Flipboard - a Magazine Featuring Me!

I blogged on the topic of  Multiple Account Access in Flipboard a week or so ago.  I was having trouble searching my Twitter account in order to add that account strictly as an additional one of the nine sections offered on the Flipboard layout.   I kept getting an empty search result.

Today, I clicked on an empty section in the Flipboard layout to add my account.  Instead of searching for Granny Joan or Granny_Joan, I typed in @granny_joan into the Search Field and it found me.  So I added myself to the section and was able to obtain my own magazine featuring me alone.

 Here is what the first page of the magazine looked like when it loaded.  Now I am able to view both of my Twitter Accounts inside Flipboard layout.

If you want to checkout your own magazine or add someone particular in a section of Flipboard, give it a try.

Just type in @yourtwittername into the Search Field of Flipboard Section. Tweet

What is Microblogging?

What is microblogging? How do you potentially use it for businesses or personal notifications?  How to set up a blog using only portable devices, and what type of things you should/can you blog about while on an airplane, in a hotel, or on the road?

Thanks to microblogging websites and platforms, it's possible to share bite sized updates about your life and follow the updates of people who matter to you via the web. Today, many people have become addicted to their phones, read several blogs every day, and have contacts all over the world. People hear about microblogging and usually denounce it with harsh criticism, but after they give it a try, they sign up for free and realize that microblogging platforms look a lot like regular blogs! They notice that each page is personal and has updates from friends. People are also using microblogging platforms for business ventures and more. The microblog world has unlimited potential for everyone from the casual user to the business owner.

Fortunately, people use blogs to say more than just "buy my stuff, buy my stuff".   That being said, Twitter CAN be used for marketing.  There are several ways to use marketing techniques on blogs and all you have to do is apply them. Some people are interested in leveraging particular markets but it's all a matter of personal preference.   If you want people to consider your business you must advertise properly using real information, not spam.  Essentially you have to fill up your blogging gas tank with your niche's information.

The proverbial 'filling up your gas tank' entails collecting potential articles, keeping your friends and followers informed with the services provided by the particular platform, finding relevant pictures and just generally writing about the products in your market. Your blog should be about keeping your market up-to-date, which is one of the steps to eventually being a leader in the marketplace.   but let's not get ahead of ourselves, before you lead you have to first understand.

And here's the big hitter: The exciting thing about microblogs are that they are compatible with many mobile devices, which means if you have ever wanted to post to your blog but weren't by a computer, you are in luck. It's actually very simple and all you need is a cell phone with text or media messaging capability, any smartphone or regular phone will do.   Additionally, if you can blog from your smartphone, that means your market will be able to read your blog from their smartphones.

There are several ways to write a blog message from your phone, the first is to write a post with the text messaging function. The number to send it to is usually a numerical translation of the website (such as 256447 for blogger). Another  way to post is to take a picture and send it as an e-mail which uses a different method to deliver than the text messages.  Or try using some of the audio blog sites like Cinchcast.com to setup a blog with audio, pictures and captions.  Cinchcast.com can be utilized from landline phones or any cellphone by calling a number an leaving an audio message.  Cinchcast.com also has an Apple iPhone app that works with iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices, as well as an Android app.  With these apps, you can post photos, type in a title or caption, and leave an audio blog or message, publish it to Twitter and Facebook with the nice interface in the app and also listen to your followers replies and comments to your blog and to their blogs.  Check out Cinchcast.com 


All of these functions can be performed in some of the most remote locations such as hotels, the beach, and the Empire State Lookout.  Even planes have signal services (gogo) while most of the world's terminals have wifi, though some restrictions may apply.  So kick back and relax at any place with a signal, and get your blog on.

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Are You Confused By Internet Slang?

Each generation has there own slang that they use to communicate with their peers.  It is interesting to note that the netizens have their own terminology as well.  Some of these new terms are defined (my interpretation) below:

Netizen - those persons who spend a lot of time on the internet and are referred to as internet citizens or members of that 'virtual' society.

Meetup - a group of like-minded individuals, possibly netizens, that have same interests such as careers, companies, hobbies, or interest in politics, health, music, etc.  This group secures a location, time and arrangements to 'meet up' in the 'real world'.

Mashup - web application, web function, or application that mixes various media sources such as graphics, text, audio, video, etc.  In the music industry a mashup consists of a musical genre or category that consists of new songs that are a mix of parts of other songs put together.  This could also be the result of a meetup.

Mixup - confusion of not being able to mashup or meetup.

Markup - designation of increase of price for product or service to meet one's profit margin.  Also could designate the changes in location, time and arrangements for meetup.

Meltdown - when things tank or collapse.  Possibly could occur when netizen remembers he forgot the meetup.

Bailout - what a company that doesn't have enough money might wish to obtain to avoid failing or when a netitizen doesn't show up to a meetup.

Wiki - quick and easy way to access information and content all in one place.  (Kind of like a meetup)

Link Rot - when a URL (Uniform Resource Location) or address of a web page becomes obsolete.  When the place designated for the meetup is no longer there. 

Spiders - computer bots that roam the www updating search engines, obtaining new pages, deleting obsolete pages and updating known pages to a database.  It could be possible that some of the netizens that observe at meetups, might be considered spiders that listen, learn, obtain, delete old ideals and update to new ones.

Twishing - a new means by which some persons are using Twitter to phish or steal identities.  Twishers might be netcitizen at a meetup that steals ideas and tweets them to the world.

:-) Tweet