coloredEgg

John Zeglarski’s web log on Web Design and Development

Archive for May, 2009

Join a Social Network

May 24th, 2009

As stated in Wikipedia: “A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.”

The two most popular social networks in North America are Facebook and Linkedin. Facebook is a social network that is mainly used for personal reasons, where people can stay in touch with each other. Linkedin is used for business networking. If you have been in the business communty for a while, the two tend to blur. You tend to link in first with the people you interact with on a daily basis, which are the people you are currently working with. But as you meet new acquantances, and find old ones, your network expands. And as your current network links in with new links, you can tag along and link in with them also.

It is too early to say if either of these sites have helped with forging any business relationships. But personally, I am able to keep in touch with family and friends scattered across the country. I have received emails from high school and college friends that I have not talked to in years. It is amazing how many are in the technology industry. I am able to keep up with their own social networks and see what they are up to. I have learned an immense about what friends and family are doing personally and professionally.

Professionally, I am optimistic about the benefits of these networking sites. I don’t expect job offers coming in, but ideas are being generated constantly as a result of what others in my network are doing. I am currently reading a book entitled “The Wisdom of Crowds“. And one of the premises of the book, is that a group of individuals is wiser than one individual alone. They do not have to be working together to come up with a solution, but the group as a whole will come up with the best solution when taking all of the inputs. As I listen, watch and learn from others, and I can see myself growing professional and personally. And I am sure that I am not alone.

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter. Based on what I am reading, I am in good company.

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Posted in Social Media

Recommend Listening to Podcasts

May 16th, 2009

Podcasts are video or audio digital files that can be downloaded to your computer or other device for viewing or listening. The one thing that differentiates a podcast from other digital media is the client software that manages your subscriptions. Whenever there are new releases of the podcast, the latest audio or video files will be downloaded automatically. You dont’ have to manually look for and retrieve any files. You just set your iTunes (or other client software) to subscribe to a podcast series. As soon as a new podcast is released, it will download to your computer automatically when you log into iTunes.

As with any new media, the early adopters were people in the technology industry. This is my main area of interest. I listen to podcasts focused on web development, interactive media and technology in general. I am a big fan of Paul Boag at Boagworld.com (a podcoast on web design and development) and Leo Laporte at This Week in Tech (a technology call-in show). Both are fantastic ways of keeping up with the newest trends and information related to the web and technology.

If you are not interested in technology, don’t worry, there is a podcast for you. There is a wide variety of podcasts that you can listen to. One of my favorites, outside of technology, is Planet Money, a podcast devoted to making sense of the current economic turmoil. And the other podcast that I really enjoy is This American Life, a weekly hour-long podcast of stories of regular and not so regular people. “There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always.”

Another benefit is that you can listen to podcasts anywhere and at anytime. I listen on my commute to and from work, when I jog and while doing work around the house. And podcasts deliver an immense amout of substance. Where the mainstream media is trying to cast a wide net for eyes and ears, podcasts can target a narrow audience. Podcasts can devote enough time in a podcast to deliver high quality information on any topic

I highly recommend buying an iPod and finding a podcast for you. It helps me keep up with the trends in my industry, make sense of the world around me, and excercise my brain as I excersie my body.

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Posted in Social Media

Tags: podcasts

Reason to Twitter

May 9th, 2009

I have been using Twitter for almost two years now. For me it has been a great way to follow people in my industry and hear about new technologies as they are beginning to emerge. Also, by following people who are at the forefront in any industry, you can see how they market themselves and network with others in the industry. Another benefit is that they follow and talk about people who have something worth listening to or reading about.

Not surprisingly the early adopters of Twitter tended to be in the Information Technology industry. For this group, it is a great way to keep in touch with people they met at tech conferences. And it allows them to have meet-ups at these conferences by basically posting where they and others are at.

Within the past year Twitter has been going more mainstream. Major corporations, the media, and the general public have adopted twitter. It’s not for everyone, at first it is hard to see how this is of any benefit. Quick notes of 140 characters or less about any topic seems to be meaningless. But as people adopt the technology, they use it for purposes that fits in with their needs.

For small businesses, it can be used as a way to advertise to a group of regular customers on specials, sales, new inventory, etc. Major corporations can keep investors, suppliers, or anyone interested in the company apprised of corporate communications. And for individuals it is a easy way to give family and friends updates on what they are doing. All of these updates can be linked to Facebook or other social networking sites, and blogs and web sites.

Make sure you use your real name and picture on twitter. It makes it easier to find you on twitter and put a face to name if you attend conferences or networking events.

Twitter is easy to set up, but takes some effort to keep updating content. Like anything, keep it up-to-date as often as possible. But don’t post too often, it dilutes your postings….limit to at most 5 per day. You can see my twitter updates on the home page of this web site.