The Kind of People Following Me on Twitter

After reading the article that Kol posted on the newest Twitter app called “Twitter Sheep,” I decided to check out what kind of people are following me on Twitter.  Here is what I came up with:

Try it with yours and post the link in the comment section.

Companies Should Have a Social Networking Site

I came into work for the first time in what seemed like forever and was approached by my coworker who is always trying to engage people to get together outside of work.  He spoke with the Director in attempts to create an internal social networking site for employees and managers.  

His dream is that this site will assist managers find people with the skills they they need.  In turn, employees can use it to connect in a social way with other employees.  The Director loved the idea, and so my coworker got together two others guys, moi, and himself to create this application. 

It has to be a software application that can be installed on the company’s servers.  We deal with a lot of sensitive information and with numerous government agencies, so we can’t use an application that can only be hosted on their side.  After asking my fellow techies, I found a number of different applications that could potentially help us with our needs.

Tomorrow we are going to meet and go through the options.  I’m extremely excited because I am doing something that I think many companies need to adopt.  Emails, instant messaging, and message boards can only help so much when they are all used separately.  

By using a social networking site, companies will be able to reach other employees for business or personal related things.  We decided that blogging would probably not be a good thing because I can just imagine the things that people could potentially write and get in trouble for.  I do think we need a blog for the administrators to use to communicate new features and future things in the work to the users.  

Any ideas are welcomed, so please let me know of your thoughts.

Friendfeed is Home to the Coolest People You Will Ever Meet

When people think about the people lurking on the internet, they think introverted, crazy people who don’t know how to operate in public. They are seriously WRONG. Yes, there are some out there, but not everyone is like that.

When I was in LA, I headed to a Friendfeed Meetup to hang with some of the people I talk to every day when I am on Friendfeed. They were some of the coolest, genuine people you could ever meet.

If you are able to meet the people you talk to on a social networking site, do it. You might be surprised in a good way.

People who attended: 

1. Anika - http://friendfeed.com/faboomama
2. Adrian - http://friendfeed.com/adrianculici
3. Derrick - http://friendfeed.com/geekandahalf
4. Mark V - http://friendfeed.com/mvandenberg
5. Mark K - http://friendfeed.com/krynsky
6. Amani - http://friendfeed.com/mirthnadir
7. Me – http://friendfeed.com/dcfemella

Befriend them.  They don’t bite.  Believe me, I met them.

Virtual Gifts: Waste or Waste Not?

“One thing is for sure: over 60 million of these “gifts” have been given.”

Virtual gifts are a waste of money, and I can’t imagine anyone who would readily admit that they have given them.  On Facebook, they have virtual gifts you can give to your friends for $1 or so.  Why would I waste my money and time doing that?  I will probably get an “Awwww….thank you” from them, and then they will never think about it again.  Also, they probably won’t even realize, or care, that I spent $1 to get them this gift that they will not think about again.  Some people might say, “but it’s the thought that counts.”  Maybe, but why give more money to these billionaires who are really the ones that are banking on these virtual gifts. 

In the article, it states that Facebook is now giving some gifts’ profits to charity.  It’s a nice way to trick us into investing in these ridiculous gifts where they probably get a percentage of the money.  My $1 is probably better off being sent directly to the charity.  Cut out the middle man.  I think it just confirms that some people think that given something of monetary value is more valuable than a message, hug, or kiss.  People, it isn’t.  A sweet message is worth much more than a virtual gift that are usually gritty images that looks like the designer (if you want to call him/her that) whipped up in less than a minute.

 Has anyone ever given virtual gifts?  If so, what value did you see in giving one?

Original article: http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/12/virtual-gifts.html