If you don't know what Twitter is, here is a link to the Wikipedia article on the service.
If you haven't been living in a cave for the past six months, you've probably noticed that Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) has become the newest Internet application star. Twitter is a way for people to send updates via the web, a mobile phone, or an application on a PC or Mac. I use Twitter, and I find it to be a very useful tool in my line of work. By streamlining how one uses twitter, it can be a useful tool for all IT professionals and aspiring IT professionals. Here's how:
Twitter is a way to expand your technical knowledge.
I follow a number of tweeple (people who use Twitter) who make informative posts about what's on in IT. Not only do I get instant technology news, but I also get posts containing: links to technology how-tos and tips; links to training and webinars; and career tips. It saves me a lot of time from sifting through websites and search engines to find information.
Twitter is a way to get assistance with your IT issue.
Most forums are good tools to use to post questions. Twitter is another tool that you can use to post questions. Based on my experience, I've posted questions to the Twitter community, and more often than not, I got an answer to my question relatively quickly.
If you've already asked a question in a forum, and your question is not getting a response, you can use Twitter to post a link to the question. If the regular readers of the forum can't answer your questions, perhaps someone in the Twitter community can.
Twitter is a way to get publicity for your professional work.
If you're looking to expand your audience, Twitter is a good tool to use. I've recently started to use Twitter to publish links to my tutorial posts on this blog, and I've noticed a slight increase in my traffic. Other things that I've seen other tweeple post: links to custom applications and SharePoint web parts that they have written; links to web sites that they have designed; and podcasts and videos in which they were involved.
Twitter is a way to expand your professional social network, as well as assist with your job search.
There are a number of IT professionals who use Twitter, and a large number of those tweeple post IT-related content 95% of the time. You can build your network by re-tweeting informative posts, as well as answer questions that other tweeple have posted.
I've also noticed that a number of small business owners and IT job recruiters use Twitter to post job openings. You can use Twitter to keep abreast of new opportunities.
Do you use Twitter? Do you like Twitter? Can you see a use for Twitter for your profession? Please feel free to post any comments or questions that you have.
P.S. If you use Twitter, and if you are interested, you can follow me on Twitter
Most of graphic design and animation is done using computers. If you are a Multimedia student or professional, you may have noticed that many applications used in your line of work, including the academic editions of the software, are very expensive. For those of you who are studying or working in Multimedia Technologies, famed animator Eddie Fitzgerald wrote a review on affordable 2-D animation programs that may be useful in your line of work.
A few months ago, I stumbled upon Scribd (http://www.scribd.com), a site where authors can publish their writings. I found it in a roundabout way, actually.
I wasn't looking for a way to publish my documents (I have two web servers where I can house my documents, and I have Google Docs on my Google account) - I was looking for an essay on network security, and the search engine brought me to Scribd. Once I was there, Scribd piqued my interest.
General Information About the Company
Scribd was founded in 2006 by Trip Adler, Jared Friedman, and Tikhon Bernstam on a budget of a mere $12,000. As of 2008, they have received over $3 million dollars in funding. Scribd's mission was to provide a way for people (primarily authors) to host shared documents on the web. Scribd also partners with publishing companies so publishers can use the site for publishing content.
iPaper
In 2008, Scribd launched iPaper, a Flash-based interface which allows a user to embed documents in webpages and blogs. For example, if you have a website or blog and you don't want the reader to exit your site, you can embed the document in your webpage or blog page (like you can with YouTube). Scribd also launched an API that developers can use to implement the functionality in the developers' own site. The marketing point on iPaper is it eliminates the need for readers to have other readers on their machine, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader and the Microsoft Office Readers.
Here's an example of embedding iPaper in the site: TCP/IP
There are a number of things that impressed me about the product.
It's free to use. I don't profit from my blog or my web site, and all of the costs for my web servers are out-of-pocket. Therefore, finding ways to control my costs is important to me. I can register to use the site for free, and I can host my writings for free.
I have more space on my web servers. Because my documents are being hosted on a third party site, I can utilize the space on my web servers for other things, such as a download site for my applications.
My documents reach a larger audience. Before using Scribd, I wasn't getting many hits from my documents. They were only being read if someone accessed it through my blog or if someone stumbled upon it from a Google search. Since publishing my documents one week ago, my readership rate doubled, and it's still growing.
If you are looking to make additional money with your documents, you can use their "Ads for PDF" program that will embed ads in your documents, and you can also earn ad revenue from your site if you embed iPaper documents on your site. Visit their site for more details.
There are some things that need to be addressed, though.
Like YouTube, Scribd has experienced some legal problems with their user base violating the DMCA (ex: users uploading PDF versions of copyrighted textbooks). However, Scribd has taken measures to remove content that violates copyrights, such as introducting copyright filters.
It appears that the iPaper control doesn't play nicely with some of the documents that are uploaded. For example, I noticed that some of the documents had unreadable characters that rendered through iPaper, but if I downloaded the document to my local machine as the document's native format (ex: PDF), the document renders fine on my local machine using the document's native format reader (ex: Adobe Acrobat).
Here is some additional information about Scribd
I haven't tried this myself (which is why I categorized this as an "unknown"), but I have read reports from various users that Scribd's iPaper doesn't work well on mobile devices such as the iPhone. If you have a chance to test this on a mobile device, please let me know.
If you are going to use Scribd as a hosting solution for documents that you've written, make sure you have a backup strategy in place. For example, I have my documents on local media (my personal machine and flash drives) as well as Scribd.
It's not a true document sharing tool by definition because you can't edit the content of your documents on the server once they are published. As a workaround, you can work on the document on your local machine and upload the latest changes to Scribd without losing your original statistics. While some authors critiqued this, I didn't really think it was a downside because I view Scribd as a content hosting server (like YouTube) rather than a document sharing tool (like SharePoint).
Why I Started Using Scribd
The main reason why I started using Scribd was cost. I wanted to make more room on my web servers without having to pay for more disk space, and Scribd was a tool that I can use to host documents that I've written at the lowest possible cost. Another reason was a way to build my career portfolio. Based on what I've seen in my web access statistics, my documents on Linux that I've written were reaching a healthy audience, but my other documents weren't getting as many hits. I wanted to be able to reach a larger audience, and Scribd was a tool that helped me do so.
Like Scribd, YouTube was intended for use as a site where people can publish their videos. Agents and producers search through YouTube to find new talent for free, and television networks use YouTube to publish their content rather than using their own web servers.
The intended use for MySpace was to provide a social network for musicians. MySpace has become a social network tool for users from all walks of life, including celebrities. MySpace is also been used by professional models as a way to publish their portfolio. Agents, producers and magazine editors (such as Playboy) search through MySpace to find new talent for free.
The Future of Scribd
I think that the site is going to be the next best thing because others found and will continue to find other uses for the site (ex: YouTube and MySpace). For example, the current economy is causing businesses to rethink how to spend their dollars. To help save money, recruiters are using Scribd to search for resumes for free, rather than pay fees to the mainstream job boards. I can also see publishers beginning to use Scribd to publish e-books for their company rather than publish the e-books on their own web servers.
Over two years ago, Raketu was released to the general public. I wrote a review of the product when it was initially released, which you can find here.
SIP - Session Initiation Protocol. This is the signalling protocol often used in VoIP networks.
There has been many changes made since I wrote that review:
They have IPTV featuring international programming
They improved their podcast support
Raketu RakOut works on Mac and Linux
They dramatically improved their user interface
They created two new services: RakOut WebPhone (allows user to make computer-to-phone calls from a web browser) and RakIn/RakSIP. RakIn/RakSIP is probably one of the biggest improvements to the product, since this capability allows Raketu users with a SIP device to connect to the Raketu service and receive telephone calls.
Raketu recently launched VideoCalling service, which allows users to conduct PC-to-PC phone calls (voice and/or video).
The most important development in this product, in my opinion, is the RakIn/RakSIP. In relation to VoIP, one of the selling points of Raketu was it had some of the lowest calling rates in the market today. However, since Raketu didn't support incoming calls, they couldn't really compete with some of the other VoIP providers (ex: Skype, Vonage, MagicJack). Now that they support incoming calls, they easily become a true competitor in the VoIP market.
SO/HO - Small Office Home Office
Although Raketu's target audience is the home user, it can also be used as a viable option for a SO/HO business. For example: a computer consulting business with about 2-3 employees may have clients outside the state, or even around the world. While there may be a need to travel to a client's site, it can get very costly. The RakOut WebPhone can be used for video conferencing between the client and the business, provided that both the client and the business have video cameras on their PCs. For the one-time cost of SIP-compatible phones and the monthly cost of high-speed Internet service, the RakIn/RakSIP service can be used in lieu of regular phone service. The monthly costs could be less expensive than standard phone service. If the business gets a SIP-compatible mobile phone (iPhone supports SIP clients like Raketu), the business can integrate their mobile services with Raketu, which could eliminate the cost of additional SIP-compatible phones for the static location.
I am quite pleased with the improvements that Raketu has implemented in their product. I am also impressed with their customer service. This company really listens to their customers and takes their suggestions into consideration in their product development. Raketu is a viable alternative to standard land-line phone service.
While I was looking for some free fonts to use for site and application development, I stumbled across this site - Dafonts.com. This site is a community where font developers publish fonts that they have created. A number of the fonts on the site are free (both for personal use and public domain), but some are not. The person or company will typically publish the usage license with the font.
Remember that publishing your work on IT community sites is a way to build your career portfolio!
If you're looking for some unusual fonts to use in your graphics or web applications, give the web site a try. If you are a font developer, review the web site to see if you would like to publish your work on this site.
In Tuesday's post, I talked about two things to help you with job seeking in the tough economy: having a career portfolio and maintaining a professional social networking site. A blog is one way to accomplish both of these tips. A number of artists - famous and obscure - have blogs that also act as a career portfolio highlighting their work. "Techies" also have blogs giving tips and techniques on various topics. One of the reasons why I have a blog, other than having a tool for providing supplemental information to my students, was to have something for my career portfolio.
When I was looking for some tips to add some functionality to my blog (particularly add a button indicating whether I'm "online" on Yahoo! Messenger), I stumbled upon another blog - Daily Technology Tips, authored and maintained by Sunil Kumar Gupta. I was really impressed with the information that was available on this blog. He has a boatload of information and tips on tools that one can add on one's blog to "jazz it up", as well as other tips that one wouldn't think of with their blog. For example, in his August 17th posting, he talks about protecting your blog from being copied using Google.
If you are thinking of starting a blog, or if you already have a blog, take the time to go to Sunil's blog and see if there is anything that you can use on your own site.
P.S. - I put his blog under the "Links" section of this blog.
I'm surprised that people actually waited hours in line to get the phone. Based on my experience, it's best to wait until all the bugs and quirks are fixed.
I'm not surprised that, of all the people that were in line for the iPhone, the people that the news shows picked to interview were the stereotypical "nerds" - single, male, overweight, still live at home with their parents, spend hours on the Internet or a gaming system, and probably never had a significant other except in their fantasies. I guess interviewing the senior citizens or the glamour kids standing in line would shatter the average American's perception on who likes technology.
Enough with my commentary - back to the product evaluation. As with any product, there are pros and cons.
The Pros
It's a slick, pretty package - The design is nice looking, and so are the screens. If you haven't had a chance to see what it looks like, take a look at this comprehensive demonstration:
It gives the person the "all-in-one capability" - Not only does the iPhone allow you to make phone calls, but it also allows you to view videos, use it as a PDA, use it as a music player, and use it as a web browser. The screen is large enough to handle video capability.
The Cons
The touch screen - from what I've seen, the touch screen is very difficult to manipulate. I can also see problems with the touch screen with people who have dexterity issues (ex: tremors).
The cost - $595 USD is a steep price to pay for this all-in-one device.
The size - The iPhone is larger than typical mobile phones. While this isn't an issue for me, this could be an issue for someone who needs to save space.
The battery - I think this is one of the worst features - the battery is a rechargable, lithium-ion battery that cannot be replaced. So, if you're the type of person who recharges your phone every day, your iPhone won't work in less than a year. However, I think that when Apple releases the second generation of iPhone, they'll probably fix this because I don't think that someone wants to spend $600 on something that will be useless in a year.
The mobile phone network - I think this is also one of the worst features - iPhone has an exclusive deal with AT&T where AT&T is the carrier for iPhone. In order to get phone service through your iPhone, AT&T requires you to sign a two-year contract for their service, which includes sky-high cancellation fees. Also, according to Consumer Reports, AT&T/Cingular rank the worst out of all mobile providers. Some of the things that Consumer Reports mentioned about AT&T/Cingular - poor customer service, poor phone receiption, frequent dropped calls, and poor service range.
Would I get an iPhone right now? No. I think that there are too many cons for me to justify paying $595 USD for a gadget. HOWEVER, Apple is known to perfect their products after a few generations (I waited until 2006 to get an iPod, and I have absolutely no problems with it), and in a year or two, if the iPhone can be used with other wireless carriers, I may look into purchasing the iPhone.
I'm Jennifer Lewis, an IT professional that has worked in various aspects in IT, including: software development, network engineering, and management.
If you have any questions or comments about the posts, please leave a comment, or view my profile to get my contact information.
Remember that publishing your work on IT community sites is a way to build your career portfolio!
