Tweeting Backwards

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Jim

Paris Review No. 181 Cover-Norman Mailer

Some criticize Twitter for being too brief and even superficial. However, those critics lack an understanding of what Twitter is often best at–aggregating news and other information.

Five minutes on Twitter Sunday morning allowed me to read a tweet linking to a terrific interview with the late literary icon, Norman Mailer. The interview with Mailer, from 2007, was one of The Art of Fiction series, No. 193, from The Paris Review, conducted by Andrew O’Hagan. Continue reading →

Yelping It Up

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Jim

Back when I had a BlackBerry, the first app I loaded after Dictionary.com, was Yelp. It’s been my go-to app ever since.

When Miss Mary and I hit the road for two weeks to catch up with Mark Baumer on his walk across America during July of 2010, Yelp never steered us wrong on food or lodging. Nineteen states and 4,600 road tripping miles is a good test of any apps mettle–Yelp passed with flying colors.

Yelp keeps your beer cold.

I’m still amazed by how many people I talk with who don’t know about Yelp. Come on people; get with the program!! Continue reading →

The Power of Sriracha

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Jim

Just one word for you; “Sriracha.”

It’s possible to make it in today’s world without a Facebook page and a Twitter handle. The gurus will deny this and insist that it’s not true. They tell us incessantly that we must all bow down before social media, or at least social media’s self-appointed royalty.

So much noise about what we all must do to be successful. Continue reading →

Content for People Who Tweet

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Jim

Last night, I had a drink with someone with a lot of tweets. He has lots of tweets he told me because he’s been tweeting for a long time and he got in while the tweeting was good. I got in after he did and I don’t have as many tweets, or people who follow my tweets. Continue reading →

Tweet, Tweet (up)

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Jim

Logo for the Maine Tweetup

I like Maine, I really do. I enjoy the varied geography and its mix of craggy coastline and towering peaks. Sometimes, though, the state does feel like a backwater. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way, although I’m sure that’s how it looks reading it. Continue reading →

Nostalgia Act

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Jim

Alfred Rosenberg photo-from You Know You’re From Lisbon, ME if… Facebook page.

What is it about the past that we find so attractive? Our desire to return to what we consider “better days” has become big business for marketers and others who’ve found a way to mine this vein for all it’s worth.

An email exchange the other day about the town where I grew up, Lisbon Falls, and the interest that many seem to have relative to a particular page on Facebook about the town that existed when we were kids (but has long ago disappeared) finds me curious about nostalgia, and what lies behind it. Continue reading →

The Twitter in five easy steps

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Jim

The Twitter

I really like “the” Twitter. It’s better than “the” Facebook and many times, it rocks a lot harder than “the” Linkedin.

Is my use of “the” annoying you? It’s how my sister and I talk about “the” social media networks and many other things. It’s a long story and it involves too many sordid details to represent here, but let me tell you, Mister Man, it’s a cocker of a tale that I’ll tell you about in some later post, so don’t change that channel, chummy! Continue reading →

Mowing, thinking, tweeting, blogging

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Jim

The Toro 22″ Recycler–a lawn-mowing machine.

Mowing my lawn allows me two hours of uninterrupted thinking time. Often, I’ve developed and framed ideas that eventually became blog posts, like this one.

Yesterday afternoon, with the late afternoon fall shadows casting and covering most of my two-acre lawn, I was contemplating Twitter (of all things) while pushing and cajoling my Toro 22” Recycler around my grassy knoll. I was also hoping that this would be one of the last times I have to do this ‘til the spring, especially anticipating the forecasted, first hard frost that evening. Mainly, I was pondering why Twitter still seems so unfathomable for people that consider themselves social media savvy, mainly because they maintain a Facebook page. Continue reading →

Getting your Facebook on

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Jim

Feel the Facebook

Facebook’s stock is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market today at 11 a.m. EST. This is one day after the world’s definitive online social network raised $16 billion in an initial public offering that valued the company at $104 billion. Facebook’s value is more than Amazon.com and other well-known companies such as Kraft, Walt Disney and McDonald’s.

If you are a stock investor, you might want to pick up a few shares at its opening price of $38. Continue reading →