Check Out My New Facebook Page and Twitter

I have revamped my Facebook Page and Twitter site.  I wanted to make it a little bit more me.  I have been slowly learning more about FBML and applications that will aid you in creating a custom Facebook page. I recently used Pagemodo and Miproapps after reading a TechCrunch post about it.  They are both great applications, so you can’t go wrong with either one.

When it comes to Twitter, I love the artistic backgrounds that Tweetygotback provides. You can create your own custom Twitter background, and there are tons of guides out there to help you do that.  However, if you find one that is already great in itself, why not use it?

What are the applications that you use to create your Facebook Page and Twitter profile? Or do you start from scratch?

Twitter Could Be a Mini FriendFeed

Twitter Real Time Inline Search, originally uploaded by TimCohn.

Last weekend, I got an alert from TwitterMoms, which is a social networking site for mommy bloggers who tweet. It was for a virtual wine tasting via Twitter. How it worked was that you used a hash tag when you posted a tweet related to the wine tasting. In another window, you had a “real-time” search to follow the conversations.

One of my complaints about Twitter is that it is rare when there is a bidirectional conversation. It’s usually one way. Yes, my interactions have gotten better the more people I follow, but it’s still not what I want.

The virtual wine tasting was the first (and only) times that I felt I achieved that. However, I don’t think that Twitter should call it “real time” because it wasn’t. For the early adopters of FriendFeed, it’s like the old “Standard” view. In order to see the new tweets, you had to keep refreshing.

Other than that, I have to say that I was impressed because it showed the potential for Twitter to become a microblogging service with bidirectional conversations. For now, Twitter needs to play catch up.

I am happy that I participated.  I met some great mommy tweeters who I never would have probably found in another way. =D

Blellow Mixes Professional Social Networking With Microblogging

There has never really been a professional social networking site that I have been fond of.  I am on LinkedIn, Ecademy, Ryze, Plaxo, etc., and none of them seem to be what I was looking for.  This is until Anika told me about Blellow.  When I heard about it, I was looking for a white label social networking application for a company.  When I found out that a fellow FriendFeeder Sean Haggis is the Blellow Community Manager, I knew it had to be a good thing.  I looked at a presentation with a peer and was excited to finally get ahold of the Beta version. 

Blellow combines professional social networking with microblogging. It helps you meet like-minded professionals by answering “What are you working on?” You are able to add files and ask for assistance. If you choose to ask for help, then it enables a rating system for the responses given. This is great because you are able to figure out what answers are viewed as most valuable, and the people who gave them. It’s a wonderful way to connect with other professionals.

As a member, you are able to access all of their features:

1. Groups - A great way to find people who share your interests. Very similar to your personal profile, except other people are part of the fun
2. Jobs - Find a freelance or full-time job. What’s great is that they separated the two types of jobs, so it’s easier to find what you are looking for
3. Projects - Post projects you are currently working on that you need assistance with. It brings collaboration when needed
4. Meetups – Communicate with members in the real world. You are able to organize the meetups by city, region, company, and date

Overall, I am impressed. It has functionalities that are missing in leading professional social networking sites, and I see myself actually using it. Another plus is the microblogging platform. One of the reasons Twitter is so popular is because you can use it even if you only have a minute to spare. Therefore, Blellow is a great way for busy professionals to interact, collaborate, and learn with other like-minded professionals. I definitely am using this more and more each day and think it will be a success.

Here’s an informative, quick video to learn more about Blellow:

Google Health Shows How Social Media is Revolutionizing the Medical Field

 

Using cell phone technology for medical imaging, originally uploaded by sujathafan.

I never heard about Google Health until my doctor advised me to join their health network. When I joined, I noticed that it has the ability to sync with Google Health. Being the tester that I am, I headed there to sign up. It is a great way to have your family’s and your information in one centralized location.

Today, they announced that they added the ablity to share this information with doctors, famil members, and friends. This is a big step because it signifies that social media is also becoming a growing trend in the health community.

Awhile ago, I heard a story about a boy in a third-world country being saved by a European doctor texting directions to his doctors. Earlier this week, I heard about doctors using Twitter to share information and tactics.

This is huge because if health advisors are using social media to save lives and increase innovation in the medical field, then it shows how social media is contributing to make a difference in the world.

read more 

Related articles 

• Google Health Now Lets You Share Your Medical History With Loved Ones (techcrunch.com)
• Physicians Wellness Network Offers Online Laboratory Testing Services On Google Health (seomashup.blogspot.com)
• Google Health: helping you better coordinate your care (googleblog.blogspot.com)

My Interview with The Bit Boss and on the Top Ten FF People to Follow List

I got interviewed by Craig Sutton, who is an expert on technology, business, and social media. Here is more about him: Interview of Craig from Deb Brown. I tried to ensure that the answers were as entertaining as I found his questions. If you want to learn more about me, definitely read the transcript:

http://thebitboss.com/craigsutton/getting-to-know-shevonne-polastre-dcfemella

Then I got the shock of my life when I got chosen to be on the coveted list from Mike Fruchter called, “10 People to Follow on FriendFeed,” for the month of February on Louis Gray’s blog.

It’s been a great year so far in so many ways.  I am meeting wonderful people, and these great people are also noticing me.  I hope that I can pay it forward in some shape or form.