You have asked me to follow you. I am touched and will do my best to do so when I get round to it. But the chances are I have missed your request. A request that is rendered no more attractive by capital letters, pretty-pleases or frantic begging. It will be easier for me to have a big follow session if you include #followmestephen in the text of your post. Then I can search easily and do a big follow session when my fingers and metacarpals are fit.
#followmestephen is an example of a hashtag. For more on these have a look here.
Thanks and see you out there in twitterland.
x
Stephen
© Stephen Fry 2009
Producer note: A number of you have made comments about being blocked and expressed some disappointment. Please be assured that it is due to a technical bug and not because @stephenfry has deliberately blocked you. I’ll contact each of you that have made a comment on here asking you to send me your Twitter user profile name so you can be unblocked. If you don’t hear from me, please email help@samfrylimited.com Best wishes, Andrew Sampson, stephenfry.com producer.
You can ask twitter to allow you to automatically follow any new followers. I did tell you this via a tweet but obviously it was lost among the other tweets of your 200k+ followers.
So *that’s* how you got into shape!
Surely that’s missing the point?
With twitter you should ONLY follow people you want to read, otherwise you will be lost in a deluge of posts you aren’t actually interested in. Flattering to your fans though it is to be followed by your good self, I’m sure you don’t really want to read my tweets about motorbikes, my kids and software engineering.
UNLESS That is I’m talking about something interesting, which is where @stephenfry comes in, or hashtags, and using a client that allows you to run and monitor searches.
Dear Sir,
I must say I do find this way of attracting your attention most uncomfortable. It’s simply not in my nature at all; I much prefer to bat my eyelids and hope for the best but if there is something I have learned in life it’s that you get nothing unless you ask for it, so unfortunately here I am.
I have posted a #followmestephen tweet on twitter. As you are no doubt already aware there is very little space for what I would call an adequate explanation so I decided it was best to post that here, it seemed like the most appropriate place to me, I hope you would agree else I fear you may not find it.
My name is Sarah Phillips, Krysantha is a name I invented for places such as Twitter as more often than not the name Sarah is already taken, where as Krysantha has so far not let me down, although I must admit to a few variations. I am 29 year olds, married with two children, Megan who is 7 and Samuel who is 4 and is Autistic. Both Megan and I have Von Willebrands Disease or vWD to save a mouth full. vWD is a hereditary condition which affects the bloods ability to clot. I won’t explain exactly what vWD is as I don’t want to ruin your fun researching it, that’s provided you have not heard of it which I suspect you have, also I personally find it quite complex and struggle to explain it to others, you may think that this strange considering I have the condition, most in my situation I know would have read every book available regarding the subject however I am quite a simple person and have just accepted the fact that I have this abnormality and live a slightly different lifestyle as a result, I don’t feel it necessary to learn its complexities.
I am hoping at this point that you are slightly intrigued as opposed to bored however I will make haste with my explanation just in case I have lost your attention. I am currently in the process of writing a book called A Bloody Existence, My Life with Von Willebrands which is nowhere near complete and will most defiantly not be ready for publication before 2012 at the earliest, however this is not the reason I have asked you to follow me on twitter, the reason I have asked is because upon researching the condition vWD for my book it occurred to me that there are no websites dedicated to people who have vWD, yes we have the Haemophilia Society and there are umpteen articles floating the net regarding the subject, some written by medical professionals and some written by suffers of the condition however there are no sites dedicated to the people affected with the condition, somewhere where they can chat to others who also have the condition and share experiences and or advise. I feel that we sufferers as a community would benefit profusely from such a site something not much unlike your own website. I have therefore started to create such a site although I admit it’s nowhere near the calibre of your site it’s a start and if it’s successful then I can develop it at a later stage.
Success however depend largely upon advertising, advertising cost money and allot of it, money, and this I don’t mind admitting at all, is not something I have large amounts of, I am after all just an ordinary person with no particular special talent, I am a mother and a wife and live a slightly abnormal life due to mine and my daughters and my sons conditions. I therefore have to rely upon places such as my facebook page and twitter in order to spread the word. Unfortunately unless I have a large number of followers it’s unlikely that I will reach large numbers of people. I know that not everybody on twitter would be interested and that my target audience are people who have vWD rather than the average normal person and the chances of me getting my message to my target audience via twitter is very remote however I also know that I am a very optimistic person and I therefore do still feel that it’s worth a try.
I am hoping by having your good self as one of my followers you will be able to keep an eye on my sites progress and then as and when you feel it an appropriate time you could re tweet my tweets which will inevitably drive traffic to my site and boost its popularity in the process, hopefully I will reach a small proportion of my target audience as well, I also wondered if by having your good self as follower it may increase my own following viewers enableing me to reach a larger audience on a whole.
I do feel I should point out that I will not benefit financially what so ever from this venture of mine, this is simply a charitable project to put people who have vWD in touch via the web with other people who have vWD. The cost of getting the website of the ground is being funded by myself out of my own personal money, I have not asked and will not be asking anyone for any financial assistance or donations and shall not be getting anything in return other than the satisfaction of helping other people like myself.
If you feel you are in a position to help then I am forever indebted and most grateful indeed however please do not think at all that should you find yourself unable to help I would think anything less of you because I would not, I actually hold you in very high esteem and if you were unable to help whatever your reasons might be I would completely and utterly understand.
The website I am referring to is currently in development however please feel free to visit it and indeed comment if you wish.
http://vonwillebrands.info
If you would like to contact me there is a working contact form on the site, alternatively if you are able to view my email address which is attached to this post please don’t hesitate to use it.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Many Thanks & Best Wishes
Sarah Phillips
There was a young fellow called Fry
Whose IQ was incredibly high
As his knowledge expanded
He found himself stranded
Behind a large desk atQI.
I wanted to send you this on Twitter but I’m blocked!!!
From @Desirel
Rusty Gladdish
Dear Mr Fry & Assoc.
sorry to be a dreadful bore i would like it if i wasnt blocked by you…. I know I can be a foolhardy flibbertyjibbet of a tweeter, intermittently then feverishly posting, however I am a jolly good sort really, my mother says so and everything. Now I know other tweeters have written poetry (@Desirel) melodic ryhthm was never a stronger point , nor was the ways of being a feminine flirt (@Krysntha) … I think it may have something to do with me being a friend of dotty’s. But if you could find a small moment to counteract the block i’m @jamesjwalsh
With the kindest of regards
J
Yes please, if you could unblock my twitter account @chilled35 from following Stephen, that would be ace! I’m glad to read it’s down to a technical hitch…
Cheers
Jason
#followmestephen
I would be honoured for you to follow me on twitter just because I think you seem like a nice soul! I could start crawling and say things like ‘Stephen you are the Oscar Wilde of our times,’ but I won’t! I’m following you on there and I don’t want to look like a sad sap who follows known names, I wouldn’t want to add Johny Depp for instance! I watched QI, firstly because my husband loved it and he had the tv controls glued to his hand and then because I found it to be very interesting too! So if you get the time Stephen please add me, thank you.x
An Ode
As I sit here,in my humble abode,
I have this desire to rhyme,
So decided to write a simple ode,
Only short,as I have little time.
So who is it for?I hear you ask,
I’ll describe them,that’s what I’ll do.
It really shouldn’t be much of a task.
So here goes,I’ll give you a clue.
This person has impeccable grace,
With no doubt an incredible mind,
Prowess,Acumen,Mastery,Ace,
Congenial,Bounteous,and kind.
Sagacious,Wise,Sharp,with wit.
Are you close yet?Another clue?
He’s online every day,but far from a “Twit”,
And of course there’s his “Audio Boo”
This man is simply a legend to me.
I never miss a QI.
You’ve guessed it now,obviously.
None other than Stephen Fry!!!
I, like so many others, am a devoted fan of Q.I. I also thoroughly enjoyed the television series about your journey across America.
I have particularly appreciated your acting talents and it is with this in mind that I am writing to you.
I am not a starry-eyed Fry fan or a candidate for the funny farm, I also realize that you probably receive no end of letters containing variations on the following theme, but I really do urge you to consider my suggestion in all seriousness.
I have recently been introduced to some completely and easily verifiable, factual material that would provide for the most unusual, intensely moving, fascinating and exciting docu-drama in years, I kid you not!
The reason that I am contacting you is that, as I read it, I felt convinced that it is tailor made for you to play the central character, not because of any direct similarity, but it is a part that requires portraying with great sensitivity, yet at times, with intense passion, it is about a paradox of a man, a very learned person, but one who is profoundly troubled, who overcomes almost insurmountable problems, both mental and physical, the result of which helps to provide millions of people with an item that has now become universally accepted and just about indispensable.
It includes the highly improbable pairing of two main locations, murder, a great deal of literal content, powerful human relationships, etc. It operates on more than one level and is (mostly) set in turn of the century (19th/20th) England, yet it connects directly with our present time, and last but certainly not least, its main theme concerns the English language.
Please don’t dismiss this letter, forgive me for the following, apparently flippant analogy, but I make it to emphasize my conviction in the importance of this material becoming more familiar to the greater public.
Remember Decca Records and the Beatles!
I suppose I should perhaps check out Twitter, I have heard of it, I started at Myspace but moved off that, I quite like Facebook for networking purposes all my friends who live everywhere but here are on it so its good for that. Can you tell me the pluses of Twitter? What exactly do you do on it? I have only recently discovered your podcasts and I am enjoying them very much. I am listening to Wallpaper right now and I dkw what Oscar Wilde was on about when he said our wallpaper was ugly- I have seen some gastly wall papers over in England. Dell Boy’s wallpaper in Only Fools and Horses is especially awful- course he was on about more than wallpaper- the statement struck me funny.
Hi – I know this isnt related to your post but i cant find another way of contact.
I help out for a national organisation for mental health (specifically housing support) and I also help with the newsletter, as I have BPD myself. I was wondering if you would be interested in being interviewed (nothing hardcore, dont worry) about life with mental illness, it would be really laod back and relaxed and it would go along way to helping people come to terms with recently diagnosed conditions (including myself) – we have previously interviews Jo Brand and because I am a fan of yours (QI addict) I thought you’d be good candidate.
If you have the time, and theres no rush, even if it was in several months time then please email me on donna_perry@hotmail.co.uk – your help and contribution really would be appreciated!
Thanks
Donna
#followmestephen. Speech day norwich school – I and a few fellow Classicists are having a wee post-speech drink on the roof top terrace of take five on tombland after saturday’s rather sweaty festivities. Come on over if you fancy escaping the formal drinks.
Sara B
(P.S. Staff always have a sweepstake on length of speech – any tips v welcome)
This is very ambitious. I’m just happy to read things written by someone who is smart, funny, and charming. I don’t mind being blocked as long as I can keep reading. I don’t mind if I’m not read.
#followmestephen will be a request of mine on Twitter – I must admit, I was doing some research on Autism when I somehow stumbled across one of your Tweets, so being the nosy kind of person I am, I clicked on it and it took me to your Twitter page. After spending about an hour reading through some of your Tweets, I decided to join up and stalk erm I mean follow you!!!
You are one of my all time favourite comedians, and I bet you hear that a million times over a day! Not only do I admire you for the endless amounts of smiles you bring to my face (even when I’m feeling down and out) I actually tend to admire you more for the hope you gave me when I thought things couldn’t get any better. Strange statement, I know! I’ll now explain why: (bear with me please as I do tend to ramble on and thing’s don’t always sound the way I want them too!)
October 2007 (4 days after my 27th birthday) after 9 months of assessments, reality as parents smacked us in the teeth when our Paediatrican told us that our little boy (who was then only 3yr 3month old)is Autistic. After the shock had worn off I sought out to research as much information as I possibly could. All I found was ‘doom and gloom’ and lot’s of ‘don’t expect this or that’s’ and I lost all faith in myself as a parent. I watched a few episodes of QI (my favourite ever quiz show) on the Dave channel and soon cheered up and started to get on with life. A few months later, after even more assessments on our sons behaviour, social skills, speech and lack of appropriate emotions to certain situations, we received a visit from an Autism specialist who gave us a DVD and told us to watch it ASAP with our son. Surely enough when he returned from Nursery we put it on, and I couldn’t tear myself away from the TV. I bet you can guess by now which DVD it is I’m on about!?
Within 20mins of putting the DVD on, my son reduced me to tears as he looked at me with a sad look on his face and said “momma, Jenny is so sad” when I asked why Jenny was sad, he looked even sadder and said “Jenny has broken down, and is so very sad” and he started to cry. I had to try and explain to him that Jenny was OK and would soon be fixed and happy again. He then smiled and carried on watching the DVD. By this time I had floods of tears streaming down my face, which he saw and said “momma, why are you sad?” to which I could offer no explanation he would understand, so I just told him because Jenny was broken!! He then told me, “but it’s OK now, she has been fixed”.
The DVD was called The Transporter’s which you narrated, and was designed especially for children on the Autistic Spectrum. And all I can say is THANK YOU, for me personally, it has been one of the greatest things you have ever done (and I know you have done a LOT of great things) but after just 20mins of watching that DVD you gave my son the gift of recognising emotions in the ‘propper’ perspective and we have never looked back since. He ‘obsessed’ on it for months and months afterwards and his understanding and reaction of people’s emotions just got better and better. So, although I think you are an absolutely fantastic comedian, I also see you as our little guardian angel, as after his obsession with The Transporters subsided, his obsession with Pocoyo started up and through watching that he learned how to play nicely and share propperly etc etc. Is there anything you can’t do!!
I know my chances of you following me on Twitter are very slim, due to your huge fan base, but I will still take great delight in following you non the less, and I just wanted to post this as a huge THANK YOU. Keep up the good work, and by the way, sooo loving the new look and hair cut!! xXx
Thank you a million more times over
@Minxydudette
(Victoria Baron)