Play 1st-ever #HorseHooky Twitter Chat on Dec 14, Co-Hosted by @KempEquine and @OfficeHooky

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2011

For images or to become a #HorseHooky media partner, contact:
Lisa Kemp
KempEquine.com
Mobile: 847-220-0740
Email:  kempequine (at) gmail.com
Playing hooky...it's a universal human activity, the desire to get away and blow off a little steam from time to time. Now that it's year-end and holiday time, why not indulge in a little weekday escape?
Note from AHP member Lisa Kemp: I recently met the creator of a television sitcom-in-progress, and his weekly Twitter chats about hooky are having literally 300,000+ impressions (views) after only a month. So when the opportunity arose to connect both mainstream and equestrian Twitter communities in a special horse-centric version of the hooky Twitter chat, I thought it was a great thing to do at holiday time, when folks are already in a festive mood and possibly looking for a brief escape. Next Wednesday, we'll make history with this sweet little crossover event. Will it lead to something new? Will it help horsefolk and horse lovers connect? Here's how to tune in and play along....

• Information about the #OHChat/#HorseHooky crossover event is below, including instructions for how to participate whether you have a Twitter account or not. A link to this information at the No Biz Like Horsebiz™ blog is here. 

• If you'd like to become a #HorseHooky media partner or have questions, send Lisa Kemp a confidential message here.

• You can click here to register for the event and add it to your calendar.

______________________

Would you play hooky to go horseback riding?

Maybe if it was on a warm, tropical beach?

Or a ride through a still forest?

Where in the world would YOU like to go for a dream ride? 

All Twitter junkies & horse lovers are invited to take a ‘time out’ from their workday and join the first ever EQUINE version of Office Hooky Chat (#OHChat) on Wednesday, December 14th.
This 'crossover' event, linking the mainstream and equestrian Twitter communities, is open to all, and is intended to share equestrian activities and people with mainstream Twitter audiences, plus connect horse people with likeminded horse fans as well as potential new markets and customers. Wanna play?
Co-hosted by Lisa Kemp of Kemp Equine (@KempEquine on Twitter) and Jay Donovan, the founder of Office Hooky (@OfficeHooky on Twitter), this special equestrian edition of Office Hooky Chat (@OfficeHookyChat and hashtag #OHChat) is geared to all Twitter horse fans, whether they are current or former riders, #horsebiz owners, equine professionals, racing fans, or anyone who dreams of one day owning or riding a horse. All are welcome, and you don't even need a Twitter account to follow along! Details on how to join in the live Twitter chat on December 14th are listed below.

This #OhChat, the first #HorseHooky Edition, will be on
Wednesday, December 14, 2011, at these U.S. times:
1 PM Eastern  /  Noon Central  /  11 AM Mountain  /  10 AM Pacific

What is Office Hooky™ and #OHChat, and what do they have to do with horses?
“Office Hooky is a project where fiction crosses into reality,” reports founder Donovan. The cross-platform, transmedia project currently includes a sitcom-in-development plus the @OfficeHooky Twitter feed and #OhChat, although Donovan says he has plans to extend the brand to other media channels globally.
While working on an original sitcom pilot script, Donovan coined the now-trademarked term ‘office hooky.’ In the Office Hooky sitcom, characters play hooky from work yet end up doing good deeds, such as finding a job for someone they encounter on their hooky adventures. It’s comedy and entertainment, but with a social benefit; with Twitter in the mix, it's life imitating art imitating life.
“The sitcom is one aspect of the brand, but by extending the ‘escapist’ narrative of the show to live interaction via Twitter, it truly becomes a case of art intersecting with life,” says Donovan, who points out that playing hooky is an activity universal to human nature, one he’s found everywhere from the literature of Mark Twain to cultures on other continents.
“Everyone understands what it means to play hooky, to blow off some steam or have a respite in one’s day. Through @OfficeHooky and #OHChat, we get to have some fun and a few laughs," says Donovan. "I was lucky to connect with Lisa early on, and I’m looking forward to the special #HorseHooky #OHChat. I took riding lessons when I was growing up, and I think horses are a wonderful way to break free and enjoy a time out from everyday cares.”
The fun and lighthearted Office Hooky tweetchat using the hashtag #OHChat was launched only weeks ago, but already has gained both momentum and attention. Statistics for the most recent #OHChat show that it reached 32,978 people, with an overall exposure of 361,665 impressions (source: TweetReach).
Kemp joined in the first #OHChat on November 9th, and liked the message behind the program. "I really appreciate the positive message of 'doing good deeds' that's behind the comedy, and when Jay saw that I was in the equine industry and made a joke about 'horse hooky,' I thought, why not? So we decided to do it as a way to bring some fun to the idea of playing hooky in order to do horsey stuff, like 'what's your dream horseback ride?' and other questions we have planned."
Kemp also feels that 'crossover events' are great ways to invite in potential new equestrians and connect them with like-minded horse people in their area. "Connecting the equine and mainstream Twitter worlds gives us the opportunity to show people how great equestrian activities and horse people are, and hopefully get them connected and talking, something that I've always felt is essential to expanding the horse world and future horse industry success."

###

ABOUT TWITTER HASHTAGS: A 'hashtag' on Twitter is a word or phrase preceded by the # sign, without spaces. It then becomes a link that when clicked will pull together all of the same terms in 'tweets' (posts) from ANYONE who included that hashtag in their tweet. And anyone can use a hashtag, it's simply a way to join in the Twitter conversation.

WAYS TO JOIN IN THE #OHChat SPECIAL EVENT via your computer or mobile device:
Not a Twitter member?
· You can still monitor #OHChat (although you won't be able to post) by going to Twitter.com and putting #OHChat into the Search box.
·  Or, you can also Search for tweets containing #horsehooky.
If you have a Twitter account:
How a Twitter chat works:
· By using the identifying 'hashtag' - in this case, #OHChat - Twitter will collect all of the related 'tweets' or posts containing that hashtag into one tweet stream. This can be done within your Twitter.com account, by putting #OHChat into the Search box.
Using TweetChat for Twitter chats:
· Tweetchat.com is a great tool for participating in Twitter chats; you can use it either by creating a TweetChat account (recommended) or just by going to TweetChat.com and putting OHChat in the hashtag box.

Already a TweetChat.com member?
· When you go to TweetChat.com and create an account, when you are logged in and use TweetChat to post a tweet in the #OHChat room, it will automatically add the #OHChat hashtag at the end.
· We also recommend you manually include #horsehooky in your tweets for this event - we'll remind everyone at the beginning of the Dec 14th #OHChat.
Not a TweetChat.com member?
· That's OK, you can still enter 'OHChat' into the hashtag box at the top at TweetChat.com and you'll be directed to the appropriate TweetChat 'room.'
 For everyone:
· Instructions on how to use TweetChat are on the TweetChat.com homepage; be sure to adjust the Refresh speed to at least 30 seconds or more, otherwise things can go by pretty quickly.