Twitter Uses

Below are a few ways individuals are using Twitter more intelligently:

Marketing/Communication - It's a great way to spread the word regarding products and services

Microblogging - This method is short and sweet, as opposed to composing what could be paragraphs of text for a regular blog

Business Networking - You can stay up to date with those you have a professional relationship with

Breaking News & Getting Scoops - Having a Twitter account makes it very easy to stay aware of the latest topics of importance

Streamlining Your Electronic Inboxes - Users of Twitter tent to check things like email, RSS feeds and IM


The following is a link discussing how to use Twitter specifically for business...
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2009/03/4-ways-companies-use-twitter-for-business.php

Twitter

I just created my Twitter account and have viewed the help video for some hints on how best to create and utilize my account. Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters. If I wish to send a message to a particular user, type @ followed by the user's name and type your messages. You can follow others and their tweets. You can add additional personal information and limit your account just to those who are able to follow you. It's easy to add contacts through email accounts like google and yahoo. Twitter is great for staying up-to-date on subjects that are of interest to you.

Opera Software

Currently, Opera is significantly more popular in Europe than it is in the US. However, it recently beat Safari in total number of pages downloaded last month (on handsets). According to their website, a special feature includes their Exclusive Opera Turbo compression which is designed to boost slow connection speeds. Anther feature is what they call "visual tabs". This is truly unique in that instead of showing a simple tab at the top of a browser, containing the name of the website, it shows a full thumbnail for that website. Finally, Opera offers educational resources to educators, students, and even web developers in the form of an Opera Web Standards Curriculum. Furthermore, they offer university tours and seminars, as well as education discussion forums.

Wikipedia

I was surprised with how easy it was to edit a Wikipedia page. Though I knew it didn't take much, all I had to do was create a login. Even that wasn't necessary, but suggested. What I learned from this assignment is how important it is to be careful with using Wikipedia as a resource. Although articles have been largely accurate from my experience, it is important to keep in mind just how simple it is for those who may be less than experts to edit information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_dance_company

4th Entry (Sept 10th)

After our guest speaker's presentation last night, I did a little more research at acrossair.com. Acrossair is a newly developed iPhone application which puts my current applications like Around Me & Maps to shame. All of the pet peeves I've developed about those current apps seem to have been resolved in this new app. It's unique in that it gives you a panoramic view of local businesses, whether they be movie theaters, restaurants, or even pieces of property based on where you are and which direction you are facing. I regard to use as a map, this is extremely helpful for someone who may get turned around and not really sure which direction they need to head in order to follow directions. Usually if I am at point A and have been given directions to point B, my iPhone currently offers no information on which way I need to start driving. On some rare occasions, I've had to start driving and watch where the blue dot indicating my current location moves (not very efficient OR safe!).

My main disappointment is that this application will not be available for my iPhone. It is only for the iPhone 3GS. This has prompted me to wonder how many more fantastic and innovative applications may be incompatible with my phone. I could definitely see Apple's motives for doing this. Clearly it would prompt new buyers of the iPhone to purchase the latest model to have access to all applications. For those like myself who already own a "regular" iPhone, there is that desire to upgrade in order to enjoy use of some of the new and upcoming apps available only for iPhone 3GS. It will be interesting as the release of acrossair approaches and how consumers respond.

3rd Entry (Sept 3rd)

Currently, I am working on some XML for one of my classes. I got off to a rough start as it had been a while since I had created XML documents and schemas. I must admit I was initially a bit discouraged and a little anxious as I was unsure just how long it may take to pick it back up and learn something new - XML stylesheets. Thankfully, I caught on and I'm grateful that I have learned a new skill of using stylesheets. When I began the project, I was curious as to how I would express some of the data modeling relationships I had become familiar with, and it was interesting to see how that works with XML schemas, as well as how that transfers to use of the document.

Something major I learned in this process is that patience and attention to detail is key. Often times, I would get in a hurry, write a lot of code (some sloppy code somewhere along the way) and end up wasting time trying to go back and find out why it wouldn't validate. Though it can be tempting to hurry in writing the code, it's best in the scheme of things to pace yourself and make sure you write it correctly the first time. Also be sure to hit that validation button often! It is very difficult and frustrating to type a ton of code and go a while without validating, only to hit validate at the end and have to go searching through all that new code you just typed. Thankfully, Oxygen does give you a good amount of information so that fixing those errors isn't as time consuming, so I will definitely keep using that.

2nd Entry

I am a little late with my 2nd entry, but here goes.

It was amazing to consider the vast array of iPhone applications currently available. Dr. Piercy brought up a particularly popular, innovative and creative one called Ocarina. With this app, you blow into the phone's microphone while pressing down on certain buttons located on your screen. This creates musical sounds, and many users have grown to be quite advanced "players" of this "instrument".

Two other widely used apps include Google Earth and Maps. The first allows you to search any area on the globe and provides an amazingly detailed aerial view. The latter includes this feature but also provides you with driving, bus or walking directions. The application is rather advanced in aiding users in locating the address they are looking for, you can zoom in and out, it constantly updates your location between point A and B, and other features like quickly reversing your directions are easy to use.

Yet another innovative application is Shazam. Essenstially, whenever you hear a song and what to know its title, artist, album, etc., you select Shazam which listens to the music and gives you a summary of its information. I have used this app more recently, and I was pleased with how well it was able to listen to a song, even with a significant amount of noise in the background.

I really look forward to the opportunity to create an iPhone application. Sometimes it seems that any possible app that could exist has already been created, but there are still some great opportunities ahead. And as the iPhone continues to advance, these opportunities will only continue to grow.