Contributing to the Conversation: twitter

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My Favorite Websites

Everyone has their favorite websites. Some are fun, some are educational, and most are downright a waste of time (the best kind!). That's the joy of the internet. That's the joy of communication.

In no particular order, here are the websites that I have bookmarked and check regularly:

First of all, Twitter. I love and adore Twitter---10 times more than Facebook. Fb is incredibly narcissistic. Admit it, we all develop and stress over our perfect profiles and posted pictures. Twitter, on the other hand, is about the conversation. I've learned sooooo many things from 'listening' to everyone. Life is about learning and growing---and sometimes kvetching---and this online community will get you through it.

Career-Oriented/Money
I Will Teach You To Be Rich (also check out Ramit's book)
   Steller information with great, accessible writing---saving, earning, investing... everything. Also, he makes me feel better with links about why it's better to be a poor renter.
Ms. Career Girl
   A great little blog from another 20-something career girl just trying to make it in the world.
Mint.com
   Instead of checking every separate bank/credit card site, I log into this little gem. It also shows my IRA account and my earnings vs. spending for the month.

Girly Things (a.k.a. websites that prove I have no taste or skill)
Fab Finds Under 50
   This woman, Kimberly, can make clothes from Wal-Mart look good. Incredible!
Wardrobe911
The clothes featured are a rather expensive, but I like seeing the combinations and possibilities.
New Dress A Day
   I can't even sew on a button. This girl rocks. You have to check out the level of inspiration and creativity here.
The Pioneer Woman
Every woman I know and love can't get enough of this site. It's a nation-wide phenomenon. Everything about this site rocks. Everything.

Fitness and Health
Athlete Creator
From Dave, someone I now call a friend. His rants can be entertaining.
Stretch Exercise Eat
From another friend, Adam. He's a lawyer based in Korea who can hold a conversation about anything and everything . I'm proud to say that I've introduced him to the awesome that is Sons of Anarchy---thus the "Opie" hat featured in TXP.
Fit Day
A great site for tracking your daily calories and exercise. When it comes to losing weight, it really does come down to calories in versus calories out. This helps to quickly and easily track everything---especially if you stick with it. Like any diet, I go back and forth with using this site consistently.

News
The "Breaking News" feed in Twitter is the bomb-diggity.
New York Times
Fascinating in-depth articles and great writing. If you want quick and easy stories, this is not the place to go. Otherwise, it's my top news source.
CNN
This site, however, is quick and easy. All the top news in the world. Oftentimes, scanning headlines will give me the lay of the land for the day.
MSBC
  This site a little more eye-catching with pictures and slideshows, but I often get frustrated with how many videos they post online. If I wanted to watch videos, I'd turn on the TV.
Drudge Report
Not exactly unbiased, but Matt Drudge is well-known for spotting the biggest stories.
The Denver Post
   I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Even your website is terrible.

Random/Fun
TMZ
I mean, really. It's TMZ. It's fun and keeps me up-to-date with my Lindsay Lohan obsession.
The Oatmeal
The comics are HI-to the-LARIOUS! Two of my recent favorites are Juicy Fruit and Email.

What are your favorite sites? What am I missing? I'm sure there's a site---or five---that need to be added to my list.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Companies and Social Media

I work for an academic publisher. Academics+books = small (and somewhat irrational) fear of technology. This is not speaking for everyone, of course, but it does speak to our fearless leader and some of our most beloved authors.

A friend/coworker in our marketing department and I have been debating on whether or not our company should get involved in social media. Facebook, blogs, twitter, MySpace, etc. Is it useful? Will people actually follow us? Do we even have something to say?

This seems to be the debate for anyone considering the social media scene.

I have to admit that Facebook doesn't seem to be a very strong option (and no one uses MySpace anymore). I am commonly annoyed by "fan requests" for people or businesses. I may own a pair of Keen shoes, but not everyone has to know about it. For example, the company who prints our letterhead and business cards has a Facebook page. Cute? Yes. But their fans are probably husbands/wives and close friends. I'm just sayin'.

Twitter, however, seems a more viable option. I admit that I originally joined just to see what all the hooplah was about (see my account here). Am I following more people than are following me? Absolutely. I guess I'm not that popular. I haven't really gotten "into the conversation" of Twitter and am trying to improve that now. My good friend, however, said that she has met some genuine people through Twitter, and has even come to call them friends. My other friend got hired into her public relations job in San Francisco through Twitter. All I can say to this is, Wow! But will it have the same effect with our company?

Some big-name publishing companies that have Twitter accounts:

Some academic presses are also on Twitter. A helpful listing is here. A few presses also have blogs. Did I know about any of these twitter accounts or blogs? No. Did I have to google them? Absolutely. Something is wrong here...

Some academic press twitter accounts:

Now that many companies have a greater online presence (webpages, etc.), is social media still worthwhile? Is it worth the time put in? Maybe, maybe not. But in this process a company can learn about technology, get a couple new "fans," and, if anything, make a friend or two.