I couldn’t believe it when I caught a glimpse of the newspaper article.  Apparently the Utica Police Department has entered into the age of new media.  They’re all hooked up with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and they’re actually using them to their advantage!

You see, they are trying to connect with the community where they’re already at.  The question is, how are they leveraging their social media presence?  I’d like to take a look at what they’re doing and hopefully answer that question.

Facebook

Looking at the City of Utica, NY Police Department’s Facebook page, I see postings about incidents that they need help finding out information.  They’re posting pictures and videos hoping someone sees them and can remember something to help them in their investigations.  Facebook is a good place because it is easy to post stuff like that and people can easily leave comments or even cal the phone number being listed.

Beyond having the ability to contact the Utica PD, users can comment on the postings, sharing thoughts and opinions.

This turns out to give the police department several positives.  First, they have a method to reach out to many people to find much needed information on cases they’re trying to solve.  Also, they are more intimately connecting with the community by giving them a forum to express themselves.

YouTube

The Utica Police Department is using YouTube to post footage of crimes they are looking for information on.  Seems like an obvious use, right?  The question one may ask is why they’d need YouTube if they could just upload video to Facebook?  As it turns out, once they upload the videos to YouTube, they embed them on Facebook anyhow.  I think doing it this way can enable them to reach communities on Facebook and YouTube.  A kind of cross-pollination.

Twitter

Since they are new on YouTube and Twitter, their Twitter following is still quite small.  What they are doing on Twitter is posting updates for the other two sites.  This way, if you are more of a Twitter user, you can keep up with what’s going on and you’ll be notified of pictures posted on Facebook and videos on YouTube.  I am not sure of how popular Twitter is in Utica, but I suppose the police department will find out soon.

So there you have it.  The Utica Police Department has a social media strategy.  It’s currently fairly new but it’s encouraging to see a police station entering into the social media realm and try to connect with those they are serving.

I just checked,,, I’ve been on Twitter since April of 2008 (check out an introduction to Twitter I wrote a while back).  That doesn’t really seem like a long time but digitally speaking (esp. online) that’s a long time.  So much has happened online and with social media since then.

The way I interact on Twitter has changed a real lot too.  When I began, I had no clue as to what to do.  I’m sure that is the same with a lot of people.  Now that I’m not so wet behind the ears I use Twitter in a very different way.  In this article I would like to go through my Twitter habits and talk about who I follow and why.

Who Do I Follow?

I like to follow interesting people.  To be more specific, I like to follow people who interest me.  To be even more specific, I tend to follow people who are techie and who interest me.  That is not to say that just because I don’t follow you, you aren’t interesting or even techie.  I fight hard not to overflow the stream I keep up with so I try to be very selective.  I don’t do much with filters or lists (perhaps I should).  It also doesn’t mean that I won’t interact with you.  I chat with people all the time outside my niche and I think that it is OK to not feel the need to follow.  Am I a snob?

How do I choose who to follow?

My process of choosing who to follow goes something like this:  I see an interesting tweet or article and investigate the person’s profile, I take a quick glance down their timeline to see the other types of tweets they’ve got going on, and then I decide if I want their tweets in my stream.  I look at if they are interested in some of the same hashtags, whether or not all of their tweets are @replies, if the content of the tweets are interesting or informative or just nonsense, and whether they have anything to do with my niche.

Maybe I do things a bit wonky but for now that’s how I roll.

Recently I had an interesting conversation with another Twitter user about who to follow.  The person, who will remain nameless, had a pet peeve about following twits who don’t respond to @replies.  They made the comment that they unfollow people who ignore any attempt at interaction.  This usually includes those twits who amass many many followers and who are probably using filters to read only the updates they want to read.  Personally, I don’t have a problem following a big named blogger with thousands of followers who doesn’t have time to reply to every single person on their list.  As long as their tweets interest me and are in my niche, I will follow.  If I really want to get a hold of them, I can try several different methods of communication (their blog, email, contact form, Facebook, Twitter – who cares).

Do I like it when one of those Twitter “superstars” respond to an @reply I send their way, sure I do.  I just won’t unfollow if they don’t.

The thing to remember is that people use Twitter in many different ways.  Some follow accounts in order to aggregate information (many even use it to replace RSS feeds).  Some follow people to chat and interact heavily.  And still others are more lurkers, listening to all of what’s going on without actually participating in the action.

While talking about why we follow twits, it’s also important to discuss some of the ways twits tweet in order to nail down how we come up with who to follow.  For instance, my local news website uses a Twitter account to aggregate weather reports.  If I’m looking for interaction, I probably won’t follow that account.  There are several sites I like to read who use Twitter similarly but with a bit more interaction and I like following those accounts.  In fact, I try to run my tweets in a similar manor because I know I like those who do.  That, however, is a topic for another article: A Hard Look At My Twitter Habits – Why Do I Tweet What I Tweet?

OK, so after all of that rambling about who I follow on Twitter and why, I’d like to turn the question over to you.  Why do you follow who you follow on Twitter?  Fill up the comments section would ya!

I do a lot of other stuff on Twitter (like connecting with friends and even chatting). If you follow me on Twitter (@timmyjohnboy) you know that I also enjoy to tweet links I find either interesting or helpful. I would like to begin to share a digest of some of the most interesting links I share on Twitter here on Timmyjohnboy.com.

Believe it or not, I actually have a few reasons for this.  First of all, Twitter only gives me 140 characters for each message.  That means I only have so much room to comment on each link.  Also, I know there are some readers here that don’t prefer to use Twitter much so they’d miss out on all the fun.  So, without further distraction, here are links I’ve tweeted the week of November 27, 2010 to December 3, 2010.

‘Postcard’ or ‘Postcard from Hallmark’ Virus Hoax

In case you’re wondering why I tweeted about some Virus hoax it’s because I received a warning myself.  You know how I feel, don’t you?  You get one of those emails warning you of a virus all over the web that’s going to bring an end to the world.  You’re usually then advised that you ought to forward the message to all who you hold dear in case they too are in danger.

I usually do a bit of research on things like this before taking any action.  Then, even if it does turn out to be true, I’d probably find it in the news and share it from a more reputable source than just a chain email.  My advice, do some checking on things before forwarding the information on.

How To Create An Image Map Using GIMP

Ah, the ol’ make an image map using a free program trick.  This is actually an article I wrote a ways back when I was writing for MakeUseOf.  I used to use a program called Macromedia Fireworks to do cool stuff like make image maps.  Now that I use Ubuntu instead of Windows I have grown accustomed to using GIMP for many of my graphics editing needs.  Oh, if you’re wondering what an image map is, read the article at MakeUseOf and check out the sidebar to this blog.

Your Froyo Tablet Probably Won’t Support Android Market

You know already that I am an Android fan.  I finally have one of my own and I wouldn’t trade it for any other phone on the market (no, not even an iPhone 4).  I think it’s very cool that there is iPad competition coming out on the market that uses the Android OS.  I find it interesting that many of them won’t be able to handle the Android market.  One thing Apple has set up for themselves is that there isn’t much in the way of compatibility issues.  As I mentioned in the tweet, I am sure this Android compatibility issue will be resolved.

Trust Me! I Am a Bird Too! Wallpaper

I came across this wallpaper I forget how but it is simply hilarious.  It’s a cat, that looks frighteningly like my own cat peanut, sitting on a power line with a few birds.  Cute as all get out.  I think it’d make a good wallpaper, don’t you?

Interview With NPR On Process Journalism

I found this interview intriguing because it was basically mainstream media interviewing big named blogging media.  The topic of conversation?  Process journalism – something mainstream is very much against and that the interviewee practices often.  The idea behind process journalism is to report on news as it’s unfolding.  Mainstream media makes a practice of making sure the news is news before reporting it.  Well, that’s what I understand of it.  Michael Arrington of TechCrunch does a bit of reporting rumors… well, give it a listen to hear more about it.

I hope you enjoy some of the reading contained in these links.  Most weeks I do a bit more link tweeting than this week but I’ve been pretty busy.  Stay tuned until next week’s digest.

I love blogging and I love my readers.  It seems the more I get into it, the more I enjoy interacting with new and interesting people who are interested in similar topics as I am.  I like when someone has something to say in the comments of one of my posts.  I don’t even mind if they’d rather comment via Twitter or Facebook, as long as they are interested enough in my writing that they step out and engage in the conversation.

Yes, that is one of the purposes of blogging, conversation.  Conversation and community.  I have a target audience I am attempting to reach here on Timmyjohnboy.com and when I hear from readers I know there is some kind of connection being made.

All that being said, one of my goals is to engage more local readers.  Of course I love the rest of y’all.  I find it interesting and gratifying that people from as far as Australia and South Korea have stopped by.  Even those across the states have added much to the community here.  Oh, and yes there are even those of you who have been my friends since before Timmyjohnboy.com, whether you be from college or elsewhere you are all loved.  Just one of my goals is to reach locals, too.

I asked an expert in the area of social media and online engagement (Chris Brogan) in a recent Twitter chat how I can better reach a local audience and he had good advice.  He said to go from offline to online or physical to digital.  To tell the truth, I forget exactly how he said it, but the gist was to start with fliers and business cards, etc. directing towards the online interaction.  That’s some good advice if you ask me.

Is this something I have achieved quite yet?  Not really but I will begin soon to act on what I’ve been taught.  It does bring something interesting to mind though.  This age is funny because reaching people right now can be tricky.  We have the digital age and all of the improvements of the Internet and web 2.0 and social media but if you think every single person on earth is caught up to today’s technology you’ve got your head screwed on wrong.  That was mean.  I’m sorry.

My point is that in communicating, marketing and even ministry outreach, we are challenged to meet people where they are.  It seems there are categories of people in my life that prefer being communicated with in different ways.  For instance, some prefer email, some a phone call, some face to face, and still some prefer Facebook or even Twitter.  The same goes with business communication and even advertising.  Are you looking for a job?  You now have to research how the company doing the hiring prefers to communicate.  You almost need to master a plethora of communication mediums.

The topic even recently came up when Facebook came out with yet another announcement.  They’re cooking up another messaging system.  They say that young people want something quicker than email to communicate with.  Quicker than email?  I’m not sure what to think about it other than this world will never stop morphing until it comes to an end.

What should we do then?  Become masters of communicating on many levels with many mediums.  If you need an advertising agency, you’ll need one versed in the art of mixed media.  Or you can do what I’m planning on doing and do some guerrilla marketing of your own.

More about my plans?

I am learning as I am going but a few things I am pondering attempting are:

• Finding (or writing more) pillar articles that would make good tip sheets that I can post around as fliers (or even swag such as T’s or mousepads, but they cost $).
• Developing relationships with some local business people. There’s a computer guy or two in the area that I am getting to know better and I am finding ways that we can help each other.  I’ll see where else I can reach out in the local business community.
• Developing relationships with local people in general. As people I know realize that I even have a blog (and come to terms with what a blog is) and they come to me for tech-related issues, I develop a sort of local “authority” in my niche.  Along the same lines, I’ve considered hosting some free blogging or computer classes in the local library.
• Entering the local media scene. I’m still working on my strategy here.  I’m pondering attempting to get an article or two published in local papers to get the word out about my blog.

All of this to become a local authority and a “turn to” guy.  We’ll see how it goes.  Anyone with any tips could be a help to me  Share in the comments!

As you probably know if you read my article about my first time participating in #BlogChat, I have been introduced to the world of chatting using Twitter.  There’s no doubt that Twitter can be used to carry on conversation, however the manner of conversation I recently learned of was more of the real-time chatting type.

Twitter chats are sure to be a good time.  They’re used for many different purposes.  Many conferences and such have hashtags associated with them so participants can keep track of goings on and conversations.  Then there are topical chats where people sit around and talk about a specific topic.

In this article I would like to cover how it works, some tools that make it possible, and how to find chats you might want to join in with.

1.  How does a Twitter chat work?

In order to have a Twitter chat, the first thing that you have to have is a hash tag.  If you don’t know what a has tag is, it’s a little trick that ties tweets together.  For a little more information about what hashtags are and where they came from, check out this article.  In a Twitter chat it is a hashtag that will bring all of those involved into one place.  Everyone attaches the same hashtag to their tweets and they monitor that hashtag to see what’s being said.

Keep reading to find out about some tools that make those actions possible.

2.  Tools that make Twitter chatting possible

Since we’re looking for the real-time chat going on on Twitter, we need some real-time Twitter tools to really make this thing happen.  I was happy when I learned about the site TweetChat.com.

TweetChat is cool not only because it gives you a live stream of tweets containing a specific hashtag, but also because it automatically appends the hashtag to each of your tweets entered in the field provided.

Then there is the site called TweetGrid.com.  With TweetGrid you can set up several different columns each containing a different hashtag or search term.  This way you can keep up with the main stream, the host’s particular Twitter account, and even the specific tweets directed towards you.

Finally there is What The Hashtag.  One really huge reason I mention this site is because you can actually find a transcript of the chat in case you, you know, decided to try to use your Android to keep up with the chat and obviously missed pretty much everything going on.  Yes, you can actually miss the entire chat and go grab the transcript and be caught up on the conversation.  The only thing you’ll miss is the interaction, a most integral part of Twitter chatting.

Use some of these tools and you’ll be well on your way to keeping up with a Twitter chat.

3.  How to find a Twitter chat that you’d want to participate in

Finding a Twitter chat may be more difficult that it seems.  I happened across #BlogChat when I read a blog post about it and I happed upon another the next day through a tweet from someone I follow.  There are a few resources that may help though.  First, there is a spreadsheet that is continuously updated.  Currently it is telling me that I don’t have permission to access it but try to request permission and see what happens.

There is also a resource here that has a list of Twitter chats and their times.  For many of them it is difficult to tell the topic just by reading the hashtag but you can check them out individually to get an idea.

Of course you can search Google for the topic of your choice or even ask your Twitter followers if they know of any good chats.  The other more involved idea is to start one of your own.

(previous 3 links via stephanieschwab.com)

Try out Twitter chatting.  It’ll give you a whole new appreciation for Twitter and it’s hashtags.  Not to mention you’ll meet all kinds of interesting peeps.

What have I missed?  What other Twitter chat tools are there?  What other ways can Twitter chatting be profitable?  Where can you go to find Twitter chats of interest?

The other night I tried something I had never heard of before the week prior.  I saw a tweet by @ProBlogger talking about co-hosting something called #BlogChat and I set out to figure out what exactly that was.

Darren (@ProBlogger) was kind enough to link to an article explaining a little bit more about what it was.  Apparently people have figured out how to use Twitter as a real-time chat tool and #BlogChat is a public talk about blogging that makes use of that tool.

Soon I’ll be explaining a bit more about how Twitter chatting works but in this article I’ll be telling you 5 benefits I gained from my first #BlogChat.

1. I got to bounce some questions off of Darren (ProBlogger.net), a big name in the field of blogging (one of the first in the “how to blog” niche).

I’ve learned a whole lot from Darren’s blog throughout the past few years.  I’ve been interested in blogging ever since accidentally coming across WordPress in cpanel in the backend of the first web space I ever had.  I think that was around 2006.  From that point on I fell in love with blogging and the idea of using blogging to pass on some sort of help to those around me.  Very close to the same time I came across Problogger.net and the help I found on that site really helped me in my blogging pursuits.  During the #BlogChat session I was able to have a few questions answered directly by Darren.  For instance:

Me: “What’s the best tip for growing a newsletter list?”
Darren: “newsletters: produce something people want. works well on @digitalps b/c so many of our readers don’t understand RSS”

Thanks, Darren for taking time out to help other bloggers out!

2. I gained some Twitter followers

This is one benefit I wasn’t even thinking about when I joined the chat.  I happened to notice that I had about 200 Twitter followers before the chat and when I looked afterwards it was 217.  Not bad by my estimation.

3. I got to share some of what I know with others

People were asking questions left and right and it was nice having a few tips of my own.  Darren also asked a few general questions for the group to chime in on.  Those who got questions answered seemed very appreciative and it was nice building a little bit of a reputation as a helper.

4. I gained wisdom from many of the other participants in the chat.

Along the same line, I actually had some of my questions answered by the other participants.  In fact, with all of the tips flying around I even got some questions answered that I never had the chance to ask!  The people seemed to enjoy going out of the way to help others and it’s generally enjoyable being around people like that.

5. I got a request to guest post for someone.

Yeah, opportunities often arise when you take the time to interact with other people.  One person was looking for an article on a specific topic that I have some knowledge of and it turned into a guest posting opportunity.  I’m sure I’ll let you know when it gets published.

I’m confident that I’ll be attending another #BlogChat very soon.  I can’t wait for another chance to learn and interact in that community.

Keep an eye out for an article about how this whole Twitter chat thing works.  I’ll be working on it soon.

As you may know, I’ve written about HootSuite before, mainly during my staff-days over at MakeUseOf.com. HootSuite is one of those tools I decided to write about not just because it is so helpful, but also because I had come to use and love it myself. It is a personal favorite and I had personal experience with it.  Many of the articles I’ve written on HootSuite are linked to when I mentioned HootSuite’s blog linking to a few of them.

Why do I love HootSuite so much?  You may be able to tell by reading some of my articles on MUO, but I’ll freshen up your memory for you (because I’m such a nice guy):

1. It’s web based. his is very important for me because I highly dislike installing bunches of programs on my computer.  I also like access in the same or similar manner on any computer I find myself sitting at.  Web based tools allow this and HootSuite is a web based tool.
2. It’s as full-fledged as desktop twitter clients. With HootSuite you can do pretty much anything the desktop clients can do.
3. I can share content (and other media) on several social networks at once. I typically share content and such on Twitter and Facebook, the two main social networks I engage in.  My Twitter feed contains mostly tech-related stuff and Facebook more broad topics, but when content overlaps both, I love being able to just use HootSuites awesome Hootlet to share on both simultaneously.
4. It’s mad easy to schedule future Tweets and updates.
5. I love the little owl character they’ve got going on. He’s the cutest thing since sliced bread (um, did that work?)

And the list goes on.

Recently, as you might know if you’ve been a regular reader (it’s easier to be one if you subscribe to my newsletter), I recent’y got myself a shiny new Android phone, an HTC Evo to be exact.  So one of the first apps I installed was the HootSuite Android app.  ”Robots need love too” as the annoying song in the background to their promo video goes:

Here’s a few screenshots from the Android app:

As you can see in the above screen shots, the streams are well organized, the home feed is easy to manage, sharing is a snap and so is scheduling.  The only option I am currently waiting on is the ability to post to both my Twitter feed AND Facebook profile simultaneously.  Until then, I suppose I can get by.

Oh, and as you can see from the picture at the top of this article, HootSuite sent me one of their HootKits with stickers and other swag.  I used one of them to spiffy up my phone a bit.  Thanks again, HootSuite!

A while back I saw the weirdest tweet go by.  It was from Darren Rowse from Problogger.net and it said something about “The @problogger/Tech Daily is out!”  As it turns out, it was a newspaper-type page filled with the links from Darren’s “Tech” Twitter list.  Apparently it was a new service called Paper.li which will allow you to enter either a Twit’s user name or list and it will do the rest of the work.  It attempts to separate topics and such into columns and lays everything out in a newspaper layout.

At first I was confused as to the point of the whole thing. After thinking for a bit, I realized that it was actually easier to read.  You see, Twitter is an endless stream of information that you either have to be right there at the moment something is tweeted or you are left scrolling up and down for what seems like an eternity.  With Paper.li, the links that were tweeted are frozen in time and organized in such a way that scanning everything from that day is possible.  It is then updated every 24 hours, just like a “real” newspaper.

Being of the curious sort, I just had to try the service for myself. So, I signed in using my Twitter credentials and plugged in my own Twitter user name.  The results is basically a newspaper mostly containing tech and blogging related news and information.  There’s even a space with just videos.  This is a hodge-podge of the people I like to follow on Twitter and since I use Twitter mostly for tech related stuff, this is what is created.

A down side also occurred to me. There are those people I follow who may not hold to the same standards of communication as I do.  In other words, there MAY be language in this newspaper that I condone.  To me this is a downside because I don’t really have an editor’s power to reject content.  Why do I follow them in the first place?  Good question.  Some of them have some really good tech-related information even though they are not Christian.  It’s like getting the local newspaper delivered to your door, seeing a swear word someplace in there, and dropping your subscription.  I have unfollowed or refused to follow some individuals whose language was pervasive.  There’s a line somewhere.  It may be a fuzzy, wiggly, gray line, but it’s there.

Anyhow, check out The Tim Lenahan Daily and tell me what you think.  If you’re all about tech news and blogging/Internet tips and such, then you may be tempted to continue reading!

SPECIAL NOTE:  If you do see something that is offensive in the newspaper, let me know.  I may consider an unfollow per your suggestion.  On the reverse side, if you know of someone I SHOULD follow and therefore add to the paper, let me know

I ran across this interview and demonstration on TechCrunch’s Twitter stream.  MG Siegler is interviewing Jack Dorsey (who also happens to be the creator of Twitter) and the topic is his new project called “Square.”  It seems Square can turn a hand held device, like the iPhone or iPod Touch into an instand credit card machine.  The possitives are the size, the ease, and the efficiency.  Some features include:

• Easily scan a card
• Accept a signature via a finger on the touch screen
• Multiple reciept options, including emailing and SMS (phone texting)
• Associate a picture of yourself with the card to easily verify that the card holder REALLY IS the card holder

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Today I had the opportunity to interview Brett Barner, blogger from GodlySheep.com.  Let me tell you a bit about what they’ve got going on over there!

GodlySheep.com is a blog with a goal of helping churches and individuals.  Well… um… watch the interview and let Brett explain it!

You can check out GodlySheep.com and follow them on Twitter: @GodlySheep.  Brett will also be a guest blogger on here every so often so keep yer eyes open for a fresh voice!  He’s somewhat new to blogging but from what I’ve seen so far, he’s a great writer (as are the other writers on GodlySheep.com).

Brett, thanks for the interview and happy blogging!