Pownce vs Twitter

Pownce???, what is it? How does it compare to Twitter?

Pownce is a micro-blogging site. It just opened to the public in January, 2008. Because I love ABOUT pages I am posting the ABOUT page below.

About Pownce

Pownce is a way to send stuff to your friends. What kind of stuff? You can send just about anything: music, photos, messages, links, events, and more. You can do it all on our web site, or install our lightweight desktop software that lets you get out of the browser.

Who makes this thing?

Pownce is brought to you by a bunch of geeks who were frustrated trying to send stuff from one cube to another.

The team consists of Leah Culver, Mike Malone, Daniel Burka, Kevin Rose, Ariel Waldman, and Shawn Allen (in that order below). Together, we formed a wee company with a great big name, Megatechtronium, that makes this software.

Now, take a few minutes to look at a great site,called Four20 which has provided a fair comparison of Pownce vs Twitter.

I just joined Pownce so I cannot give an expert summation. But if you can share your experiance it would be helpful.

What is Micro-blogging?

We are talking so much about Twitter  these days. Yet, I thought it would be helpful to stop and define this form of blogging called micro-blogging. I will be posting about a few other micro-blogging sites in the next couple of days. So, here is a quick easy definition of microblogging from good old Wikepedia:

Micro-blogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates (say, 140 characters or fewer) or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, MP3 or the web.

The content of a micro-blog differs from a traditional blog due in that it is typically more topical, smaller in aggregate file size (e.g. text, audio or video) but is the same in that people utilize it for both business and individual reasons. Many micro-blogs provide this short commentary on a person-to-person level, or share news about a company’s products and services

Baby Boomers Blog to Beat the Blahs on Thanksgiving?

Do you blog to beat the blahs on Thanksgiving? I asked my baby boomer hubby Ray, “Why do you think folks blog on Thanksgiving?” Shouldn’t they be sitting at somebody’s table eating? at first he said, “Why do they watch the football games?” After we laughed he then said, “Maybe they do it to beat the blahs.”

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day to give thanks. Many folks share the day with family and friends. Yet, many folks are in pain either physically or mentally. We think about others no longer with us or those in the hospital or nurshing homes. We think about those who are homeless, just got bad news, or facing other major issues. How can they be thankful?

Yet, many find the strength to give thanks in the midst of their pain. Some through spiritual support and others by sharing with others. I mean the act of feeding the homeless or visiting someone who cannot sit at a thanksgiving table can take away the impact of your own situation.

Now how does blogging beat the blahs? I have often sat down and posted to a blog to share in virtual space my experience or tell a story. Somehow the act of sharing or even teaching takes your mind of so much drama. When you read other’s posts on a holiday like thanksgiving there is a strange kind of kinship.

This is especially true if no one at the table understand what you are talking about when you refer to blogging. It can be very lonely at times.

Perhaps you are lonely or bored. Or maybe someone dropped of a dinner for you to enjoy and you sit the plate to the left of the  computer and start blogging. Don’t know but I do know and believe my husband is right. Blogging can beat the blahs- if you have an internet connection and paid the bill.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Baby Boomer Bloggers. May you find many things to be thankful for this holiday.

Do you believe blogging can beat the blahs?

A Glossary of Web Content-Terms All Writers Should Know

This is an article by David Stockwell. Thought it would be useful to view some of the different definitions related to web content.

Before launching into any enterprise, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the terms used in the field. For any producer of content, there are also legal and social issues to be aware of. The following is a glossary of the main forms of content found on the web. While not complete, all writers should be aware of the differences, the legal implications, and the effects of the various forms on reader reactions and search engine rankings.

Content – is defined as any form of information, here referring mainly to text, or text and images together that form a coherent work, referred to as an article.

Free content – is work legally usable without paying a fee, although legal restrictions may exist on modification, redistribution, and attribution.

Open content – is generally free, and may be redistributed provided it remains unaltered. The open content license (OC) also allows the charging of a fee for distribution services but not for the OC material itself. The OC license also allows modification providing attribution information, OC license and zero cost remain intact.

Content syndication – refers to the distribution of content to multiple Web sites through technologies as RSS, or catalogs of articles. The most common examples are the use of selective RSS news feeds to populate web pages with relevant daily changing updates.

Original content – refers to work that is significantly unlike any other work as to be regarded as ‘original’. For example, an original work would be expected to pass the plagiarism test at http://copyscape.com. Sources of original content include vast compendiums of online articles.

Custom content, in contrast to the above forms is paid for, and developed to the clients specifications. It should be original content, without the legal limitations of the above forms as it becomes owned by the client, may be attributed to him/her, and used in any way. A familiar example of custom content is ‘advertising copy’ describing products for sale.

Creative content – like custom content, is paid for and owned, but unlike advertising copy might engage an audience to provoke comment, controversy, and be read for recreational or educational purposes. For example, a blog post would generally be regarded as creative content. The number of comments received by a post could be an indication of the degree of creativity.

Technical Content – while being custom and original, would not generally be regarded as creative, consisting of such things as specification or requirements documents, legal documents, and objective accounts such as financial or scientific reports.

User-Generated Content – on sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr, and MySpace have taken the web by storm, and now rank among the top ten fastest growing web brands. User-generated content has the advantages of being free, although the legal usages of the content are not clear.

Destination Content – is an example of industries with unique forms of content. One major example is travel industry destination content, information and media for potential travelers about their destination.

Generated Content – usually refers to html code that is generated automatically in the course of displaying documents. As such, it is convenient and saves typing html. However, generated content can also refer to text generated to bait search engines without real creative content.

Spamdexing – or search engine Spam, are web pages created or modified automatically and expressly to improve rank and attract search hits to a website. Spamdexing is generally regarded as dishonest, though not technically illegal. Wikipedia has quite a good glossary of terms and techniques related to deceitful search engine optimization techniques.

Conclusion:

Content must be original and creative to boost the search engine rankings over the long term. It must also be creative to engage users in a blog, and provide the feedback, contributions, and excitement that form the basis of respected, authority site. Ultimately, any shortcuts to search engine optimization that compromise creative quality will, sooner or later, be detected and the engine algorithms modified with drastic effect on your rankings.

David Stockwell PhD is helping people to develop and market web-sites by applying statistics similar to those developed in ecology to discover new species. Custom Content: From Content Creation to Web Dominance. Niche Modeling: The Science and Statistics of Niche Modeling.

Twitter Talk-Retweeting

Here is a great post explaining a Retweet and how to do it on Twitter. I

ALSO

Read this excellent article on the impact of doing a simple thing like retweets in viral communication in our businesses and organizations.

Please note that I am going to start doing RETWEETS! IF, you want to join me follow my good friend, and alter ego,bloggingbetty@twitter.com. We can all practice. Also, if you see me doing something wrong let me know.

Examples of How Some Non-Profits Use Twitter

I like the following post because it gives you some great examples of how Twitter is being used by many non-profits. As a baby boomer I thrive of experiance-based technology applications. Ok, what I mean is show me someone who is using it and then I believe you.

So, in my continuing look into many of the practical applications of Twitter I was happy to see this post by a social media expert. 

Also, I appreciate this great overview of Twitter by another social media expert.

Twitter and Non-Profits-Are Baby Boomers Involved?

Many baby boomers are involved in non-profits. Many baby boomers are also exploring Twitter. That means baby boomers are exploring the huge possibilites for social networking to help promote their “difference Making Messages.” I say yes. Read this excellent post on Twitter and Non-profits.

Share your experiances with non-profits and Twitter.