Mom, really?? You’re gonna hand me down your Blackberry rather than getting me an iPhone 5?
Well… I can type a lot faster on this, so I guess that’s ok.
But there’s no Angry Birds game!
Okay, okay… if you’re going take it away, I’ll stop complaining.
Now… how do I send Tweets from this thing?
I don’t remember specifically where I’ve seen these “word clouds” before, but I think I’ve seen them on well designed blogs, infographics, fancy presentations, etc. I’ve always thought they were such a cool way to show the popularity of tags or words on a website.
The word cloud you see above is the snapshot (as of today) for my blog http://www.craigthusiast.com. Apparently, right now I’m kind of into Photography, Twitter, oh and… Pineapple!
I can’t take credit for this. A business acquaintance showed me this recently and my jaw dropped. It’s just so cool. Check out this best app ever: Wordle
Hit the Create button, and have fun…
I’m keen to hear other ideas for good uses of Word Clouds. If you have a good idea, hit the Leave a Comment link above and share your idea!
If you’re like me and you follow a lot of people on Twitter, your Home stream (or Twitter inbox, as it were) can be overwhelming. Kind of like drinking through a firehose, really.
I’ve been using Twitter for just about 3 years now. At first, I started out as a consumer of information, more than a publisher. Since I like to learn, I found a wealth of information in the Twitterverse on many topics that I’m interested in.
So, I started following a lot of people. It wasn’t long before my Twitter inbox became overwhelming.
When I figured out that you can have up to 20 “Lists” in your Twitter account, my Twitter inbox became much more under control.
Now, I rarely actually look at my Home stream. I’m constantly flipping between lists, depending on what I feel like reading. And, every single new Tweep that I follow… I immediately add them into 1 of my 20 lists.
Very organized of me, I know. 😉
If you’re interested, here are my lists: http://bit.ly/L54afM You should be able to see the actual tweets that are being published by the people I follow in each of the lists.
Some days when I’m feeling thirsty I might want to see what people are saying about Beer or Wine.
Some days I feel like seeing what people are saying about my favourite sports on TV.
Sometimes I just feel like looking at amazing pictures from Photographers I follow.
Other days, when I’m feeling keen, I like to read up on the latest in Sales, Marketing, or Business.
I also use Twitter as my source for News. I love how you can read the very latest developments in a news topic from people right at the scene.
I also have a few “Private” lists that you can’t see. One of them is a list of close friends and acquaintances, whose tweets I don’t want to miss in a sea of other tweets. I call that list “CantMiss-P”.
There’s also a list called, “CantMiss-W”. I use that one to keep a shortlist stream of tweets that I cannot miss in my professional life.
So, if you want to make Twitter a more enjoyable and useful experience for yourself, try Lists.
If you’re already using Lists, what are some other good ones I might want to try? (comments welcome…)
If the answer is yes, you NEED Instagram. Actually, if you answered yes to those two questions, I’d be surprised if you weren’t already using Instagram, or at least dabbling in it.
It’s a social network centered solely around photography. Right now, you’re thinking… another social network? I already spend too much time “thyping” on my smartphone or staying up too late at night on my computer, “networking”.
I’m active in a few social networks… Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn mostly. I like Facebook to stay up to date with friends and extended family, and to see pictures of their kids and their travels. I like Twitter for its more global network and the mix of personal and business use. I use it to follow my hobbies/interests, for learning, for business, and to get my daily dose of news and sports. I use LinkedIn to network professionally, and obviously for business purposes.
“Why Instagram?” you ask. Well, sometimes I need a break from the fast flowing information overload of Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. It’s actually quite relaxing to browse around in the “Popular” section to see what pictures people are snapping and sharing. You can also see all the photos that other people “Like”. Most people upload the best of the best of their work to Instagram, so for the most part, it’s like reading a magazine full of excellent photos.
Users share their photos from their iPhone. They could be photos shot from their actual phone or photos from a more professional camera, as long as they’re accessible from their iPhone (Hint: Dropbox is great for this!). You can discover good photographers by seeing who has “Liked” or “Commented” on photos. You can “Follow” people, connect with your friends, or easily search your contacts in other social networks for Instagram users.
Even if you’re not an avid photographer, I recommend that you sign up and check it out. It’s really a nice diversion from the same old, same old of Facebook and Twitter.
By the way, Instagram only runs on an iPhone (or iPad). However, I recently discovered a desktop app called Web.stagram.com that allows you to browse through your Instagram account from a web browser. Cool.
craigthusiast 