3: Remember to accessorize! Decorate your stream with lots of followers AND people YOU follow

Twitter Fashion Tip # 4: You can’t go wrong with a lovely jacket – take a minute and customize your profile

Twitter Fashion Tip # 5: Bots are like white shoes after labor day: a no-no. Use your block feature to give them the ‘boot’

Twitter Fashion Tip # 6: Have a hat to go with that jacket. Put on your thinking cap, don’t tweet what you don’t want found by Google or mom

Twitter Fashion Tip # 7: The right vehicle brings you to the party w/ style. Try a desktop app like TweetDeck or Twhirl to drive your tweets

Twitter Fashion Tip # 8: No one likes a cheap host(ess). Don’t serve your followers spam at this party. Make each link valuable, personalize

Twitter Fashion Tip # 9: If you like Bitchmeme(tm) brand jeans, keep em on the DM. Those jeans DO make your butt look fat (& your brain, tiny)

Twitter Fashion Tip #10: It’s nice to give your guests party favors. Send them home with new or unique ideas wrapped up in a lovely package.

I also could add a few more to the original list, like a tip on the value of accessorizing wisely with TwitterKeys and special characters to save space. Perhaps I’ll do another ten in a while and include a few more obscure tips for you all.