Trying Out Seesmic for Windows Again

I’m still surprised at the number of people I meet that rely on the Twitter website to serve as their main source of updating and keeping track of their Twitter updates. I’ve been a happy user of Twhirl for quite awhile now.

I decided it was time to try another desktop application out to see if anything had drastically improved since the last time I used something other than Twhirl. It appears that nothing much has changed with Seesmic for Windows.

I still think the use of screen space isn’t very efficient. In the image above I have it maximized and can only fit three panels on my screen. With my current arrangement of Twhirl windows, I can get five panels onscreen at once.

I also don’t like that each item I click on to access (like Private messages, different accounts, or replies) opens yet another panel. I then have to scroll left and right to change what I’m looking at on screen. I’ve never been a fan of scrolling left/right for much of anything.

The Searches functionality is okay, simple enough to use and you can set it up to save your searches. I just don’t like more and more panels opening, increasing the amount and distance I have to scroll left/right to get to anything.

Looks like I won’t be switching over to Seesmic for Windows anytime soon. Here’s the rub though, Seesmic purchased Twhirl awhile back. Let’s just hope they don’t get rid of Twhirl, hopefully they’ll get rid of Seesmic for Windows instead.

Social Media Offers Revenue Insights

New technology is providing a wide range of ways for people to make money. Social media is offering a special challenge, though, since it can be difficult to measure revenues and return on investment. This is precisely why three of the major social media companies, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, are offering new tools and features that focus on revenue implications.

The idea is that you can measure — sort of — the financial benefit of some social media networks. And these three social media sites are chomping at the bit to prove themselves worth an investment, since they are expected to go public at some point in the future. Facebook is especially interested since the site has been stating an IPO as a goal for a long time.

Social media truly can be helpful for business advertising and marketing. It can even be helpful for individuals. This is because the reach is wide as you access the networks of people in your own network. However, pinpointing direct return on investment is difficult, due to the nature of social media. While anecdotes are promising, actual data is hard to come by. It is encouraging, though, that social media outlets are working on coming up with solid models that could eventually produce hard data.

Image source: fredcavazza via Flickr

Record Attempt: Painting Car with Nail Polish

Some people really want to make it into the record books. Apparently British man, David Sheath is one of those people. Sheath is making a Guinness World Record attempt by hand-painting his entire car (Fiat 500) in pink nail polish.

His progress is being streamed live on the internet at www.pinkmyride.tv. The tedious project is expected to take at least a week, taking over 240,000 strokes of polish. Sheath is also communicating his viewers through Twitter.

Sheath is living and sleeping inside a specially set-up challenge room in a studio in South London until the job is finished (or until he quits). The room has a TV, bed, rug and toilet.

Sheath said: “I broke up with my girlfriend and thought this would be a great way to get through it. I hope to nail the job in seven days but I’ve never done anything like this before.”

A spokesperson for Guinness World Records said: “This sounds like a potentially interesting claim.”

Adam Lambert’s “Wataya Want From Me” Video

Recently, the music video for Adam Lambert’s single “Whataya Want From Me” was leaked over the internet. The song is off of his debut album, For Your Entertainment.

Though Adam is totally rocking the song, it was actually an unreleased track from Pink’s Funhouse album. Who would have though?t!

Glambert took to Twitter after the video leaked, saying, “So it leaked. Oh well :) big old watermark in middle of frame though. Will be on VH1, MTV etc tomorrow and on my website on Monday. :).”

What do you think of the song and video? I’m liking both! It’s great to see that Adam is moving on past his American Idol days and is making a name for himself – even if it means sparking up a bit of controversy every now and then.

Image: Amazon

Lane Kiffin: The Perfect New Coach for USC

If you’ve never checked out trending topics on Twitter before, check out “Lane Kiffin” right now. A sampling of what people are saying:

tweetsf Lane Kiffin / The man who keeps falling upward http://bit.ly/8ay9CA

ClayTravisBGID Knoxville police officers are parked at Lane Kiffin’s house for protection.

A_E_M @twstephens do u think USC is headed for sanctions? And if so, do u think Kiffin was brought in bc a top tier HC didnt want to deal with em

steveschai Watching Lane Kiffin’s press conference made me want to throw up.

NicholeVincent In all honesty Kiffin might not live long enough to coach USC again if Vol Nation has anything to do with it. Theyre OUT OF CONTROL in Knox!

mannyfresh31 Lane Kiffin is our future for USC football.

TheDBagJournal Can someone please tell wtf is w/ Lane Kiffin? 34 and already has had head coaching jobs at Oak (NFL), Tenn & now USC #greatinterviewskills

iamshaft3 loves how lane kiffin came in talking so much crap…and the threw all that crap right back at tennessee as he ran away to USC…

JohnDolan I always felt like I should hate USC, but somehow was always a closet fan. Problem solved, thank you Kiffin for making it easy to hate USC.

DAVIDCARROLL3 Who will be the first TN morning radio show to do the Jed Clampett/Lane Kiffin “Californy is the place you ought to be” song parody?

AOhDub Lane Kiffin to USC? I thought they’d want someone w/ experience? Got to mean good things for my Irish in November

CraigEnloe15 @Swiperboy Frick Lane Kiffin, no matter where he’s at. He’s a huge doucher. I dont want him in the SEC. Go Hogs!

That last one has got to be my favorite. “Frick” him. That big “doucher”. Lol, seriously people. These comments were all made within the last minute of me checking the trending topics, so by now there are probably hundreds of new, hilarious tweets hitting the feed.

Of course, not everyone is upset over this news. A lot of USC fans will happily welcome Kiffin back with open arms. After all, he was successful there in the past, and he has experience bending the rules. What more do you need at USC?

The biggest question in my mind? A friend of mine put it well:

“But when Pete Carroll fails in the NFL again, will they fire Kiffin to take him back?”

Mayweather Wants to Fight Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather wants to make it clear it’s not his fault the much-anticipated (proposed) fight with Manny Pacquiao was announced as cancelled yesterday. He released a statement today (keep reading) that told his side of the story. The back and forth between Mayweather and Pacquiao over this ridiculous drug protocol sticking point could simply be effective posturing aimed to draw even more interest at this fight. But until both sides publicly come to some kind of an agreement, the fight continues to linger as just a possibility.

Floyd tweeted a link to the statement for the public and his fans:

“Throughout this whole process I have remained patient, but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them. First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass. Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight. But it was rejected. I am still proposing the 14-day window but he is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn’t want to take the tests. In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever. I know the people will see through their smokescreens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight.”

Floyd wants random blood testing up until the fight. Manny wants to schedule three separate blood tests, one of which would take place after the fight. Both proposals seem like reasonable options. We’re waiting.

Source: Mayweather Promotions, twitter.com/mayweathermania

Don’t Go Overboard on Gilbert Arenas

As the story goes, Gilbert Arenas put three guns in front of a teammate’s locker. The teammate, Javaris Crittenton, had earlier said he’d shoot Arenas in his bad knee. Arenas’ joke was to place the guns in front of a locker with a note that said “Pick One”. While obviously not the smartest of moves, the backlash Arenas is facing has gone a bit overboard.

I agree with suspending Arenas. Not only was the gunplay on NBA property against league rules, local laws and common sense, but Arenas went on to mock the situation. He kept Twittering and the cherry on top was when he unleashed finger guns prior to a game.

But I don’t agree that Arenas should be suspended for the rest of the season or should receive a lifetime ban. That’s going too far. Arenas at heart is a jokester. He’s harmless. And while his annoying behavior lately has been hard for the NBA to stomach, players have done much worse without receiving a death penalty sentence.

What I think needs to happen is Arenas needs to be sat down, explained that he has to take it all seriously and sent to do hours of community service about the dangers of guns. As far as a suspension, anything over ten to twelve games would be overboard.

Arenas was dumb and has been acting dumber. But let’s keep common sense in mind.

The Periodic Font Table

One of the first web page projects I took on when I was teaching myself HTML was to put together a little font website. It served more as a catalog of the various font faces I had installed on my computer and what they all looked like in image format.

I’m not sure what it is about fonts, but I absolutely love them. To me it’s like each one is  a little work of art. Whether the fonts are serif or sans-serif, the thickness of the lines or the unique curve and formation of the “g” and the “ampersand”.

Today I found the Periodic Table of Typefaces thanks to a tweet from a friend. The whole collection is gorgeous.

Each font is ranked according to overall popularity that was collected from a variety of websites. All of which is detailed on the original chart graphic. Each individual font also lists the details of that font’s design.

Probably not to anyone’s surprise, Helvetica was the number one ranked font available.

View the original Periodic Table of Typefaces online here.

10 Quick Reasons to Visit the Gym

For those of you that seem to get lost every time you’re on your way to the gym, take this post and bookmark it to your browser, permanently Tweet it on your Twitter account, and then use it as your profile picture on FaceBook.  Below are 10 bullet proof reasons for getting your workout in.

1. Everything you do and don’t do adds up.
2. Getting in shape will always be a distant vision unless you take action.
3. You’ll release stress and feel better afterwords.
4. People respect a hard worker.
5. A healthier body is better at deflecting injuries and illness.
6. Your clothes will look better on you.
7. You have a legitimate reason to eat ice cream after your done.
8. You’ll live longer
9. Your quality of life will improve.
10. When else are you going to have a legitimate excuse to listen to “The Warrior”?

Did Gilbert Arenas Pull a Gun?

Gilbert Arenas is known for his gunning ways on the basketball court. Now the shoot-first point guard for the Washington Wizards is in a gun controversy that could lead him to hot water.

According to numerous sources including the New York Post and ESPN, Arenas pulled a gun on teammate Javaris Crittenton during an altercation about a gambling debt. As a result, both federal investigators and Washington D.C. investigators have been trying to get to the bottom of the situation.

On Twitter, Arenas is acting like it’s not a big deal. He’s busy making jokes and poking fun about the media making him sound like John Wayne.

But someone should tell Arenas that if investigators find that he actually pulled a gun on Crittenton, Arenas will soon be behind bars. Heck, even possessing a gun can get you in a lot of trouble — just ask Plaxico Burress.

We’ll stay on top of this story. As of now, Arenas is still playing basketball for the Wizards. He has avoided suspension and legal action — but it appears as if this story is intensifying. Stay tuned.

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