By now, if you haven’t heard of Twitter, then you probably never will and you should skip this post and go back to making tools out of stone, keeping your fire burning or looking for a bigger cave. For everyone else, read on…

First a primer. Twitter is a social networking tool that allows people to share what they are doing right now, with the world, in the form of short messages otherwise known as “tweets”. Think of each “tweet” as a blog post (similar to what you read here on PorschePurist) only much shorter (as they are limited in size to 140 characters) and not as well written.

Besides the obvious difference in post size, Twitter’s unique sharing platform allows your “tweets” to be shared and re-shared (otherwise know as a “re-tweet”) with your “followers” (friends and others who are interested in what you have to say) allowing your posts to go viral (explosive growth) in a very short time – this is especially easy if you’re a celebrity, a criminal or just plain stupid.

In addition to sharing your thoughts, you can also post news subjects and mark each tweet with a “hash” (#) tag that other people can use to search on such as #Porsche. More importantly, you can easily identify your friends on twitter and share with them by simply including their user name in your post such as @PorschePurist.

Anyway, you get the idea. The point of this post isn’t to teach you how to use twitter. Instead, we just want to point our a few reasons why, as a Porsche fan, you might want to consider it.

1. Porsche News and Information. Lots of It!

While we don’t know the exact number of Twitter users, it’s safe to say the number is in the millions, some say the tens of millions. Amongst this crowded space are thousands and thousands of Porsche fans. While not all of them are dedicated to preaching Porsche only, a fair amount do spread the gospel on a fairly regular basis. If you want to take a look, just go to twitter.com and do a search for #Porsche. The resulting list will give you a good idea of the people talking about Porsche right now and hence the people you might want to consider following. Just remember, as much information as there is, it’s very easy to become overloaded. Follow people carefully and cull your list often to those you interact with and those that provide valuable info. People fall off of twitter (get tired, bored or confused) just as fast as they open up accounts.

2. Free Porsche Stuff

It’s hard to imagine that Twitter could get any more popular than it already is, yet it continues to grow each day. As a result more and more of our favorite brands are coming online. In order to entice people to follow them, or to more effectively market their products, it’s not uncommon to give away FREE STUFF! Porsche, and other companies with Porsche related products, is no different. For example, just last week, a package arrived on our doorstep from @PorscheShopUSA (that’s twitter speak for the Porsche Design Group’s Driver Selection catalog) that included a great Porsche Crest Key Chain, a pen and a new catalog. What did we do to deserve this great recognition you ask? Simple, we just “retweeted” one of their posts out to our followers helping to spread the word. If you jump onto Twitter in the next day or two you can still enter into their current contest giving away 12 items from the catalog during each hour of this weekend’s 12 Hour Sebring Race.

Besides the Porsche Design Group there are lots of other companies doing the same thing. In fact, we here @PorschePurist do it now and again as well. In our last twitter contest we gave away free cases of Mobil 1 oil for new followers. Not a bad deal if you ask us. So, if you’re not already following PorschePurist, be sure to do so now!! There is a new contest just around the corner.

3. Porsche Deals and Promotions

Just like the giveaway offers we mentioned above, lots of places are catching on to the effectiveness of twitter and starting to offer online discounts to their followers. Heck, just a few weeks ago, one Porsche dealer offered an additional $500 bucks off whatever car you purchased. They even went so far as to remind people not to bring up the offer until after you negotiated your best deal (this way, no bias). We see service and restoration shops offering discounts and promoting restoration jobs, independent Porsche dealers showcasing freshly arrived inventory, etc. The list is endless and it’s not just Porsche related.

4. Meet new Porsche Friends and Other Interesting People

A lot of us belong to the Porsche Club of America or other owners clubs for our various countries. As great as these clubs are, not all Porsche owners belong to them and they limit your ability to meet only other members in your area or places you visit. With Twitter, there is no age limit (@PapaPaulVeal is 92 and tweeting away), no geographic limits (@PQRSHE is in Australia, @Total911 is in the UK) and so on. You’re limited only by your imagination and interests.

If you’re looking for a good place to start with Porsche followers, simply follow us @PorschePurist and check out who we interact with and who we follow. You can build your list from there. Here’s a short list to get your started.

@PorscheNewsWire
@TruSpeedPorsche
@PorscheHeritage
@Total911
@BevHillsPorsche
@DedePorsche
@MuscleMilkRace
@PorscheDave09
@ThePorscheGuy
@PMLetter

5. How Else Are You Using Twitter?

We promised you five reasons, but we want to hear from you to fill in this space? Are you on twitter? If so, let us know and give us your user name. We’ll be happy to follow you Any recommendations you want to share with your fellow readers here on PorschePurist?

Related Porsche Posts
What are Your Five Favorite Porsche Resources
Porsche Magazines. What’s Available for the Porsche Fan?
Books about Porsche

[Source: 993C4S]

I’m hoping to start a bit of a discussion with this post. Let’s talk about the ways you get information on and about Porsche.

I’ve stated before that I have my own list of Porsche resources (and I definitely need to update it) that I use to collect information, educate myself and come up with ideas for blog posts. I’m interested in what you use.

What are your favorite ways of learning more about Porsche? Your answer can include anything Porsche related, on-line or off. I suspect that most of you will have one or two on-line spots you favor (maybe this site is even one of them). Perhaps it’s a magazine, maybe it’s a friend or mechanic, maybe it’s your local club. Anything goes!

But please limit it to 5.

Related Posts
Porsche Resources
Porsche On-line forums and discussion groups

[Source: Post idea courtesy of Problogger.net]

Porsche has produced over 60 models of 911 since the car was launched back in 1963, and enthusiasts hotly debate which model is best. Some like the old classics, while others favor today’s supercars. But perhaps now the debating is over…

An innovative new website from the Publishers of Totall911 Magazine – www.911faceoff.com – allows
Porsche’s worldwide enthusiasts to sit in the driver’s seat of each 911 model and choose their all-time favorite from an exhaustive online database.

The website randomly pits two 911s against each other in an infinite number of faceoff battles, and depending on the results, it builds a comprehensive list of the top 50 Porsche 911s in order of popularity. To help you decide, each car comes with an image, specification, performance figures and a 911Face-Off rating. And if you’re really stuck, you can opt for a draw.

“911 Face-Off is great fun and surprisingly addictive,” said Philip Raby, Editor in Chief at Imagine. “You can make a snap judgment based on your gut instinct, study the stats carefully before picking, or use our ratings to sway your decision. Not only is 911 Face-Off a lot of fun, it’s also a real eye-opener to see just how many different 911s there are!”

Go check it out for yourself at www.911faceoff.com.

Yesterday, June 8th, marked the 60th anniversary for our beloved Marque. Porsche, as a company, has been in the automotive business much longer than 60 years. Prior to building his own cars all of Porsche’s work had been for other manufacturers and brands (Porsche is credited with the development of the VW Beetle and the Mercedes Type S among others). However, it was 60 years ago to the day (yesterday) that the first car, a 356, rolled off the assembly line wearing the Porsche name. Less than one month later, that same car went on to win its first class victory at the Innsbruck Stadtrennen.

There is so much history, allegory and lore around Porsche (the man, the company, the car) that it would be next to impossible to showcase it in a simple blog post. Fortunately, there have been many, many books written on the subject. I don’t know about you, but I’m a voracious reader, especially on topics I enjoy. In addition, my family loves to purchase books for me (especially on the subject of Porsche) as its an easy, no-brainer gift that they know I will appreciate. As a result, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of books on and about Porsche. I’ve read them all cover to cover, most more than a few times. Here are two of my favorites that I think you might enjoy if you want to learn more about the history of Porsche.

Books about Porsche History

First up is Porsche: The Road from Zuffenhausen is a lavishly illustrated history of the most recognized sports-car maker in the world—Porsche—a story that began more than a century ago. This is the first book in more than twenty-five years to chronicle in such meticulous detail the early years of the renowned automobile company. Perfect for the more than 500,000 Porsche owners and the millions of Porsche enthusiasts, Porsche is a lively narrative of the cars and the people who created them. In the opening chapters, the reader will find the true heart of Porsche and its dedication to design and engineering, and then move on to the pre–World War II development of the first Porsche prototypes, as well as the development of the Volkswagen by Professor Ferdinand Porsche in the late 1930s. The story of the company’s early postwar years in Austria is a tale of commitment to an idea, an idea that resulted in the first 356 model and in a very short time established Porsche as one of Germany’s leading car makers.

Here is the entire history not only of the 356 but also of the development of competition versions, and of the evolution of the 550 RSK and the legendary 904 Carrera GTS. The story of the 911 occupies half the book, as this model has survived for nearly four decades—the longest production of any single postwar automobile design.

I really enjoy this publication. I keep it as a both a book for reference and for discussion around the coffee table. While most books on Porsche are specific to the history of a certain model, this book covers everything from start to finish. The narrative is brilliantly complemented by wonderful historical documents and photographs from the factory archives, provided through the cooperation of Porsche AG and the Porsche family, as well as original color photography by the author.

Second is Porsche 911: Perfection by Design by Randy Leffingwell.

If you’re a long time reader of this blog, you may remember I interviewed Randy in early January of this year after receiving this book as a Christmas present. It’s my opinion, that this is one of the better general history books, on the Porsche 911, available today. The photography, combined with an easy to read writing style provide for a great background on the most storied of all models in the Porsche line-up.

If you don’t feel like going as in-depth as some of these books do, the Porsche web-site is an excellent place to get some hi-level history about the company and the cars. The more I keep digging, the more I find. If you’re looking for a list of the best-selling, Porsche model specific books, you can find them here.

Happy Birthday to the Porsche brand and here’s to 60 more!

I’m a pretty voracious reader. I have fairly eclectic tastes and tend to read all sorts of different genres when it comes to books. However, when it comes to my Porsche, I don’t have a huge amount of choices. Today’s post is a listing of the resources, I’m aware of, (in Magazine format) for the Porsche fan. What I’m hoping is that you, loyal reader, (as Stephen King would say) will see the list below and gently guide me to ones I might be missing. Read more

First off I want to say a quick hello to all the folks who keep dropping by from the 911uk.com discussion board(s). I’ve only just joined up over there and everyone has been quite welcoming and friendly (kind of scary almost). I’m still waiting to get flamed, but it will probably come soon enough (as soon as I put my foot in my mouth as I usually do) If you’re so inclined, please feel free to subscribe via RSS or email over there on the right ————>.

The thing that I find interesting is that I know there were 10′s of thousands of Porsche 993(s) produced from 1994 to 1998, but I simply don’t find a lot of people talking about them. What am I missing? More to the point, where are all the sites that those of us interested in the Porsche 993 and other air-cooled Porsches can interact on? Don’t get me wrong, I know that forums like Rennlist and 911uk exist and are used, but it seems to be the same people over and over.

I’ve tried various Google searches and other search engines and keep coming up with the same groups.

Here’s what I’ve found so far -

www.911uk.com
www.RennTech.org
www.roadfly.com
www.rennlist.com
www.porschegroups.com

What else is out there? Anything worth looking at? I would appreciate any comments or suggestions that anyone might have.