I’m an active user of various chat/messages programs, Facebook and Twitter, so thought I would share a few thoughts on this…
Instant Messages
I have for MANY years been using various instant messenger systems, such as ICQ, MSN, AIM, GoogleTalk and Skype. Now I’m mainly using MSN and Skype as most of my friends are using those. I do prefer MSN due to the graphics in it (yeah, just call me a teenager…lol). I have the programs running almost all day, to be in touch with friends and also people I work with. Some people find it disturbing/interrupting that people can get in touch with you so easy but I don’t have an issue with it. They should just know that I might not answer right away and if I’m busy then I will tell them. If you compare to people phoning you then I find instant messengers systems way less interrupting, often you skip all small talk and get direct to business (just ask a question like: Hi Sam, do you know how to setup Unity for iPhone… and I can then answer very quickly either yes or no).
I have been using Facebook for quite some time now but not from the very start. I often check my account a few times a day, just to see what people write and such. Sure Facebook can end up wasting a LOT of your time but it all depends on self-discipline. I would not start to take quizzes or play games during work, just a few messages/comments and that’s about it. Actually, I never did one of the billion of quizzes on Facebook and I only play ONE game there :-)
In case you want to get in touch over Facebook then just go to my profile
I got a Twitter account in the early days of Twitter but had no idea what to use it for really but I have lately started to use it more and more. Not to write small silly messages (What a nice weather, going for coffee now…); I have so far just written there 21 times in all. I’m just following a few people on Twitter; a few friends and some bloggers and pro poker players (37 in total!). Again, nothing that interrupts my life as I can check whenever I want or if I choose I can get live updates (See TweetDeck). Nice to see how some of the pro poker players still have time to Tweet at the big tournaments :-) I’m FAR from a real Pro with twitter and I just know a bit of what is possible, but it does the trick for me.
In case you want to follow me on Twitter then you are very welcome, just head over to my profile
TweetDeck
There are many clients to Twitter, web based, SMS and a whole bunch of applications. The one I’m using is TweetDeck, very simple program to use with lots of options. I’m just using a few of the features and I should set a bit time off to figure it all out. It is nice to be able to start the program when I feel like it and read through the last tweets from around the world. Check a few searches and so. Oh, and another nice feature of TweetDeck is that it is possible to get Facebook updates here also. Even better, when I do my own Tweets then I always make it so my wall on Facebook gets updated right away also. So while I have TweetDeck running I will get automatic notifications when people Tweet or update their Facebook. Another nice feature is that it support sync between multiple devices (notebooks, work pc, home pc, iPhone..).
TweetDeck also exists for iPhone (iPod touch) but I have not yet tried it there. When I get an iPhone 3GS at some stage then this will probably be the first programs I will be installing.
I’m not saying this is the BEST client but why spend too much time testing the others when this one suits me :-)
Marina from HotForWords is also using TweetDeck, might be an idea to see how she is using it. Just head over here to check out what she got to say about it.
MySpace, XING, LinkedIn and …
I might have a MySpace account but to be honest, I’m not sure. Just can’t be active on all platforms and why should I be :-)
Two sites where I KNOW I have profiles and where I even update from them from time to time is XING and LinkedIn I do see these two sites as more professional/business social sites but have to check the latest changes before I say too much :-)
Anyway, that’s about it regarding social networks. Hope to see you on some of them…
