Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I Have Caught the Social Media Bug!

Do you remember, once upon a time, when we all had Myspace accounts? 

Think back to the beginning:  It was one of the coolest things ever!  You were able to get acquainted with friends that you haven't talked to in a while, you were able to see when people were online, and you actually visited friends' profile pages in order to hear the song that they were rockin' out to at the moment!

Or even before that, there was a site called 'Friendster.'  However, Myspace killed Friendster with all of the 'interactive' features. 

(I know both of these sites still exist, but does anyone actually visit them anymore?)

Then somehow, Facebook came along...and with it's easy simplicity of letting people know "What's on your mind," it somehow became the site to be on. 

I only know a small handful of people who have resisted the lure of Facebook. 

Flash forward to today:  Not only is Facebook's popularity still in its' prime, but now you have Twitter, and so many various other social media outlets!

I have to say...I still use Facebook often, but Twitter is becoming my Social Media site of choice! 

I love it because you are able to follow people...even people who you have never met in your life...without them having to add you as a friend.  Also, you can create lists of people that you follow, if you only want to check out what certain people are saying.

I am also now using DailyMile.  It's a great, fairly new, site that allows you to track your daily fitness!  It's sort of like a facebook for athletes.  If you run, swim, bike or whatever, I encourage you to join...and add me as a friend! 

Part of what is great about dailymile is that friends can help motivate you, or keep you accountable to get your workouts in.
The more, the merrier!

A brand new site that is starting to gain in popularity is Foursquare.   When I first saw people posting tweets about foursquare, I was intrigued.  So, i went to the website and checked it out. 

Foursquare works with your mobile device's GPS.  If you have an iphone, Droid, etc. then it allows the phone to pick up where your current location is. 

When I first checked it out, i thought it was sort of pointless and decided not to use it.  However, when one of my friends sent me a friend request, I looked into it again...and then decided to give it a shot.

Now, I am hooked.  It is sort of a game.  Very fun and simple.  The more places you visit, the more points you get.  Also, you get to see what other people have visited the places that you like to visit (whether they are your 'friends' or not.) 

And if you visit a place more than anyone else, you become the 'Mayor' of that place.  Oohhhh.....

I encourage you all to join, because the more people who join, the more specials/deals that the establishments will offer.  Gotta love that, right?

Well, i have to say, I feel socially connected.  Online, of course...

Is there any site that you use that I am missing out on?  I might need to check it out.

Now i just need to find time to clear out my TiVo!

17 comments:

  1. I just signed up for dailymile. I will find you and add you. Sounds fun!

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  2. The dailymile sounds interesting. I think I'll check out that one. I try to stay far away from everything else. There are just so many social sites that we are supposed to keep up. Is the day going to come when all we do is updated our status all day long on a hundred different sites?

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  3. I love face book and twitter..I will check out the other ones you mention..thanks:)

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  4. Believe it or not I am a social media Addict. I love it and can't stop using and studying it!

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  5. This is why we never seem to get together! You're too busy updating the masses on your whereabouts/doings. :P

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  6. I hate to do this to you Paul, but as someone who loves the gym, but has been out for 5 weeks and 1 day now due to surgery, I have to say this in regard to your "daily mile" media site and linking it to your facebook:

    From your June 17, 2009 Post: "You might be a FaceBook Douchebag if..."
    #6. The Gym Bunny. Of course we all (well...most of us) try to keep in shape and exercise regularly, but if your status update is ALWAYS, "Going to the gym," "...had an amazing workout," or "Drinking a protein shake" ...and never really about anything else, then you most likely are douchey.

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  7. RYAN!!!!
    First of all, I am not making my facebook update 'going to the gym.' I am doing it in dailymile, which is what daily mile is for!

    Second, that doesn't apply to me because my status updates are not ONLY about going to the gym. There is a variety!

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  8. Also, the only reason I've linked my dailymile to my facebook, is so that more people will become interested in Dailymile, and will join that sight.

    It is in no way means to sound like "I'm better than you..."

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  9. Ry is being a hater!
    Personally I like it when you post your dailymile stuff on twitter. Everytime I see it, i think, "Man i need to go to the gym" hahaha

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  10. Paul!

    Well aren't you the social butterfly!

    I've never joined Myspace and I'm happy to say I don't belong to Facebook either! Guess I'm an anti-social butterfly!

    *sigh*

    -Dean

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  11. you have been tagged...check it out on no excuse no explanation;)

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  12. OMG--More to do!! LOL....But I will check out some of these you mention for sure! I like FB..I never did the myspace thing..Just blog and FB....

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  13. I abandoned MySpace after some fool hijacked my account and I was unable to get it back. WHY they wanted it is still a mystery. Then I joined Facebook and find it to be much better than MySpace for keeping up with friends without having to load each one of their graphics-heavy pages.

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  14. Your first paragraph made me laugh!! I remember myspace like it was yesterday! But no one uses it anymore, it's all about facebook now. I only use facebook. Before myspace I use to have a xanga and a livejournal as well.

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  15. now following you on twitter! i'll have to check out dailymile. that looks pretty neat.

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  16. If you like the geocaching aspects of FourSquare, give Gowalla a try. It comes with items, giveaways and trips (scavenger hunts)

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  17. Not sure if the daily mile allows you to track nutrition too, but http://dailyburn.com allows you to track your workouts and nutrition! Just thought I'd pass along! :-)

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