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Life in Twitter World: Where’s Waldo and what is he doing? August 28, 2008

Posted by ramonmendias in Community, Web 2.0.
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6 comments

Where Waldo is at the moment and what he is doing might not be so hard to find out after all. At the park feeding ducks, chasing his little niece in the backyard, or doing some online research on where to hide next. This week’s post is in regard to Twitter and the impact it has on its followers.

Twitter is relatively new to the social networking equation, but has a huge following. It allows one to share little tidbits about what one is doing at the moment in 140 characters or less to friends, family, and employers. I personally use my phone for text messaging, instant messaging, and E-mail so I’m honestly not really drawn to use this product. However, there have been some pretty cool GPS and Google Maps mashup features added to Twitter which will skyrocket the value and bring more popularity. One of those mashups is Twibble Mobile. You can use Twitter from your phone, and with the GPS feature your followers can easily find you…well, that’s what they say. I read some blog postings that said that the mapping locations are slightly off and the coordinates give pretty close vicinity but not precise. I think that will work itself out, but I could see this used for making sure your children are safe or companies could use this feature for drivers maybe. I’m sure the creators of Twitter will add features their users want as it grows and grows. Currently there are some Websites, such as Twittervision.com which show real-time updates on Twitter and where and when you made the update geographically. I think it’s cool to see the chatter going on around the world, in English or not.

There are a multitude of Twitter communities like Twittown backing its popularity. I’m currently trying out Twitter to see if there was something I missed the first time I tried it a while back. If I didn’t have a “smart phone” I might already be utilizing this more. We shall see.

Other interesting use: Add Twitter to your blog for good marketing

Tacit Knowledge: You Can Get It From a Book, Right? August 7, 2008

Posted by ramonmendias in Community.
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4 comments

The short answer is no. The interesting topic for this week is “Communities of Practice“, which have also been called learning groups, thematic groups, or tech clubs.

“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”– Etienne Wenger

The key information I gathered from my research, as it applies to our Web industry, is one being able to gain tacit knowledge that’s not in any manuals or reading materials. I don’t recall ever being in a member of a community of practice. However, I can see its significance, especially in our Web industry. Trying to create cutting edge Web applications or design, CSS 3.0 for example, needs a collaborative learning component in order for us designers and developers to be able to refine and perfect the new standards. Next week, I’m sure there will be something else out there that’s introduced on the Web. That’s why we need to stay active and social in our groups! I have been guilty of getting comfortable in my position and not making the time.

By the way, I registered for the AMA event at Brookhaven Country Club that’s on the 20th of this month. I hope that I see some of you there. The event is called – Finding a Fit with Web 2.0: How Lee Jeans Took a Traditional Cause Campaign Local. I’ve been to AMA events before, and they never disappoint.