… And now a word from our sponsors

Moved this whole shebang over to WordPress. I like the ability to edit more of the HTML and have access to my CSS. More a trial… we’ll see who wins.

Twitterpated

I am using Twitter. A LOT. It’s really awesome. The thing that is hard to get across to people, however, is that it can be a really useful tool for doing business.

If you spend any decent amount of time on there, you will start to be able to follow other people’s conversations. The thing that I like about this, rather then say Facebook or a blog, is that the conversations show up to anyone following you; in some cases, this can be thousands of people.

I follow a lot of nerdy/tech people, and I have learned a ton by following their conversations and clicking on the links they drop. Imagine sitting in on a dinner with 10 of the most successful, smart people you can imagine; that’s Twitter. Kind of.

I use TweetDeck, and it’s pretty cool. I have heard a lot about seesmic which is a little more “Mac-ish” if that makes any sense. TweetDeck can be a little finicky, but the new version is pretty good. It has a good integration with TwitPic that I like.

TweetDeck allows you to view a good feed of what’s going on with the people you are following, and allows you to see your Friend updates on Facebook without signing on (there’s always a danger of that guy you don’t really like all that much chatting with you. I hate that).

It’s easy to use, it’s free, and it links to everything. I’m sure you will all see this blog posted in like 3 or 4 places because of good ole Twitter.

Until next time.

var addthis_pub=”washope”;

Social Media 101

I am getting a lot of questions about social media lately. You know, just because I wear box-frame glasses and am skinny doesn’t mean that I’m a computer nerd. Even though I kind of am. And so what that I do know what I’m doing with computers and junk.

Anyway. Social media is the fancy term given to the hugely growing phenomenon of websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all that fun/exciting stuff. You may have heard the term “Web 2.0″ for it. Web 2.0 simply means user-created sites, like a blog that people can comment on, or a MySpace page, or your Facebook page. The sites where all the coding is already done for you.

I first heard about blogging in high school about 7 years ago. I signed up for Facebook in 2005, but canceled my account with the message “Zuckerberg is a sellout” when they opened it up to the public instead of just college students. It’s all great fun, but what I keep hearing when I am talking to people about this stuff is “Who cares?”

Excellent question. The short answer is nobody. And everybody.

When I first heard about Twitter I thought it was the dumbest thing imagineable. I remember thinking, “Who cares what I’m wearing right now? Or that I’m mowing the lawn? Seriously?”

And the answer is nobody. Nobody cares if your haven’t showered yet. Or what mood you’re in.

But what I have come to realize is that there is a huge power in these little updates.

In the past 3 or 4 jobs I have had, I spent a lot of time texting while I was working. In fact, everyone did. You have a lull, and you text your friend to say hi. They text back while your busy, and you answer them an hour later, but the conversation is still going, regardless of what else is going on. It brings continuity to background noise.

I think of Twitter as the same sort of thing. The thing that got me really hooked was that you can text your tweets, and that can link to your Facebook page as a status update. So say you are going into a meeting, or closing a sale with a client. You text “Closing another one, it’s been a great week!” and all of a sudden all your friends, followers, and possible future clients can see that your busy and doing business. Powerful.

There are really countless possibilities here. I talked to a Realtor in Chicago a couple weeks ago who tweeted everything from quotes to stats to links to tax and mortgage information. Smart.

Add into that the power to hit your blog, your Facebook, and all your Twitter followers from a 5 second text message on the run. Man, this is really damn cool.

Now I’m not saying I know everything there is to know, but I do know a thing or two about how and why you should spend a little time to get onto these sites. And use them. Twitter especially requires minimal maintenance.

And hell, it’s a blast.

So join in the conversation. I have learned a ton already, and this stuff is onlt getting bigger. Facebook hit its 200 MILLIONTH user last week for cryin’ out loud.

And on that note, follow me on Twitter!

var addthis_pub=”washope”;

Some interesting things…

So a friend (of a friend, shout out to weddinggirl) just moved into a pretty cool neighborhood that I haven’t spent a lot of time in. It’s called the Cole Neighborhood, and its just east of the notorious Five Points neighborhood in Denver. Now, we have been hearing for a while that Five Points was an up and coming area. Which I agree. Being from the suburbs, I really like the grittiness of neighborhoods like Baker and Highlands East.

So Cole is really nifty as well. Little boutiques with hand done, spray-painted signs. Stores selling “Zappos y Boots.” It’s like Colfax when Colfax was a little scary. In a good way.

The sub-culture group has always been the catalyst of some cool stuff going down, in my opinion. Haight is San Fran, the Bowery and the Village in NYC. Even SoHo was a hell hole not too long ago.

And while I think Denver is a little… well, a LOT less edgy then San Fran or New York, it has it’s moments. The neighborhoods that have that eclectic sub-culture tend to have a more active nightlife, more active foot traffic. How many 20 somethings do YOU know living in Cap Hill, for example?

So watch for Cole, I think it’s rad. I guess it will take a while to see if it is going to be the next Highlands, but for now, it’s a cool place to just hand around.

var addthis_pub=”washope”;