I wasn’t sure how to title this post, and “Legit” is the best title I could come up with.

I recently came across a blog post on a real estate web site, after seeing it tweeted out by a well known real estate tweeter that I had a lot of respect for.  I’m not going to link to the post as I am so put off by it that I certainly don’t want to give it any link juice.  The tweet read something along the lines of “see the top 50 people you should follow in real estate” with a link to the blog post.  However, when I clicked on the link I was sorely disappointed!  It was like the author didn’t do his homework and actually research the twitter streams of the people on his list.  The list was a cliquish group of his friends who happen to be in real estate and attend workshops, conventions and educational events solely for the after party, not to further their career. (Disclaimer…not all of the people on his list are this shallow, only 95% of them are.) Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the after parties as it is good to network and get to know your peers.  But when the person’s twitter stream doesn’t talk about real estate, then why should they be listed on a “50 people you should follow in real estate” list?!  I can emphatically say this only because I do know the majority of the people on this list, and I’d be surprised if they were still in the real estate industry two years from now.  However, you don’t have to know them personally the way I do, just read their twitter streams and you’ll see for yourself.

So that brings me to the “legit” part.  How do you determine whether or not a blog is legit?  Should the average home buyer on twitter follow a ridiculous list like the one mentioned above only to find out that the REALTORS® listed are shallow halfwits instead of intelligent professionals?  Heck no! I feel sorry for the people who do follow that list and who I really feel sorry for is the blogger/tweeter that wrote the list.  His site will lose credibility quickly.

Legitimate blogs can be hard to come by.  Remember that.  Whether it be a medical blog, industry blog, or *cough* *cough* personal blog ranting about someone else’s poorly written blog, take it with a grain of salt and not for gospel.  Do your homework, like I did, and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly which blogs are too legit to quit and which ones should.

</random rant>

The reason for the break-up is that I have several conferences coming up, including a big one that I am co-presenting at in November.  Usually when I am at these conferences, I tend to ramble (being among my peeps), via Twitter.  And as you know, several tweets all in a row, you end up with a bad case of twitterhea.  And I’m just not so sure if I want to subject my Facebook friends to that kind of mess.

Nonetheless, I have installed Facebook’s Selective Twitter application.  FB Selective Twitter is nothing new, and it’s quite simple.  You can still update your FB status using Twitter, you just have to add the hashtag #fb.

Other than TweetDeck, Posterous and Selective Twitter…what other ways are there to update and keep it all simple?

At first it was cliche or kitschy.  Now it is just annoying and in my opinion, arrogant.

So what makes one a guru?  According to Wikipedia, it would be someone who is considered of great knowledge.

However, just because you put the word “guru” on your Twitter profile doesn’t make you one.  Guru of what?  Or is it, just because you say you are, then you are.

I don’t know where this post is going, the word guru just happens to be harshing my mellow right now.  It ranks right up there with “life coach”.

After all, when you Google “what is a guru?” you get all sorts of web definitions that go along the lines of “God,” “Spiritual Master,” and some sort of obsessed yoga instructor.  It has nothing to do with some sort of real estate fanatic on Twitter with 248 followers, following 2,401 and 49 updates.  Stats like that do not make you a Twitter or social media guru.  And I’m not the only one who thinks this.

I’m just ranting.

So, what’s a goin’ on there good ole Twitter support?  I have sent you an e-mail 48 hours ago and have got no response.

I’m frustrated with Twitter’s 100/hour API request limitations.  It’s sucking the life out of my beloved TweetDeck the moment I turn it on! Grr.  Following too many people who update too much? No.  Too many followers? Yeah, right.  TweetDeck is an application that runs on and is in cahoots with your Twitter account.  For me, it is easier to keep up with Twitter this way.  However, the application can only access your Twitter account 100 times per hour.  So every time you refresh the page, or if someone updates, you update, you respond, add a twitpic, add a link, or any other type of action on TweetDeck, it knocks down your 100 count for the hour.  And it dwindles fast, especially if you use it a lot.  Once you hit the limit, you then have to wait until the rest of the hour passes before it resets and you can resume your Twitter activity via TweetDeck.

At first, I thought that it was TweetDeck’s problem and in usual fashion, I tweeted out my aggravations with having to wait out the reset period on TweetDeck.  In under one minute, I got several responses from tweople who told me that it ain’t TweetDeck, it’s Twitter.  The said that I could contact Twitter and request that they increase the API request limit for my account.  Twitter will usually break it’s own limitation rules and give in to your request, assuming that you are not a Twitter spammer.  So I e-mailed them two days ago.  Thanks to all the tweeps who were on it and helped out quickly.

Now if I can just get a timely response out of Twitter.  If they pride themselves on reaching mass numbers of people in mere seconds, then maybe they should work on quicker e-mail customer support responses.  Or maybe I should have kept my e-mail request in under 140 characters.  Grr…limitations.

Being a devoted Firefox user, I got all excited about the recent news of  the new “Prism” add-on.  However, my excitement quickly faded over Prism once I discovered “Fluid.”  The big difference between these two apps is that Prism is universal (Mac or PC) and Fluid is Mac only.  And in my opinion, Fluid is much prettier.

What they are:

• A slick application designed to create Site Specific Browsers (SSBs).

What they do:

• Turns your favorite web pages into a desktop app that can be run completely separately outside of your internet browser.
• When launched it provides a tiny little window for you to enter your favorite web site URL, your preferred icon and then creates the self sustained application.  Also known as a SSB.

Why you would want them:

• If you’re obsessively checking your Facebook, constantly uploading images to Flickr, watching Hulu or YouTube on your computer often, or even Twittering several times throughout the day, then Fluid and/or Prism will solve the irritating problem of having to your internet browser and having numerous tabs open all at once just to check these sites.
• It will give you the ability to hide certain things.  If you’re an idiot who visits a specific porn site at work each day, then you can “hide” it by giving it a work icon and labeling it “TPS reports.”  Not my cup o’ tea, but it was the best reason I could come up with for hiding something.
• Did I mention that the icons for Fluid are pretty and make your Mac dock look all shiny?

Photo Credit: http://www.fluidapp.com/

How do I get started?

• Down load the Prism app or the Fluid app to your machine.
• Follow the instructions from there.  The programs are pretty self explanatory.

How do I find the pretty icons to use?

• You will have the option of using the web site’s favicon.  You know that little graphic just to the left of the web site URL address at the top of your screen?  If you choose this option, you will be at the mercy of the web designer.
• Your other option is to pick your own icon.  This is where it gets serious for you designer types.  If you’re not a designer fluent in Adobe products, then just Google the term “Fluid App Icons” and you will find all sorts of sites and blogs that have these icons.  Some icons are pretty, some are not.  One of my favorite icon designers is Chris Ivarson.  In my opinion, his icons are well polished and look nice.  Or you can search the Flickr Pool of these Fluid icons and download them from there.

1. Discussions of politics.
2. Religion.  Yes, I firmly believe in John 3:16.  Christian or not…God loves us all.
3. Give out specific personal info.  Birth dates, addresses, full names besides my own, social security numbers, real phone numbers–you get my drift.
4. The fight I just had with my husband or the contents of an angry e-mail I just sent to my mother.
5. What I ate for lunch.  (Now, what I am drinking….that’s whole ‘nother story).
6. Cuss words.  WTF?! Not cool Christian Bale.

Just some general rules I try to abide by and some I wish that others would.

So in the midst of all of this preparation for the podcast, I have come to my own conclusions of the way media trends are going, and I have narrowed it down to just 5 of them.

1. Twitter Search will become the #2 search engine just behind Google.
2. RIM Technology (a.k.a. BlackBerry) will launch an amazing app store that will rival Apple’s iPhone App store.
3. Print magazines and newspapers will become non-existent as everything will move online.  Our local Board of REALTORS® has just embraced this technology and now does our entire local magazine on a WordPress blog.  Personally, my favorite online magazine has become ZMags, but it can be pricey.
4. TV’s will become wi-fi and/or bluetooth enabled so that all movies can be streamed from your laptop.  Same idea as Apple TV, just minus the middle man (Apple TV).
5. Software will start going by the wayside and almost all things will be online only (think Google Docs).

I know that a lot of these ideas are not original and have already been put into motion.  I am not in anyway a designer, the planner, the implementor or VC funder.  And really I could keep droning on, but I will let it go here.  In what ways do you see technology going?  Or what kinds of cool sites/gadgets do you think are going to become show stopping?  Give me something good and I will mention it on the podcast tomorrow night.

Twit or Tweet.  Sounds like the punchline of a bad joke about a child with a lisp on Halloween night.  However, I was recently  having a discussion with my BFF Brooke about the appropriate use of Twit vs. Tweet when referring to Twitter use.  Therefore, before the two of us start grandstanding against those that use the terms inappropriately, I wanted to make sure that we were right, so I started doing some research and would love to know your opinion.

If you’re not sure what in the world Twitter is…then start here.

I’ve been Twittering for just shy of two years so I have heard the gamut of Twitter lingo.  I think that the term “twit” is a noun, meaning the person that is actively using Twitter.  “Tweet” is a verb in the act of posting something to Twitter.  My next step in this highly intensive research project <insert sarcasm here> was to consult the Twitter Lingo Wiki. After Googling for more resources, I came across the Twictionary, Tweeterms, and Twitterspeak.  There is where I found a goldmine of information here that aligns with my theory of the Twit vs. Tweet.  And through all of this, I have come to realize that too many tweeople have too much time on their hands.