On Sunday, I skimmed the food category of the Shorty Awards a.k.a. “Twitter Oscars”  and noticed the Disney Food Blog was sitting comfortably in 20th place with 32 votes. How did a Twitter account with only 32 votes reach 20th place in an international social media contest? So I gave myself a small goal, asked my Twitter followers to vote, and, that same night, pulled ahead of the Disney food blog with 50 votes.

I started campaigning three days ago because not many other Twitter users seemed to be. After two days of messaging Twitter friends, I inched into the top ten. Today is Wednesday; I’m in the seventh spot.

Voting ends on Friday and I’m struggling to squeak past Chef John who is currently in fifth place. The top five continue to Round 2 where their “twittering” is monitored and voted on by a panel of judges and anyone who uses Twitter to determine who makes the most of 140 characters. I won’t win a popularity contest against Food Network star Tyler Florence, but to get that chance to “compete” with a man and his PR team will be one step forward for all unskilled but passionate food enthusiasts IN THE WORLD or, at least, on Twitter.

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Last week, I found crème brûlée in the fridge. It took a year of wishful thinking, but Jason was bored one night and did that “Surprise! I made crème brûlée!” thing boyfriends sometimes do in the first month of a relationship. (We’re way past that month.)

To friends who use Twitter, please vote and tell your friends! Making friends is free and Twitter makes it easy to connect with individuals who you’ll come to cherish even if you may never meet. Your network is there when you can’t tell the difference between tomato and pizza sauce, when you need a restaurant recommendation and when you want to learn more about urban farms in the Bronx (@ashleywillhite). You’d be surprised what a tweet – and positive thoughts – can do. VOTE HERE. Thank you!