Serendipity Friday

I had a couple of discussions this week about Twitter and how it offers a level of serendipity not found in other online aggregations. The fact that you follow people, rather than specific subjects, increases the likelihood of stumbling across something interesting that you wouldn't have otherwise found.

While that may often provide meaningful insights, sometimes it's just stumbling onto some fun stuff. So, I thought that I'd share two such examples that I found this week.

First is the Twitter stream of Arjun Basu, a Montreal-based writer of something he calls Twisters. These are (very) short stories - each exactly 140 characters in length. Here are a couple of recent examples:

He drank red wine and didn't see the spill on his khakis. Strangers gave him a wide berth. Once home, his wife called 911. And then left him

She was better looking with her clothes on. So was he. As she digested this she realized they would never have kids. They were both relieved

You can follow Arjun at @arjunbasu. Thanks to @MarilynByrd and @chrisdorr for the introduction.

Second is an absolutely addictive new UGC website that I found this morning via Ann Handley called Awkward Family Photos. AFP is exactly what it sounds like. Here are a few pictures that had me ROFL. And, if it's your family with the matching sears polos and bunny ears (or with the matching crossbows), sorry... (really sorry). Be sure to click through and read the comments as well.