First off – Happy New Year to all! Here’s to hoping that New Years Eve 2010 was eventful, joyful and safe. Here’s to hoping the same for everyone for 2011 as well.
As a starter, a fresh year is starting with a fresh blog. Some problems with the old blog engine has given me the excuse I need to finally move to a WrodPress engine. This gives me a lot of options moving forward. I may migrate the old content over, but to be honest – there’s not a lot worth moving. This leads to the rest of my thoughts for the new year.
It’s (yet again) been a bit slow here at the personal blog. I could make a bunch of excuses for this, but the reality is that of all the ways that I communicate with the world at large, this blog has been low on the list. As a refresher, here is the varied list of communication I choose to use on a daily basis -
Over the months, I have come to several conclusions regarding the state of Internet communication as it relates to yours truly -
- There is more than one way to communicate thoughts in today’s world of the Internet and Social Media.
In the “Good Ol’ Days” of the Internet (pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook, etc), the blog WAS the thing. If I wished to express thoughts, point people to relevant information or just say “Hi” to a larger audience, it was through a blog – period. Now, we have all of these great methods for effectively communicate to the world-at-large. Sometimes this means making choices and picking one method over another.
- Some communication methods are better than others based upon conditions and criteria.
If you haven’t figured it all out yet, some of today’s tools for communication are “better” than others at delivering a message. I put the word better in quotes because it is subjective and based upon personal need and desire. In my case, I have come to some very absolute conclusions -
- Social media tools like Twitter and Facebook are very effective at delivering very brief “bursts” of information. If you can sum things up in 160 characters or less, Twitter is a great way to communicate. You can deliver the message from virtually anywhere (desktop, phone, etc) using a dizzying array of tools (SMS, applications, a web browser) at virtually any time.
While Facebook allows for lengthier communication, it seems to be most effective in the same short bursts of text. I, for example, am set up so that all of my Twitter “tweets” (posts) are automatically pushed to my Facebook account as well.
- As nice as social media is, it is really just for those short bursts of information. Detailed information, complex thoughts and things that are simply more verbose simply don’t work with social media. Of course, I can tweet about something lengthier, providing a link to the greater detail (I do this a lot, by the way). As a result, there is still a place for blogs/websites; they are the location for the “stories” (news, opinion, etc) of the Internet. I have come to feel as though blogs are like the new program of the Internet, while Twitter and Facebook are the little “news ticker” that scrolls along the bottom of the screen (except in the case of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, where news scrolls while news is broadcast on the top, bottom and sides of screens, apparently attempting to induce either a state of information catatonia or seizure
).
- Even buckets have buckets sometimes.
So I know generally where I want to post information, right? Lengthy stuff in a blog, brief stuff on Twitter and Facebook. Great! But what happens when I own or am involved in more than one blog or website, and I have more than one Facebook or Twitter account? Welcome to my world, which consists of -
- Three separate blogs/websites to which I contribute. There are the 2 previous websites I mentioned, BostonPocketPC.com and this blog. There is also a third website you may not be aware of – AndroidThoughts.com (http://www.androidthoughts.com), where I am a Contributing Editor, focusing on the Android platform from a mostly developer and enterprise/corporate perspective.
- Two Twitter accounts – the aforementioned DPSJ account and a second account (BPPC – http://twitter.com/BPPC) which serves at communicating information related to the BostonPocketPC.com website and occasional specific information.
- A Facebook account (mentioned above) and a Facebook page for BostonPocketPC.com (http://www.facebook.com/bostonpocketpc) dedicated to providing a Facebook presence for the BostonPocketPC.com website.
Confused? Like I said – welcome to my world The constant dilemma I face every time I touch a keyboard with the thought of communicating to the outside world.
All of this said, I think I have a pretty good handle on most of this. However, my organizational structure to this point has left this blog often at the bottom of the list. As a sort of New Years Resolution, I have decided to change that. So here is how you will find me writing more here in 2011 -
- When it comes to my blog and website contributions, there will be a place for everything (and everything in its place). Here is what I plan to contribute at each website -
- BostonPocketPC.com – I will continue to focus on the same things here that I have focused on over the past 9 years (today marks the 9-year anniversary of BostonPocketPC.com, by the way). You will find my pointed thoughts, news and reviews specific to Windows Phone and Microsoft mobile technologies as well as Boston/New England Windows Phone User and Developer Group news and announcements. There may be some “crossover” news that may be relevant between my sites from time to time; when that occurs, I will make certain that all the news is propagated accordingly.
- AndroidThoughts.com – As mentioned before, the focus of my contributions to this website are very well defined. If it’s news, reviews or opinions related to the world of the Android operating system and platform for developers or the enterprise, you will find me (and my content) here. Again – there is always the possibility of something broad enough to be of relevance beyond just this website. If it is the case, I will make a point to communicate it on the other sites and point to AndroidThoughts accordingly.
- Here – While it might not seem apparent, my new focused approach leaves a lot of opportunity for fresh content. My goal for 2011 is to use this blog to talk about “everything else”. That leaves a lot to talk about, be it from a more personal perspective or on those things around mobility that are more generalized and do not fit into the world of “just Android” or “Just Windows Phone”. Trust me on this one folks – there is a boatload I want to talk about around this in 2011
- As for Twitter and Facebook, that system seems to be working out well so I will leave them as they are – with one minor “tweak”. While I have on occasion used my DPSJ Twitter account to point here, 2011 comes with the guarantee that all new posts here will be referenced. This will make my DPSJ Twitter account a “one-stop shop” for all of my blog/website postings.
Hopefully, my new focus on “content management” will result in more activity here. For those who still actually check in, I send you my thanks for doing so. Here’s to providing you with something more worthy of your patience and loyalty!
Not logged in