UPDATE (9/20/11): There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not this is an April Fool’s joke. I can assure you that it is not April and I am not a fool. The website http://twitbookplus.com/ was registered in June of 2011 by a company called “MockInt” in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, according to WHOIS records. As to why there are no other news organizations reporting this story, we are not sure. However most of the information below is in fact speculation.
Peter McDermott, creator and host of Micro Patrol holds discussion with prominent Google Plus users Prisoner, Michael Nast, Susi C Pentico and Thomas Ward. This week the panel discusses the pros and cons of using your real name on social networks versus using a pseudonym, an emerging debate. Also, the panel gives tips on where to buy technology safely and how to prevent yourself from getting taken like a woman in South Carolina who bought an iPad out of the back of a car in a local McDonald’s parking lot. All of this and much more on this week’s episode of Micro Patrol.
Now many of you have probably met someone from Twitter or one of your favorite blogs in real life. Of course, when you had this first interaction it was probably awkward as you had never had a face-to-face conversation with the person and weren’t sure if your personalities would be compatible enough to carry on a conversation, no matter what the topic.
Having gone to Podcamp 2011 in Nashville, I have really taken a larger interest in social media and connecting on the local level. It is amazing how many people around you share common interests. Of course, there is always that boundary of figuring out how to meet them.
Our culture has a certain set of norms that we are expected to follow. If you are engaging in conversation with someone, no matter how much the subject or person you’re speaking with disinterests you, you are expected to remain in that conversation. The situation only gets worse when you go out with a bunch of friends that are talking about things that either you’re not involved with or do not interest you at all.
Now on the other side of that is the mystery of meeting someone from “the Internet” (read in scary movie voice) that you have only chatted with in text or possibly over Skype. What we have been missing out on is the opportunity to come into contact with like-minded individuals that we would otherwise have a hard time tracking down or bumping into serendipitously.
Just over the last few days, not even weeks, I have become very active in Google+. If you’re a frequenter of Google+ hangouts, you very well may have seen me. Whether it is chatting with my good friend +Brad Chasenore from Australia’s Tech Webcast, or watching +Cliff Roth do an amazing job of painting other Hangout participants in a 30-second window, everything I have come across has been completely amazing.
Surely, there have been some things that are less than amazing, like that person that joins your hangout and has 13 children screaming in the background or their television blaring so loud it overpowers everyone’s mic. So, of course, you mute that person and they immediately unmute themselves. Admit it, there are people like that in life that can’t handle themselves in a cocktail party, so don’t sweat it.
The point of this post it to declare that I absolutely LOVE everything I have discovered, the people I have met and the opportunities that have presented themselves since I have joined Google+.
So a few guys got together on Google+’s new Hangout feature and had a earth-shattering debate. Pay close attention and you can get a chance to win a brand new 2 megapixel webcam from the folks at Rocketfish! Click Read More to watch!
For weeks I have been searching for a graphics designer and I am happy and proud to announce that finally, after a long arduous search, we have found…absolutely no one. So, I took it upon myself to make my own graphics. And, after hours and hours and hours. I have come up with…this.
Granted, this isn’t the most impressive work of art I’ve created, however I think it serves the purpose and will stand out on Twitter and other social networking sites. If you know anyone that would be interested in assisting me with the creation of the rest of our graphics and the motion graphics that we are looking forward to integrating with our videos, please send them my contact information.
Photo Courtesy of J Sawkins under Creative Commons License
If you’ve watched any of the videos on our website, YouTube or UStream, you’re probably aware that this is currently a one-man show and the content is constantly—albeit slowly—improving and turning into the quality that we ultimately seek. As the designer, content writer, producer and personality of all of this content, I see a lot of opportunity for younger writers, contributors, designers and even students to offer their expertise and become part of the community.
You might have noticed that there are links for Advertisers and Sponsors on the website. Currently the only revenue that we generate comes from Google Ads and that revenue comes at a crawling pace. Currently we average about $.01/day. So, over the course of a year, I think we should clear about $3.65 if my math is right. I think that’s about enough to buy a tall peppermint mocha at the end of the year (hopefully). Clearly, not a very lucrative venture at this point. However, financials aside, we all know that starting a new idea is an investment of both time and money. I have provided all of the equipment you see used during the show, along with a little help from my family and friends.
Peter McDermott takes you through a new upstart called Social Intelligence, a preview of the possibilities of the next iPhone, news of Microsoft testing WiFi over old analog television spectrum and an introduction to our Google Chrome app of the week.
Music Courtesy of Kevin McLeod: http://incompetech.com/
