Thursday, July 14, 2011

Getting Connected

This week I furthered my social media/networking capabilities by joining Foursquare and the trial version of Google+.

Foursquare is more of a mobile networking app that let's you "check-in" at various places you travel. This serves to inform your friends (if you choose to) of your whereabouts. If you check in the most times of anyone at any given location, you become "The Mayor" of that particular place, which basically serves to make you feel more important than you really are. It's always fun to check-in "at the pool" on a hot day, so that your friends know how much better your life is than theirs, or to check in at, say,

The Activity Center @ West Newton Hills


...which would be my place of residence, and a title much more prestigious than is due. I figure if I'm ever abducted, all my frequent "check-ins" will help investigators trace my last steps. At the end of the day, I like Foursquare, because it gets you out moving in the world and helps you stay connected with friends.

Google+ is Google's attempt to erase the disaster that was Google Buzz. WHAT? You've never heard of Google Buzz? NO way...
Google+ is an alternative to Facebook, though it can be used in conjunction. The main benefit I see is there are NO Ads telling me "how to lose 50lbs of belly fat instantly", effectively modeled by a bikini clad cartoon going from tiny to bulgy to tiny quicker than The Hanson Brother's egos. Other perks are more "selective" posting. When you add friends, you place them in Circles such as "Friends", "Acquaintances",  "Co-Workers", "Family", etc. So when you post, you can select which circles it goes to, and whether or not you will allow "re-posting" or "comments" to your post. All convenient features, IMHO (in my honest opinion, lesson for the day). At the end of the day, I like Google+, because it provides a more effective and selective way of communicating.

What's all this got to do with CI's? Well, when all is said and done, this post wasn't really about social media. I was secretly describing what Cochlear Implants have done for my life. Go back and read the BOLD print...you see what I did there?