Find me on Friendfeed!

May 21, 2009

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I’m addicted to Friendfeed.

It is by-far the best internet aggregator that I have come across.  Here’s the basic way it works.  I registered my name ‘derekmartin81′ on their website.  They give me the address http://friendfeed.com/derekmartin81 to use.  I start linking all of my sites and profiles to my friendfeed account.  Friendfeed currently links with 57 specific services.  You can also link to any rss feed.  My Friendfeed page automatically displays anything new on any of my sites.

Currently, you can see the following items on my Friendfeed account:

-  Amazon Wishlist:  I add something to my wishlist and it shows up on Friendfeed.  You may now buy me gifts.

-   derekmartin81.com:  Anytime I write a post on this website, it shows up on Friendfeed

Google Talk:  It welcomes you to chat with me

Google Reader:  You can follow the blogs that I follow

Picasa:  When I upload new photos, they are visible on Friendfeed

Twitter:  All of my Twitter posts show up on Friendfeed

YouTube:  If I make new YouTube videos, they’ll show up on Friendfeed

These are the only services that I have for the time being.  I need to add more.

Once you sign up for Friendfeed, you can start “subscribing” to people the same way you “follow” people on Twitter.  Now, instead of just having a constant feed of people’s short messages (like Twitter), you have a constant feed of everything those people do online.  It may seem a bit obsessive, but internet addiction/dependency is a real thing.  Friendfeed just saves you the trouble of visiting a hundred websites each day just to keep an eye on what your friends and families are up to.

Naturally, not everyone is on Friendfeed . . . yet!

This is where “imaginary friends” come in handy.  Did you finally get your parents to sign up for Twitter and post videos on YouTube?  Now you can create an imaginary friend named “Mom & Dad” on Friendfeed.  Pick out a picture to use for them, enter their Twitter username and YouTube username.  Now they are part of your feed.  You’ll see everything they post to Twitter and YouTube.

Currently I have 90 subscriptions that I keep an eye on.  Some have a lot less, some have a lot more.  Internet superstar Robert Scoble subscribes to 24,183 people & groups as of right now.  Click here to see the real-time stream that is going by on his computer monitor.  You may feel a bit queasy after watching for a minute or two.

I have only gone over the basics of Friendfeed:

1.  Create your profile and add your services/pages

2.  Subscribe to other people’s Friendfeeds

3.  Create imaginary friends for the people you know that aren’t complete geeks like me and you.

As you look around the site, you’ll discover many more features that will keep you coming back.

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How to Conversate on Twitter (or … Learn to use Direct Messages)

May 12, 2009

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Hopefully this post will give some quick guidelines on how to carry on Twitter conversations without chasing off followers.

There are different reasons to post publicly on your Twitter account.

The most obvious messages are the statements that can be of general interest to everyone.  Some examples are:

  • “Weather is looking good in Pennsylvania.  I hope to get all of my yard work done later.”
  • “We’re heading downtown tonight to hit a few bars if anyone is interested”
  • “Check out http://derekmartin81.com.  The guy can’t write worth crap, but it’s fun to read if you’re bored.”

Another effective way to use Twitter is to ask a general question of your followers:

  • “What is a good inexpensive wine from Germany?”
  • “Can anyone help me move on Saturday?  I’ll provide pizza and drinks!”

I see way too many posts that show as @ replies to one person that could more effectively be sent a direct messages.  If you and a friend follow each other, you are able to send direct messages.  This will keep the casual follower from seeing a message to someone else that looks like this:

  • “@derekmartin81 I’ve been thinking about what you mentioned last week and it all makes sense to me.”

Here is how I like to structure personal conversations:  If it’s a simple question that only needs a single answer, It is OK to type it out as an @ reply.  If it’s a simple comment (i.e. “@derekmartin I love your new profile pic.”) it is OK to type as an @ reply.  Not all single comments should be done as an @ reply.  Here’s one example:

 

  • “@derekmartin81 My doctor’s office just called to say I tested positive for Hepatitus and you should get checked out too.”

If it will be more than one back-and-forth message, it makes much more sense to use direct message.  This will avoid your random followers from seeing a list of your comments that look like this:

  • “@derekmartin81 Are you coming over for the game?”
  • “@derekmartin81 What do you mean?”
  • “@derekmartin81 Who can’t possibly like football?”
  • “@derekmartin81 Whatever dude . . .”

I have unfollowed numerous people due to the above type of messages clogging my screen.  I have also noticed that since I’ve been using direct messages more, I’ve had less people unfollow me.

Anyway, you can follow me (and my brief, relevant Twitter posts) and http://www.twitter.com/derekmartin81.

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Blasphemy!

March 7, 2009

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My name is derek martin.  I openly and freely state that religion is ridiculous, and all gods are fictional.  I also state that Islam, specifically, is a barbaric religion, based on the teachings of a false prophet, that promotes ignorance, hate, and violence (including terrorism).  I plead guilty to blasphemy and promise to do so in court if need be.  I do this in direct violation of the UN resolution, and I personally challenge President Obama to rebuke this resolution, or order my arrest.

click here for the story…

My statement above was ripped off of the American Atheist’s blog.  Their post can be found at by clicking this link.

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Posted by derekmartin81

I just saw an Infiniti EX35 today (and it is UGLY)

February 23, 2009

I was driving to the bank today and saw the following vehicle in a nearby parking lot:

ex35a

Now, there are two things that you’ll notice.  First of all, this isn’t the actual vehicle (since I don’t live in a desert with a mirrored ground surface).  Also, I slightly pizelized the back half of the car as not to spoil the moment.

From the first picture, it appears to be a small suv (or “cute ute”).  It’s an Inifiniti so it probably drives real nice and comes with a hefty price tag.  No complaints yet.

Now, if you will click here you will see the full image.

Do you see what I see?  The front looks like a very nice sedan (that is riding a bit high).  The roof line looks like it’s starting to melt (and causing the back end to slope way too early).  The back end is also supposed to resemble an suv, but unfortunately it isn’t nearly tall enough.  The total height of this car (including the roof rails) is 62.6″.  My wife is 63″ tall.  No offense, but any vehicle that is shorter than her is not a sport utility.  Here is a height comparison of the EX35 to some actual suvs.

Infniti EX35:  62.6″

Honda CRV:  66.1″

VW Touareg:  68″

Toyota RAV4:  68.7″

To be honest, Inifiniti doesn’t call this an SUV on their website.  That makes it even worse.  If it’s not considered an SUV, then it’s just an ugly undersized station wagon that comes with a starting MSRP of $35,450.

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