Loss for Words » twitter

SuperBowl Tweet Tracking

robmansfield — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Got a very cool link (thanks to my coworker for this) to a NY Times time line of the Twitter messages during the Super Bowl. This is a great example of how aggregating social content can have a useful application. Of course, you can apply something similar to track activity on a number of things (products, movies, music, etc.).

Site of the week – Blip.fm

robmansfield — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:51:46 +0000

Maybe it is because I am a former party/club DJ. Perhaps it is my frustration with the suggested songs that Last.fm and Pandora give me. Plus, I haven’t updated the playlists on my iPod for so long that I hardly use the damn thing anymore.

Whatever the reason, my newest addiction is Blip.fm.

So what is so great about this site? Well, here goes…..

Of course, there is the access to any song under the sun.
The “Twitter like” interface (which includes mirco-blogging) is minimalistic and easy to use.
Speaking of Twitter, you can link your Blip account to your Twitter account so that every time you add a song a “Twit” is posted.
The social aspect of the site is fairly intuitive which opens up the door to discovering new tracks.

It might take you some time to really “get” the benefits of Blip since on day one you won’t have a network of friends to share music with. But trust me, a week later you will wonder how you lived without it.

My web favorites of 2008

robmansfield — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:33:14 +0000

Well, it is January 2009 and so I thought I would share some of my personal favorites from the web for 2008. Here goes:

Twitter – While I actually started using Twitter in early 2007 I really didn’t “get it” until this past summer. It has now officially taken over as my online “crack” which I need to check in on at least 5 times daily. Still very much for the techy crowd but I predict that changes in 2009.
Mint – This online personal finance tool is perfect keeping tabs on your money, tracking a budget and seeing all your investments in one place.
Google Reader – This handy tool is perfect for consolidating multiple content sources into a single, easy to manage feed.
FaceBook – Not much needs to be said here.
Hulu – This video streaming site offers high-resolution TV shows and movies. Their library includes FOX, NBC, Comedy Central, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and many more.

While there are plenty of others that deserve honorable mention these five are constants that I have added to my regular online routine. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know whats on your list.

Getting into Twitter

robmansfield — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:14:27 +0000

I first heard about Twitter almost two years ago at a MicroSoft conference in Las Vegas. At the time I wrote it off as just one of the many “killer apps” that were being shopped around. Why should I care about a site that seemed to be nothing more than a web based message board where the only topic is what I am up to? So it came and went from my radar pretty fast.

But then recently it reappeared seemingly everywhere all at once. Folks were mentioning it in conversation when they needed to reference an example of web 2.0. Coworkers were updating their Twitter status on their BlackBerry in an attempt to fight boredom during a meeting. And it has been a constant conversation piece on Diggnation podcasts (one of my favorite podcasts and a must if your into technology, pop culture or off beat news).

Despite all the exposure I am not sure how Twitter seemed to make sense for me now and why I have adopted it as my digital journal. Maybe I have given up trying to stay in touch with people through conventional means like conversation over dinner. The best way to know what I did last weekend is to check Facebook and if your one of those rare individuals who cares what I am up to in real time, follow me on Twitter.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter is not for everyone. First of all you have to be comfortable with mobile web (the point of it is to add content “on the go”, not just when you sit in front of a computer). Also, lets face it, you need to be a little full of yourself to constantly be writing updates on what your doing at that moment and thinking it is important enough that others are anxiously waiting to read it. Regardless, I have to say I am hooked.