Facebook/Twitter as travel tools?

In this article in Truth/Slant, Sue Frause discusses how Twitter and Facebook are actually being used to get people home from Europe (or at least make them comfortable while they wait) after the volcano in Iceland has all but halted travel to and from Europe.

Happen to live in Europe and have an extra couch? Check out this article and help out your fellow man, man!

Networking the point of "The New Rules of War"

John Arquilla came out with an article in Foreign Policy magazine (also featured on this month's cover):

that discusses "redesigning and rethinking" the way the military attacks. The New Rules of War features "netwar" and how the military does not need brute strength in order to win the war.

Ode to Mashable.com

I would seriously recommend that anyone interested in social media check out Mashable.com. It is one of the best social media information/news websites that I've found.

Who doesn't check their email on the weekend?

This weekend, my sorority's executive board decided to meet an hour earlier to discuss the upcoming semester. When our advisor asked why she hadn't been informed, we told her that we had emailed her the day before. Her response? "I don't check my email after Friday at 5."

Is she bonkers, or is she on to something? My initial response was "What?! But you even have a BlackBerry!" In a world where people rely on reading the text (email, text messages, etc.) written by those closer ones more than hearing their voice, how do you avoid reading your emails and survive?

However, she could be on to something. My email (through the wonder of the BlackBerry), is constantly connected to me; I constantly feel like I want to have a breakdown.

Maybe the key to escaping from media clutter is to create a rule, whether it's not checking email on the weekend or turning your phone off for an hour on Sunday.

"Social Media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in how we communicate."

This video is a phenomenal example of how social media has taken over our world and changed the way we communicate with each other. Coincidentally, it uses the same song that my previous video uses.

Woah, you can say more than "@PAPARZI is making a sandwich" on Twitter?!

My friend Steven got a Twitter account the other day. And by that I mean, I made a Twitter account for Steven. This was part of a deal that included me finally watching the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Because I love competition, and because him getting a Twitter account made me the winner of the "I will never Tweet" battle, I caved.

Creation of the Twitter page was only one of the first fights in the battle of the Tweets. Now I had to convince him why he should use his Twitter account. We have several friends that only Tweet about what they're doing that day and who have TwitPics of their lunch on their timeline. No one cares about your Thai chicken!

Why should we use Twitter? Does the world need another forum to find out how boring our class is or which restaurant on campus we're currently eating at? Twitter's website advertises it as a "rich source of constantly updated information." Certainly, there had to be more to Twitter than "I'm at work. Work is boring", and it was up to me to convince Steve of this.

Fortunately, I did not have to look far. One of our friends, @justnelson, is in a communications class that requires him to film and edit a video. After he created this video, he tweeted:

What a great start! Having an outlet for instant feedback and comments for your friends is a great way to use Twitter.

So why not just email your friends or ask them in person for feedback? @justnelson's account is public, which allows anyone who has a computer, even if they are not following them, to view his timeline (the list of recent Tweets published by a specific user). This allows people who may not feel the need to invest in him enough to follow him to still provide feedback on his work. Win-win? Yes! This random person does not need to worry himself with the clutter of constantly following @justnelson. However, @justnelson still gets the feedback he wants to better his class project.

Over winter break, I searched for information on graphic design tips and up-to-date information on modern design trends. This led me to

Ohhh Mashable.com, how I love thee. They provide a list of Twitter accounts that may be valuable for a user to follow if they are interested in everything from graphic design to food to building a company brand.

This is the essence of Twitter. Providing information to others in a convenient manner, and allowing them to choose what they are learning. Of course, the information provided is not always desired. I have no care in the world to learn about the National Hockey League. However, Steve would probably die if he couldn't hear about the New Jersey Devils. This is the beauty of Twitter. If you are interested in finding new music to listen to, don't listen to the critics, listen to your peers by using the #musicmonday hashtag, a link that compiles all tweets about a user's listening habits every Monday.

The information does not have to be serious information, either. I personally follow an account called @sportsminute. This user is dedicated to providing information about the sports world in a comical manner. "@sportsminute: Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche says he doesn't want the season to end. Unlike Wizards fans." There is no denying that Twitter is just as good of a resource for entertainment as it is for information.

In a world of personalized entertainment (i.e. TiVo, Facebook applications, and iPods), Twitter allows you to compile a personal timeline that provides you with the information that you care about, whether that's headlines or one-liners.

CAA & NCAA Tournaments

The only problem with playing sports in a small conference is the fact that when the boys go on the road, students and fans are often left to watch internet streams to keep up with the team.

When the Monarch basketball team made it to the CAA Tournament, it was only shown on the Comcast sports network. Not all televisions on campus have this channel. Luckily for the students of ODU who use Twitter, The Mace and Crown used its press capabilities to travel to Richmond, VA and report the game for ODU. It kept the public up to date with the score and important plays so that even students at work or on the move could keep up with the Monarchs as they headed towards the championship game.

The Mace was able to Tweet during the championship game and let fans from all over the country know when the Monarchs took the trophy and a guaranteed spot in the NCAA basketball tournament.

When they traveled to New Orleans to play the first two rounds of the NCAA, the Mace was able to cover the game and provide information with blogs. Although the NCAA prevents the media from providing minute-by-minute updates, fans were able to Tweet the game from their personal accounts for everyone who had not been able to travel down to New Orleans.

This is just one of the several ways that social networking can be helpful to society.