I just saw where twitter has a secondary application that allows you to search all of twitter for certain words so you can see what the buzz is about that word, e.g. "Palin" or "Hanna" or "Crunch-n-Munch". They even have an advanced search that really lets you narrow down your search. I think this twitter search thing could be used to give me almost every I want from my 'Searching' request.

I thought of another enhancement I'd like to see...

4. TinyURL
   
   I've noticed that sometimes when I enter a URL in a twitter update, twitter automatically uses TinyURL to shorten it. I'm not sure what is the determining factor for when they shorten it and when they don't. It's probably a length threshold.
   
   The first time I saw them do that, I was reminded of TinyURL, which I hadn't used in a really long time. Since, I have been shortening my URLs to give me more characters for the rest of my update. However, when I want to do that, I have to go to TinyURL.com, create my shortened URL and then, copy and paste it into my update.
   
   I would like to see a widget on the twitter site where I could create my shortened URL. I imagine that I would paste the the "long" URL into a field and then click a button. When I click the button, twitter would TinyURL-ify my URL, and the resulting shortened URL would be automatically be placed in my update.
   

I mentioned yesterday that I use Twitterific and in a comment Zack mentioned that he uses Twhirl.

What twitter apps do you use?

Labels: community, internet, twitter

I'm a big fan of twitter. A couple of months ago, they had some problems handling the load imposed on them by their users, but they seem to have gotten those kinks ironed out. Now, I can go on their site and quickly let the world, or at least the 83 people that follow me, know what I am up to. If you want to be number 84, you can follow me here: @rshannonsmith.

I also have my twitter updates go to my Facebook status and when I update using Twitterific, my Google Talk away message is automatically updated. It is quite the convenient service for those people like me that want to keep the world up to date with what's going on in their lives.

There are, however, a few things I wish twitter did that they don't, yet.

Here are the ones I am thinking about today...

1. Grouping
   
   I follow several people, 63 to be exact. These are people that I know personally, people that I know through others, and some people that I don't know at all except through what they post on the internet. I wish twitter had a way for me to create groups in my Recent feed.
   
   For example, Visio Dei has quite a few tweeters. I'd like to be able to see a feed of what my Visio Dei people are saying, separate from all the other updates. The same goes for people at work. I could have a group for them as well.
   
   If you work for Twitter and you are reading this, I would also like the ability to have a followee in multiple groups. I imagine it to be more like the labels in GMail, than a folder. I have co-workers that also happen to be apart of Visio Dei.
   


2. Sorting
   
   As far as I can tell, there is no method to the way followers and followees are listed on their respective pages. It just seems like some random list of tweeters. I'd like the ability to sort them alphabetically, by date added, and by date of last update.
   
   There are times when I am looking at my own followers and followees and I have to search for someone specific. However, I imagine I would also use this when looking at other people's followers and followees when I am looking for new people to follow.
   


3. Searching
   
   My updates are sort of like a timeline for my life. I update several times a day with whatever I have going on. Sometimes it is about what I had for lunch. Other times is can be about something I read. I'd like the ability to search updates.
   
   I'd like to be able to search my updates for a certain phrase, e.g. "Jesus for President". I'd also like to be able to search other people's updates. Maybe I could even search within my Visio Dei "group" for a certain phrase.
   
   I'd also like to search by date. Say I wanted to know what I was doing on July 4, 2008. I'd like to be able to put in that date and have it pull up my updates from that day.
   

Now, I know there are applications out there that are taking twitter data and making some of these functions available. However, I'd like to see some of these things available directly from Twitter; consolidated right there on Twitter page.

Do you have any enhancements you would like to see?

Labels: community, internet, twitter

One of my favorite podcasts is This American Life, a radio show with "a hard-to-describe sound". They to to sum it up this way on their web site: There's a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It's mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There's lots more to the show, but, like we said, it's sort of hard to describe.

The other week, in their episode Fear of Sleep, they featured Mike Birbiglia telling a story of a time he accidentally, nearly killed himself while he was sleeping. His segment was recorded live at The Moth.

The Moth is a club in New York City, where people tell stories, live, on stage, with no notes. He is what they say about themselves on their web site: Moth is dedicated to promoting the art of storytelling. We celebrate the ability of stories to honor the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for connection.

The Moth puts out a weekly podcast, which is the point of this post. After hearing Mike's story on This American Life, I went to check out the podcast for The Moth. It's great. I have loved listening to the stories people share. It's a small glimpse into their lives. They come across so authentic... so honest... so real.

Each podcast is around twenty minutes and the stories are great. So, if you are looking for something new to put on your iPod, this is it.

Check out The Moth.

Labels: community, entertainment, podcast, this american life

The first Wednesday of every month, our home group has dinner together. Last night, we decided to have breakfast for dinner. I brought my macbook along and sat it on the counter and used iMovie1 to capture the action in the kitchen. The movie below is the result. I captured a frame a second and it is played back at 30 frames per second.

Enjoy.

1. back I had to download and use iMovie 6 because iMovie 7 has had some functionality removed, which seems a bit odd. One example of removed functionality is the ability to record time lapse videos.

Labels: community, video

At Visio Dei, we believe that "we have all been uniquely created and gifted [and] this requires us to not only seek, but pursue our own talents, giftedness, and passions so that we can offer them back to the world." In part, I think this value is talking about spiritual gifts. However, I also think this could be expanded out into practical talents and skills.

In a book I read not too long ago the author wrote about his community and how they often operate on a bartering system. He gave an example of a mechanic who needed a quilt, an accountant who needed his car worked on, and an old lady that could make a quilt that needed her taxes done. Everyone had a need and everyone had a marketable skill. In this situation, there is no need for money. The people are bartering, using their talents, not their wallets.

I believe we could do something like this within our community. I'm not sure how it would play itself out. Maybe it would be organic. A system like this takes trust and accountability. You have to be willing to trust the other party that they are going to follow through on what they have offered as payment. So, if we could get past that, I think we have plenty of people with marketable skills that they could trade.

Here's one example...
My family needs...
...babysitting. We have an eleven month old little boy.
...to have our kitchen and stairwell painted.
...to get our backyard suitable for a little boy to play in.
...to have our house power washed.

Kim can...
...type faster than four birds pecking on a keyboard.
...edit content for spelling and grammar like your high school English teacher.
...bake some tasty treats.
...clean things that you didn't even know were dirty.

I can...
...build things made of wood.
...problem solve.
...meet practical needs.
...feel inadequate about not having marketable skills.

Here's another example...
The Smiths need...
...someone to look at the brakes on their Cougar.
...babysitting.
...a fence.
...to get our backyard suitable for a little boy to play in.

Daniel can...
...create web sites.
...edit movies.
...build sheds and such.

Mandy can...
...teach young children.
...organize things.
...plan/coordinate weddings.

Most of the needs that our two families have, we could meet ourselves. Or, obviously, we could pay someone to do those things. My point is that if we really believe that everyone is uniquely gifted maybe we should leverage those gifts more.

Here are a few other skills I can think of in our community. Scott Shackleton is an accountant extraordinaire. David Fish and Jenny Profet are architects. Nate Anderson paints. Alan Wilser does landscaping. Brandon Watkins welds. John Enzor is an electrician and licensed general contractor. We have several artists, musicians, and designers. Matt Rowe can teach your kids to swim. We have several teachers that could probably teach your kids to read.

I wonder what kinds of needs those people have that could be met by someone who needs the skills they possess?

What needs do you have and what skills do you have to offer up as payment? And would you ever consider bartering with those skills?

Let me know what you think.

Labels: community

On Wednesday there was a buzz in the air. You could hear it at work, on the radio, on the TV, it was everywhere. For the first time this winter, there was talk of inclement weather. This possible frozen precipitation had the DOT out salting the roads and it encouraged my job to send out a reminder about our inclement weather policy.

Daniel and I carpool to work nearly every day. Wednesday was no different. Somewhere between 4:30PM and 5:30PM, one of us will IM the other one with something like "ready?" or "when do you want to leave?". This is usually followed by "Now-ish" or "Give me a minute." Well, Wednesday was different in this respect. Daniel sent me a message a little after five asking, "Are we staying overnight just in case it's too dangerous to drive in to work in the morning?" to which my response was, "No because I don't have my sled with me."1

In the car, on the drive home, Daniel and I reminisced about the great snows of the late eighties and early nineties, when we were young and free of responsibilities. Days when snow meant staying home from school and playing in the winter wonderland. We talked about the times when it would be so bad that the road was a sheet of ice, primed for some sledding.

This got me to thinking about the neighborhood that I grew up in. On those days when everyone was snowed in and couldn't go to work, we would all hang out in the street. I'm not talking about just us kids. Our parents would come out, too. I remember once someone used their metal trash can and started a fire in it. We'd all play outside, while our parents would huddle together and talk. On occasion, one of the dads would "show us how it's done" and take a trip down the hill. I just remember that there was community in our neighborhood.

It could've been that we had all moved in at the same time. We all moved in when the subdivision was first built. It could've been that our parents all had something in common, us. Most of the people that lived in the neighborhood were families with young children. I can't say for sure what it was, but in those days it seemed like everyone knew everyone.2

Now, my thinking shifts to my neighborhood. Outside of the people that I knew before they moved into the neighborhood, I don't know anyone. We've lived there for almost a year and a half. I've met the girl next door, Martha, but only in passing. It makes me wonder why. I could come up with a million reasons, but they'd probably sound more like excuses. When it comes down to it. I just haven't tried to meet any of my neighbors.

When Daniel dropped me off in front of my house on Wednesday, Martha's man3 was pulling the trash can to the curb. I gave him the standard "what's up?" head raise and said "how's it going?". Of course, I wasn't really asking how he was doing, I was more acknowledging that I could see him and knew that he could see me and to avoid seeming rude, I'll say something and continue to walk into my house. This has happened a few times, but this time was different.

I followed up my standard acknowledgment of his existence with, "Hey, what's your name?" I found out that his name is Travis. I also found out that he is Martha's fiance. They are engaged, but have not decided when they want to get married, yet. He catches flack from his folks about this.

I don't feel like after this one brief conversation that Travis and I are best buds or anything, but I do think this interaction opens the door to more conversations in the future. However, I hear it's supposed to snow on Saturday and if I plan for us to stand in the road drinking hot chocolate while we sled, I better get on the ball developing our relationship.

Do any of you have any great snow stories?

1. back There are some hills here on campus that would be awesome for sledding.


2. back In those days, our parents would also get together and have "deck parties". I'd refer to them now as keggers. Everyone in the neighborhood would come over to one house and hang out. There'd be food, music, and booze. You didn't have to worry about your neighbors calling the cops because all your neighbors were there.


3. back He gets this title because I know neither his name or his relationship to Martha.

Labels: community