The Air Force Is Tweeting?!?

Normally I think it is pretty lame when organizations think they need a Twitter account or a Facebook page just because it is the latest and greatest trend. In fact, it is this very mentality that has basically created a new market of internet nerds dedicated to helping companies "optimize their marketing on the web" and "communicating their brand through social networks." I would venture to guess that many Generation Y'ers would likely be broke if it wasn't for this large organization bandwagon mentality. I had heard that the Air Force was trying to integrate into the social networking world and honestly I thought the result would be comedic at best. However, after reading this article I think that the Air Force has actually actually selected a great platform to stream constant job updates and new services offerings to a potentially large audience.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr. The Web is fueling society's digital hunger for real-time information and dialogue, and officials at the Air Force Personnel Center and the Air Force Services Agency are serving up the first course.

Two Twitter accounts currently are being managed by the public affairs office staff here: AFCareers and USAF_Services.

Twitter is a free micro blogging site where users post messages, called tweets, in 140 characters or less, from a computer or mobile device.

In my previous BadskiBlog post entitled "Tweens, Emo Kids, And Why I Am Liking Twitter More & More" I laid out some of the reasons why I think Twitter is an incredibly useful tool. My main points were:

1. Information Pull - You receive tweets only on people you follow. If you don't think they add value to your daily dose of information consumption you don't follow them. You are no longer being bombarded with unwanted or worse unwarranted information. I only pull what information I want. For the newbie to Twitter who only view this as a 140 character status update for tweens and emo kids I am sorry to say that you are mistaken. Most bloggers, news outlets, etc. post active links to their content or other people's content they deem important and/or relevant. So instead of browsing five articles or blog posts in an hour I can now 'pull' hundreds of micro blogs or tweets to me with links to the full paged content.

2. Information Filtering - Of the information that I pull, I am obviously not going to read it all. If I read everything I wouldn't be able to do anything else, like some phone zombie (my wife probably argues that this is the case at times). More information is available today than ever before in the history of the world. Tomorrow will likely be the same given the absence of a massive catastrophe. As time goes on and technology continues to shrink the world by expanding our interconnectivity as a species, information overload will become an increasing problem. Your ability to navigate what information is valuable to you will become more and more important. Twitter allows me to do that. Just because I follow someone on Twitter doesn't mean that I am going to like all the content they distribute. I am sure if you are reading this there are probably plenty of BadskiBlog posts that aren't your cup of tea (insert any metal post here!). Twitter allows me to quickly scan a short description of the full length content and decide in a split second whether or not it is worth my time. If you do this on your phone you can literally fill your down time throughout the day with some information mastication. Your tweet inventory is likely to always have some information you deem important for you. Great for those trying to live the Pareto principle (book review to come on 80/20 Principle).

3. Information Sourcing - Well won't I just get stuck in a tiny microcosm of the world reading the same people's opinions over and over? Short answer is no. The transparency of Twitter allows you to see others who are following the people you are following. If you want you can follow them and navigate through some of their content. Or for the lazy people out there you can merely sit back and wait for the people you are following to acknowledge someone in a tweet. By replying to someone's tweet you will start your tweet with @randoguysnamehere which will allow others to know who you are citing as well messaging the person you cited. Kind of confusing but when you see it in action you will know what I am talking about. This allows you to see who people you are following deem important enough or relevant enough to interact with. Pretty interesting stuff going on and an opportunity to weave your way through peoples soft connections and into some new information or content.

Somebody on the Air Force staff gets it. And they obviously get it enough to know that tweeting job postings and new services is an incredibly effective and appropriate way to make use of the three principles above. I think I am actually going to follow them…

Twitter Creator's Newest Venture: Credit Card Payments By Cell Phone

Twitter creator Jack Dorsey Wednesday gave the first public demonstration of his hotly-anticipated latest venture -- a device to allow credit card payments by cell phone -- and revealed it would be given away for free.

Although the details are fairly vague it seems like a pretty cool invention. You can read the full article here. I have been waiting for something like this to hit the broad market. In fact I have been waiting since college when in an innovations class a guy and I tried to develop a credit card phone prototype. It seems pretty naive now to think that even if we developed a prototype we would have had the power and influence to bring it to market, but at the time we were pretty into it. We found a computer science guy who specialized in hardware stuff and asked him to start building a magnetic strip reader into a phone. Our innovations teacher told us to hook up with a comp sci teacher who had experience bringing a company to market within the handheld device arena. Our excitement was short lived as we found out that the comp sci instructor at the USAF Academy actually held the patent for magnetic reading devices within a handheld device. He had sold that patent along with his company to a larger company who he said probably didn’t even realize they had that patent.

Details of "Square" -- a card reader which plugs into the headphone socket of most mobile devices -- have been circulating on the Internet since it was announced earlier this month, but little has been known about how it works or who it was aimed at.

However, Dorsey -- whose microblogging Web site has proved hugely popular but not hugely profitable since launching in March 2006 -- gave no explanation on how he would make money from his new creation, beyond revealing there would be a per-transaction charity donation.

Square, a tiny cube about an inch in length, contains a magnetic strip reader that allows users to swipe and read credit cards, then deduct payment on or offline through a downloaded application that communicates with card issuers in the same way as retailer devices.

Customers then use their finger on the phone's touch-recognition screen to sign their name to the transaction.

It sounds like the Twitter creator's venture bypasses the conventional thinking of putting the reader in the phone all together by making the reader a separate attachment that works through the headphone jack. Regardless, this is something that needs to happen. I hate using cash and rarely carry it, but there are still obvious needs for cash. An invention like this one would likely eliminate many of those needs to carry cash in my opinion.

"The financial world is amazing right now because there's a clean slate. A lot of these industries are looking for something very small and innovative," he said during the gremlin-hit demonstration of his device at LeWeb, a major Internet forum in Paris.

"My co-founder is a glass artist. He sells things that people don't need -- $2,000 glass faucets. They're beautiful. If he could not take credit cards, he wouldn't make the sale because no one carries around $2,000 in the cash.

"So we looked at it. Ninety percent of the U.S. has moved to credit cards, but it's still very difficult to accept them."

"We're trying with a bunch of different profiles of folks in New York, San Francisco, LA and St. Louis, Missouri. There are piano teachers, flight instructors, and coffee shops. It can be used in a retail store like Apple, all the way down to Craigslist or paying me back for that dinner you owe me."

Blog Orgy! A Smorgasbord Of New Blog Recommendations!

I have written recently about my new found infatuation with Twitter, but I left out one other benefit. I have found a bunch of new quality blogs to follow. I haven’t added any blogs to the BadskiBlog recommendation column lately so here it is with a short synopsis of each:

1. Presentation Zen - I read Garr’s book with the same title and it amazed me. Read my review here. His blog claims to offer tips on professional design but it branches out much more than that. Click here to see his 15 tips for continuous improvement. A must read for anyone who expresses themselves visually in any fashion, which in today’s world is everyone!

2. Revolver Magazine - Simply the best metal magazine in the world. I subscribed to this while I was at the Air Force Academy and I attribute my knowledge and upkeep on the metal scene almost entirely to this magazine during that time. Besides that they have started a “hottest chicks in metal” edition that is a dark yet still hot version of the SI swimsuit edition.

3. Good Financial Cents - A financial planner who is a very good blogger. Jeff Rose is a veteran turned financial planner that offers a lot of advice on all sorts of topics surrounding finance. He goes into more depth than the majority of financial bloggers out there and is definitely worth a read. I wrote a post featuring some of his material here.

4. tompeters! - Without much doubt, Peter Drucker and Tom Peters have shaped the idea of modern management more than any others over the last six decades. Drucker is said to have "invented" management as a discipline worthy of study—in particular, he gave management of large firms the essential tools to deal with their post-World War II enormity, complexity, and growing global reach. Tom Peters, in turn, led the way in preparing management for the current era of staggering change, starting in the mid-1970s.The likes of Fortune, the Economist, the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times have said Tom is the "uber-guru" of management and inventor of the enormous "management guru industry," that "in no small part, what American corporations have become is what Peters has encouraged them to be," that Tom is "the father of the post-modern corporation," and that "we live in a Tom Peters world." Tom writes nice digestible nuggets of management information and posts frequently. I think his resume speaks for itself.

5. The Blog of Tim Ferriss - I have also written about the Four Hour Workweek here on BadskiBlog. Tim doesn’t blog that often which is probably consistent with his life philosophy but his lessons are valuable. If you haven’t read the book go get it and then start digging into the blog so you can actually appreciate what he is writing about. Great for those who want to be involved in business but still want to have a life!

6. Escape From Cubicle Nation - From corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur is the subtitle to this blog by Pam Slim. She also doesn’t post often but the content is good when it arrives. Great for those looking to strike out on their own. Here is a sample of her helpful advice.

7. Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist - The Brazen Careerist is a blog and a social networking site looking to link Gen Y career minded individuals together. This completely uncensored blog is quirky yet very thought provoking, and the social site is great as well. Recently Penelope made huge waves in the news for Twittering about a miscarriage. Not sure I would do the same but it is that unabashed honesty that makes her posts a worthwhile read.

8. The White Rhino Report - "As the Founder of White Rhino Partners, I work as an executive recruiter. Client companies and executive level candidates look to me - not just as a recruiter - but as a trusted advisor. I specialize in placing senior executives who are "Renaissance Men and Women," and who are entrepreneurial leaders - many of whom have had a distinguished military career and/or are Service Academy graduates and hold MBA's from top-tier business schools." What a great concept from a great guy. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Al and I think the "Renaissance Men and Women" focus is an awesome concept that seems to be tremendously rewarding. As a Renaissance man himself Al seeks out other well rounded individuals and places them in a culture that is conducive to their personality. Besides his profession he writes a thought provoking and extremely well rounded blog. The posts cover everything from playwrights to patriots and features many excellent guest bloggers. A must read for any servicemen and women.

There are some more blogs I have been checking out lately that I will likely add later. More to Come!

Tweens, Emo Kids, And Why I Am Liking Twitter More & More

I must confess that I was one of the people who "got" Twitter right away. The social networking aspect of it's followers and following capability combined with the transparency to others just made sense to me when a friend introduced me to it. I have already written about why Twitter is great on BadskiBlog before:

I have been using Twitter for a few months and since I have started I have run into so many people who are talking about it and then they ask the same question. They always ask "what is the point of Twitter? I don't get it." Then I jump in like a huge computer nerd and try to explain what I think its all about, and from there its almost a perfect split. People either get it and think its brilliant or they still think its stupid. I don't think Twitter is about tweeting (140 character micro blog posts). I think Twitter capitalizes and makes visual our natural tendency as humans to group with other like-minded people. However, Twitter enhances this by allowing people who have never and would never have met to become linked. By allowing you to see who someone is following and all the people who are following them you can see how the cliched six degrees of separation begins to manifest itself online through this amazing social networking vehicle.

Honestly I don't really think I truly understood the power of twitter until I got a new phone. I recently bought the new Google phone available on T-Mobile. The G3 or MyTouch is a pretty badass phone. It is Google's equivalent of the iPhone, except it is "open source." Or at least that is what a phone nerd told me. Which basically means that the majority of the applications are free to download. Good for me I guess. The phone has more capability that I have ever had in a phone and I have pretty much been a pseudo-phone nerd for the past two weeks. I downloaded Twitter's application called Twidgit Lite which basically updates you of unread tweets and allows you to quickly tweet on the go. I thought maybe I would tweet something here and there and that would be the extent of my usage, but honestly it is way more than that. Here are the few key advantages I see to having, and being an active Twitterer, on your phone:

1. Information Pull - You receive tweets only on people you follow. If you don't think they add value to your daily dose of information consumption you don't follow them. You are no longer being bombarded with unwanted or worse unwarranted information. I only pull what information I want. For the newbie to Twitter who only view this as a 140 character status update for tweens and emo kids I am sorry to say that you are mistaken. Most bloggers, news outlets, etc. post active links to their content or other people's content they deem important and/or relevant. So instead of browsing five articles or blog posts in an hour I can now 'pull' hundreds of micro blogs or tweets to me with links to the full paged content.

2. Information Filtering - Of the information that I pull, I am obviously not going to read it all. If I read everything I wouldn't be able to do anything else, like some phone zombie (my wife probably argues that this is the case at times). More information is available today than ever before in the history of the world. Tomorrow will likely be the same given the absence of a massive catastrophe. As time goes on and technology continues to shrink the work by expanding our interconnectivity as a species, information overload will become an increasing problem. Your ability to navigate what information is valuable to you will become more and more important. Twitter allows me to do that. Just because I follow someone on Twitter doesn't mean that I am going to like all the content they distribute. I am sure if you are reading this there are probably plenty of BadskiBlog posts that aren't your cup of tea (insert any metal post here!). Twitter allows me to quickly scan a short description of the full length content and decide in a split second whether or not it is worth my time. If you do this on your phone you can literally fill your down time throughout the day with some information mastication. Your tweet inventory is likely to always have some information you deem important for you. Great for those trying to live the Pareto principle (book review to come on 80/20 Principle).

3. Information Sourcing - Well won't I just get stuck in a tiny microcosm of the world reading the same people's opinions over and over. Short answer is no. The transparency of Twitter allows you to see others who are following the people you are following. If you want you can follow them and navigate through some of their content. Or for the lazy people out there you can merely sit back and wait for the people you are following to acknowledge someone in a tweet. By replying to someone's tweet you will start your tweet with @randoguysnamehere which will allow others to know who you are citing as well messaging the person you cited. Kind of confusing but when you see it in action you will know what I am talking about. This allows you to see who people you are following deem important enough or relevant enough to interact with. Pretty interesting stuff going on and an opportunity to weave your way through peoples soft connections and into some new information or content.

If you haven't gotten on Twitter I recommend it. You might get some information out of the deal or worst case you become a tween emo kid.

Twitter For Entrepreneurs

I have been using Twitter for a few months and since I have started I have run into so many people who are talking about it and then they ask the same question. They always ask "what is the point of Twitter? I don't get it." Then I jump in like a huge computer nerd and try to explain what I think its all about, and from there its almost a perfect split. People either get it and think its brilliant or they still think its stupid. I don't think Twitter is about tweeting (140 character micro blog posts). I think Twitter capitalizes and makes visual our natural tendency as humans to group with other like-minded people. However, Twitter enhances this by allowing people who have never and would never have met to become linked. By allowing you to see who someone is following and all the people who are following them you can see how the cliche'd six degrees of separation begins to manifest itself online through this amazing social networking vehicle.

Well if you are searching for like minded people or mentors that are entrepreneurs then I have found the list for you. I found this slide show on BusinessWeek the other day that lists the top 20 entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. You can check it out here. I followed the majority of these folks tonight and already have had more than a few followers pick me up. Could be some potential BadskiBlog readers, could be bloggers that I want to read, could be future Checking For Charity donors, could be future employers, could be potential business partners. Who knows. Worst case is I will be exposed to some new information to digest via the web. Below is a sample of the kinds of people on the top 20 list.