SANATOGA  PA – Weekend (April 25-26, 2009) jottings from a reporter’s notebook:

Tweet, Tweet Means Come Have Fun

Because communicating with people via Twitter is all the rage these days, particularly among the “plugged-in crowd,” it’s not surprising to find local entertainers are using the popular short messaging service to promote themselves to their fans.

The Collegeville PA rock group, A Voice Cinematic, issued a tweet April 18 to tout its appearance Saturday (April 25, 2009) at The Gallery on High in Pottstown. Reading PA radio station Y102 personality Chuck Corbin used Twitter to invite listeners Tuesday (April 21, 2009) to an on-site gig he was running at an Ashley Furniture store. Fashion model, clothing marketer and pop singer Jordan Pretty – who Corbin manages – was tweeting his beak out last week to attract a crowd for his performance at Lower Pottsgrove’s Club Revive.

The Boyertown PA Public Library used Twitter last week too, to drum up support for a fund-raising party it held at Monkey Joe’s in North Coventry PA.

And Bally PA author Bruce Sarte Jr., who just published a novel titled “Sands Of Time,” depended on Twitter Monday (April 20, 2009) to find venues where he could hold book-signings. He’d prefer Pottstown, Boyertown or Allentown locations, by the way, if you’re interested.

Twittering As Nouveau Reportage

During a meeting of the Society of Professional Journalists this week in Philadelphia, a speaker from Fox News Interactive in New York City suggested editors consider using Twitter as a real-time news-gathering tool. Tweets from the field, the speaker said, would not only generate reader involvement online but also could be assembled as a complete story later. Another benefit, he said: because tweets are limited to 140 characters, including punctuation, it forced reporters to think and express themselves in more concise terms.

So, attempting to be trendy, The Sanatoga Post traveled Sunday (April 26, 2009) to Jake’s Flea Market in sunny and hot Barto PA, 14 miles north of Sanatoga village, to report live about bargains found there. Sure, it’s a lame idea, but we all crawled before we walked.

For this flea market vendor Sunday in Barto, an umbrella was the only way to cope with the sun.

The results, in sequence, dispatched over a period of 72 minutes from The Post’s Twitter account:

• At flea market. Oil mix for a 2-cycle gas engine $5 case. They make 2-cycles anymore?
• 70s at 9 am at flea market. Woman vendor’s here until 2 pm. Oh my Gawd it’s hot awready, she says.
• Flea market deals of the day: anything on the tarp’s a quarter. Nothing I want, tho. Sad.
• Lotta flea market lookers, few buyers. Can you spell e-c-o-n-o-m-y?
• Finally found a hot seller. Guys crowded around a stand moving a ton of golf balls at 3 for a dollar.
• Why does everyone sell CDs from groups you’ve never heard about? Because they suck.
• Guy tells a friend he’s walking with he was up until 2 am today cleaning fish.
• Heard a woman describe herself as a lawn mower wife. “He just drives tractor all day,” she complains.
• Man with a crew cut walks by, carrying a tire iron and smiling. Scary.
• 1949 US Army manual, “Personal Conduct For Soldier,” $2. Cheap, vendor says. Can you use it?
• At a produce stand, 3 pounds green seedless grapes for $2. Tasted ‘em, they’re fine. Sold!
• Time to go home and do real work.
• During bkfst at McD’s, across aisle, man in a suit selling insurance policy to woman in shorts. Really.