Category Archives: Tools
Social Media Reset
- Thursday, 18 April 2013 21:50
- Vince
- 0 Comments
From time to time it’s nice to take an inventory of what I’m using in terms of social media, what’s working and what’s not. I want to make sure I maximize my time and put the right content in the right place. Here’s a look at what I’m using currently in terms of platforms and tools.
Twitter is still my main social media channel above all others. It’s a non stop cocktail party that remains the most real time social network out there. I use it to connect with colleagues, expand my network and share with friends.
Twitter Tools
Tweetdeck
Tweetdeck is my main weapon on twitter. I read and compose on my computers on it. I manage several accounts and generally consume via a few lists. I don’t often flip through the column of everyone I follow. I’m using the last version of actual Tweetdeck from before Twitter took over and made changes I didn’t like.
Plume
Very similar to the old Tweetdeck on Android which is why I now use it since the old Tweetdeck has been mothballed by Twitter.
Still primarily a connect point for people I already know. I’ve started to ramp up personal activity on Facebook. Last year when they changed how viewable items were based on content type and where the post is generated I found I was getting the best results by posting directly on the site or in the official Facebook app on my phone.
This has started to grow on me. As a photographer with a formal training I keep this one focused on the images. I don’t follow people who use it as a life stream with pictures of their kids, dogs and ‘inspiring quotes’.
Tumblr
This is my cycling stream. I post cycling specific content and follow cycling Tumblrs. I mostly just use the website as well as tell Instagram to post there when it’s a cycling photo.
Spotify
I’m loving Spotify! It’s definitely a game changer. It’s also a lot more of a social network than people give it credit for. I have started to kick it up a notch by following specific people, curating great playlists and even opening some up to be editable by my friends. The premium version is more than worth the ten bucks a month.
Strava
Strava was launched primarily as a cycling site where you upload your ride data and ‘compete’ against other riders on the same segments of road and trail. They’ve since added the ability to load up running data and other sports. I even uploaded a skateboard session. I’ve found it to be much more social than some of the other similar apps out there. I’ve connected with people I didn’t previously know and have connected for bike rides with them. Really cool.
Foursquare
Foursquare is my go to for finding places to go. I tend to only check in at interesting places rather than every single place I go. I check in at my favorite restaurants, stores and businesses in an effort to have my check-ins mean something.
The outsiders
MySpace launched a new site a couple months ago. I signed up. I don’t quite get it but I’ll check in from time to time to see if it can have any use. I have yet to work Google+ or LinkedIn into my stable of social media mainly because I can’t find a use for them yet.
Who Should I Vote For? | Tools To Help
- Thursday, 06 September 2012 15:53
- Vince
- 10 Comments
I’m going to come right out and say it; since I’ve been a registered voter I have never voted for the winning president nor have I ever voted for a Democrat or a Republican. I’ve always listed out the issues that matter to me and found the candidate that matched up the most for me. Without emotion.
The internet has actually made this real easy and I would encourage everyone to do it. You may say; “Vince, aren’t you throwing your vote away by voting third party?”
I think I’m throwing my vote away when I compromise. I would love to imagine a world where everyone voted based on issues they cared about and not personality, emotion and certainly not a political party.
After some searching I came up with these sites and went through the process of picking who I will vote for.
Online Candidate Selection Tools
VoteSmart.org
Vote Smart has a cute interface that isn’t exactly intuitive but I figured it out. You click through various categories and answer 1 – 3 questions in each. The sweet ‘signs on the White House lawn’ thing will help those of you not that into reading. I would also add that I’m not really sure what ‘Shows/Lacks Courage’ means.
VoteSmart.org selects Jill Stein
GlassBooth.org
**UPDATE glassbooth.org now has a splash page up indicating a relaunch. Stand by…I’ll get on it as soon as it’s ready.
I like the way GlassBooth.org started off by asking me to rate the issues I care about. It then put together a series of questions and seemed to give me more questions related to the issues I gave more value…nice! Then I got my results only to find out GlassBooth.org decided I should vote for Ralph Nader…who isn’t running. Looks like GlassBooth.org hasn’t updated from the 2008 presidential election. But it still had me voting for the Green Party.
Your Toyota Prius and I are voting for Nader
Pew Political Party Quiz
This one pretty much sucks because it only considers Republican and Democrat to be options. Which is kinda sad. I’m not even sure what the results mean. Personally I reject the labels of liberal and conservative as dead fictions of an old system. Don’t waste your time on this one.
isidewith.com
One of the better user interfaces of the bunch. Each question had a slider next to it where you can rank how important it is to you. It also has an option to write your own answer should none of the options be quite right. I felt, given the quality of the UX, there could have been a few more questions to drill down to a result.
Don’t Forget About The Hustle
- Tuesday, 26 June 2012 02:53
- Vince
- 0 Comments
As creatives we tend to lean on our talents more than we should.
The Value of Information
- Wednesday, 14 September 2011 15:58
- Vince
- 0 Comments
Having information is clearly losing value because by the end of 2011 half of all Americans will have all of the information one would need right in their pocket on their smart phone.
It is being said that we are in a higher education bubble right now that is getting ready to burst because the information that you would acquire in college is available online for free. Sure the quality may be better in a university setting but the price of that information is getting ridiculous. What’s more, there is hardly a reason to commit such information to memory, whether to pass a test or excel in a career, given that I can simply reach into my pocket and invoke any number of data I may have paid money to learn in college.
My Twitter Has Been Hacked | How to Fix it
- Wednesday, 31 August 2011 16:45
- Vince
- 168 Comments
Has your Twitter account been sending spam direct messages to your followers? Lately I’ve seen a lot of Tweets like this one:
It’s from a friend, and to someone new to Twitter might look innocent enough to click on. If you click on that link it will ask you to log in with Twitter to ‘see the photo’ and that’s when you handed over the ability for that app to send tweets on your Twitter account. Hacked! Boo!
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