Tweet This

I have always been a huge fan of Twitter, however I never realized how useful of a tool it was until I started to look at it in terms of a business tool. I am not much of a tweeter myself instead I have mostly used it to get up to the minute information on my favorite sports teams and players. Since taking this class I have started to experiment to see how I could use this tool to go out and gather the information I wanted rather than sit back and wait for the information to come to me. Through the use of TweetDeck I now have streams of information, sorted into pre-defined categories that I can review at will. Perhaps the greatest benefit is I am no longer limited to only seeing what the people I follow are saying, instead I get everything related to whatever topic I am interested in. Below is a Jing capture of my TweetDeck

While all of this is pretty cool there of course is a down side in the form of information over load. I will sometimes spend twenty minutes at a time on a single category where I used to only spend a few minutes. It will probably take some time to get in a routine where I am using my time the best with this resource but I have already seen some benefits. We are in the process of starting a Sales Through Service initiative at work and have gotten several great ideas from a Tweet Stream I put on my TweetDeck.

Chapter 2 - Browsing the Web.

Chapter two had lots of useful information. While I have been using computers and the Internet for both personal and professional use for years I have to admit I never fully understood how it all worked. I did not know a URL was the same as a web address and I did not know what made up the URL as far as protocol, domain name, path and file name. Perhaps the most useful information centered around the risks associated as well as tips aimed at keeping our information safe.



Surfing the web has become a daily routine in most peoples life. Many people including myself use the Internet to shop, pay bills, as well as use it for professional and entertainment reasons Because the majority of surfing takes place in the privacy of our homes people often forget the many dangers associated with connecting to something so vast as the world wide web. I use to have this image in my head of a hacker being a twenty something college drop out, living in their parents basement trying to gain access to personal information for their own amusement. Turns out I couldn't be further from the truth Hackers these days are sophisticated and organized. With all the increased information available such as bank records, credit card numbers, and social security numbers it is more important than ever to make sure you take all appropriate steps to safeguard your information. Things such as firewalls, and virus protection software can be very valuable tools in helping protect your information.

Symbaloo where have you been all my life?

By far my favorite tool that we have been introduced to this semester is Symbaloo. I began using this on a daily basis about a month ago and have changed the content about a dozen times. At first I had every square loaded with everything I couold imagine possibly using, but I found that to be a little too busy. I have wittled it down to the sites I frequent at least a few times each week, with most of them being visited daily.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of this virtual dash board is that I am able to access it regardless of what computer I am on. I can easily get to the sites I frequent most on my home PC, laptop, IPAD, and work computer simply by logging in. I have found that I spend a lot less time jumping from site to site and have more time actually viewing the things I need to view. This has made me more productive and less stressed while working on my computer.

Below is the current version of my Symbaloo page.

LinkedIn, What Facebook wants to be when it grows up.

I have to admit I have had a LinkedIn account for a few years but have rarely used it. When I first signed up it seemed boring with little to do compared to Facebook and I quickly got bored and eventually stopped logging in. After taking this class and reading about all the many ways LinkedIn can be used to connect to people and businesses, I have completely changed my opinion of this service.

Below is a GoAnimate to illustrate my point. FYI the scene is fictitious but the attitude of the guy not in the suit would have been me before learning all the ways LinkedIn can be used.

GoAnimate.com: LinkedIn by phnxx75

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Not to say Facebook is not a useful tool if used properly, however more often than not it is a place to connect with friends and family in a more social atmosphere. LinkedIn allows for more professional Networking, and career development.

I am still getting used to how to navigate the site and am in the process of making more connections but I believe this will be a very useful tool in my PLN.

Back in the Saddle..

Hey everyone just wanted to check in and apologize for being "absent" for the past few weeks. Since our last residency I have spent more time in hotel rooms and rental cars then I have at home so I am playing a little catch up with school work. I will apologize in advance for flooding the blogosphere and message boards trying to catch up.

With that being said I have been trying to get started on my PLN and keep running into road blocks, perhaps some have been comenting in your blogs which I should be able to read in the next few days, but if anyone has any tips on how they got started I would appreciate any and all feedback.

Regulators mount up.

Whether you agree or disagree with the basic concepts of net neutrality it is hard to argue against the need for regulation. As major companies have proven over and over again through out our history, an industry without enforceable regulation will find a way to take advantage of the consumer. I was a little shocked when I found out about the practice of some companies slowing connections to certain sites with the intention of manipulating which sites their customers would use. It makes me wonder if this happens more often then we are aware.

My main issue isn't even with what should be allowed and what shouldn't be allowed, my issue is with the deceptive practices being used. If Time Warner was to announce tomorrow that starting next month there would be an additional "premium" charge for connecting to Google, they have every right to do that as an Internet service provider. However as a consumer I also have every right to decide to switch to a different provider that does not charge any additional premiums to connect to the sites that I choose to connect to.

The idea that the Internet is some sort of a right that should be protected is a little off base. Internet is an optional service just like cable, satellite TV, and cell phones. The fact that we have become so dependant on these services does not change the fact that they are optional. Back to my earlier point regulation is needed to make sure there is no deceptive practices and that consumers know exactly what they are paying for. Service providers have the right to charge what they want for the services they provide and consumers have the right to know what they are being charged for.

Below is my first attempt at a Wordle, it was pretty interesting I can t wait to play with it a little more.

Here we go

Here We Go...........

When I decided to go to college I knew part of the challenge was going to be trying things I have never been exposed to. I mean really isn't that the reason most people go to school, besides getting that piece of paper to hang on the wall that tells everyone how valuable we are, we all want to learn new things to grow, to learn. Up until this point I have not really had to venture to far out of my comfort zone. While I spend a good portion of my time on a computer the majority of that time is spent playing online games, Facebook, and Twitter the idea of creating and maintaining a blog worried me a little, specially because I have never even read a blog. My opinion of Blogs were they were done by a bunch of people who had way to much time on there hands and liked to hear themselves talk. So time will tell if my opinion changes but I am at least open to the experience.

And with that out of the way lets move on to the assignment at hand.



What, When, Where, and Why's of the internet.


Dictionary.com defines the internet as "the single worldwide computer network that interconnects other computer networks, on which end-user services, such as World Wide Web sites or data archives, are located, enabling data and other information to be exchanged". 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/internet

The internet is used for a wide range of things from playing games, searching for information through sites such as Bing, and Google. Businesses and individuals alike count on the internet on a daily basis and the number of people using the internet continues to grow. According to Internet World Stats there are 2,095,006,005 internet users which accounts for a little over 30% of the global population.
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm