Facebook has a new design layout and although I and others don’t like some of the changes, the more I’ve looked at it the more I’m realizing the new design has great potential to be a great communications application.  I wrote about it on my business blog:New Facebook Layout Has Big Potential | Orangejack LLC.  I’ll even give you my summary (but go read it all for explanations):

What I’m seeing with this new Facebook design is that communication is much faster and easier than before. Interaction is encouraged and is more sensible. Some veterans of Facebook aren’t happy with the new design but I suspect it’s because they aren’t seeing it in this light. It seems Facebook is now catching up to some of the other hot web 2.0 content publishing applications and improving on what they do well:

* Microblogging: Facebook Status Update like Twitter
* Blogging: Facebook Notes
* Bookmarking: Facebook Links like Delicious or Digg
* Photos: Facebook Photos like Flickr
* Discussion Board: Facebook Wall
* Lifestream: Facebook All Posts like FriendFeed

What do you think about the new layout?  And I’m more interested in your thoughts about it for communications, not personal branding and playing with applications (this is the area that many don’t like and I tend to agree).

I find a lot of people are resistant to Twitter. I sketched out on paper a great way to explain it but I’m having a hard time getting it electronic. In the meantime, here are 3 videos that might shed some light on what it’s all about.

YouTube – Twitter in Plain English

YouTube – Why I Love Twitter

How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

You can follow me on Twitter @orangejack.

A while back I discovered a great way to manage the noise on Twitter by using Device Updates on Twitter.

Now that I’m following a few hundred people, I’ve learned to manage the noise even better.  However, Twitter turned off the IM device update service that I’ve relied on.  I know they are going through some growing pains and need to turn off some things, but I think it would be nice to get an ETA on them turning it back on.

Anyway, assuming it’s turned back on, I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned about managing the noise of Twitter.  What I had to do was decide to be comfortable with the idea of following a lot of people but only catching some of what they say.  Then I found a way to get my attention when someone I want to not miss writes or when anyone writes to me.

1. Install and run Twhirl. It’s easy to use and gives you a lot of features for interacting on Twitter.  What I’ve done is often keep it open on the left side of my screen.  When it grabs updates, it flows like a river down the the side of my screen.  If I catch something interesting then great.  If I don’t, it just keeps flowing by.
2. Use Twitter IM Device Updates. Geeze it bugs that they turned this off.  The main reason is because now that I’m following and engaging with hundreds of people, there are a few that I want to make sure I read.  Some are breaking news, a couple of friends, and my wife.  When the IM is working, my gTalk window pops up just like I got an IM with their twitter update.
3. Subscribe to Twitter Search.  This is something I’ve just recently started. What I did was do a search for “@orangejack” then subscribe to the RSS of the search results (example).  Now I’m sure to receive in my RSS reader notification if someone writes me directly in Twitter.

The system works great (when Twitter works fully).  As a backup I’ve subscribed to some of my friend’s twitter RSS feeds but it’s not very reliable either.  One thing I have discovered is I could subscribe to a search feed (like in step 3) for their name without the ‘@’.  But honestly, I’d rather wait until Twitter turns IM back on.  Or at least let me know when they plan to.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/orangejack

So it seems there is this cool and nifty Firefox plugin called ScribeFire that allows me to blog faster. So I’m testing it. It was easy to pull in a Flick photo from above, now for a YouTube video below.

Green Tree Frog Jumping

So it seems easy to post from those sites, but haven’t figured out how to post a particular photo or video I want (I had to search for these, not pick a previous one).

So far, not so bad.

It should go without saying that the wp plugin Akismet is a must-have plugin, so I’m skipping it.

• All in One SEO Pack
• Bad Behavior
• Comment Relish
• FeedBurner FeedSmith
• FormBuilder
• Highlight Author Comments
• Similar Posts
• SRG Clean Archives
• Subscribe To Comments
• WordPress Reports
• Ultimate Google Analytics

And now I’ve just realized I don’t have these installed on all of my blogs.  Gotta do some cleanup soon.

Or maybe the right word is discerning?

\\ begin twitter rant

One thing I like about twitter is finding interesting people I’d like to connect with. Since twitter is about communicating within 140 characters, the “about” section for tweeple you see on their homepage is controlled by what they put in their account settings. I’ve provided a screenshot of what my profile looks like on my twitter page.

This is the #1 place for me to decide who I should follow and/or connect with more than anywhere else. Here’s why:

I want to know your real name. I don’t mind that you have a fun/cute/branded twitter name, but seriously, what is your real name? To really connect, let me know who you are (exceptional grace given to services).

I want to know where you call home. I find that very interesting. If I don’t know where in the world you call home, I’m not sure I can really get to know you.

I want to know where you are elsewhere online. Do you have a website you call home? A profile? It’s kind of like having a “more about me” link in the bio. Which brings me to…

I want to know a little about you. Give me your bio in 160 or less. Seriously. Just a snapshot. What are you about? Just tell me something remotely useful.

I want to know your follow-to-following ratio. Do you follow everyone and no one follows you back? Probably a reason and I’m not going to join them. It gives me an idea about who you are and what you’re up to. It helps me understand if you are a listener.

Judgmental you say? Yeah, I know. But that’s the point. We’re going to make a quick decision about connecting with you. You have a second of my time to tell me if I should listen to you. Blow it in your “about” section and I’m out.

Ready to get a good profile? Just go to twitter.com/account/settings and don’t miss these three boxes:

Leave’em blank and I’m leave’in you alone.

// end twitter rant

My Google Reader told me today:

From your 278 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 9,637 items, starred 9 items, shared 96 items, and emailed 24 items.

I have a tutorial on what RSS is about, how to use it, and why over on 170spoons.com that will hopefully help you understand why RSS is so cool and effective.

Also check out RSSDay.org

Good news! The eNewsletter for my website 170spoons.com is back and working properly again (and this week’s eNewsletter is already up)!

You may find that you would rather receive a weekly email that summarizes the activity of the week. This eNewsletter summary will be delivered over the weekend and will highlight the week’s tips, tools, and tutorials. To sign up, simply provide your email in this form and verify your subscription. You may also be interested in checking the eNewsletter archive.

I implore you in the strongest terms possible to subscribe to 170spoons in one of the several ways provided.

Heh. I always think it’s funny when politicians use that phrase “strongest terms possible”. That’s why I used it. But seriously, check it out if you haven’t already.

Thanks.

I’m following over 100 tweeple on Twitter. Most are people but some are services. Since there are so many tweets going on all day, the ones from the services tend to get lost in the noise. So I’ve been working out a strategy to isolate a few tweeple to have them pulled out and notify me in real time.

I’m in beta testing and I think it’s working. Here’s how I’m now following Twitter:

1. I use the Firefox extension Twitterfox to keep up with all recent tweets — and I can update from it also. I used to use Twhirl and it was great, but the FF extension is much lighter and one less application to run.

2. I’m now using a feature on Twitter called “Device Update”. It’s an option for a way to follow someone. You can set it up to be SMS or IM. Since I don’t have nor want unlimited text messaging on my mobile, I set me up the Google Talk.

3. I looked through all of my friends I’m following and decided who to turn notifications on or off. Now I am selective as to which ones I want to call for my attention. The ones I follow and turn on the device update are now popping up in a Google Talk IM box immediately.

So who am I following with device updates? Here’s my list:

• twitter status updates
• CNN Breaking News
• Twitter
• hurricanes
• Orlando Sentinel
• Clemson Football
• Orlando FL

These services don’t update often, but when they do, I want to make sure they are separated from the noise and don’t get lost.

Are there any you would add to the list?

PS> You can follow me at twitter.com/orangejack.

I told you about a week or so ago that I had several announcements to make over the next few weeks. Today I’m going to make another one.

Since it’s good to do something memorable on February 29, I have launched a new website that I think should be interesting to many, many people. The site is called 170spoons.com and interestingly enough can be found by typing in “170spoons.com“.

I’m convinced that there are many people who understand how to use their computers and the internet in ways to help them just do a few things. They know they could probably learn how to do much more but they are either unmotivated or intimidated by the thought.

It’s my goal to not just present new and interesting things. Instead, I want to help others be more streamlined with their life by using the internet and their computer more effectively. And I think you can have more fun when taking advantage of some of these tools and tips.

So I want to write technology tips, tools, and tutorials to not just help, but motivate someone as to why use this tip?

I am aiming this site to be the best place for tools, tips, and tutorials related to technology:

A spoon is a tool that is often needed to do some tasks well. The same thing is true of new technologies — these tips and tools aren’t always needed, but when used, they are quite effective for helping you accomplish your goal. The “spoons” presented here will make your life better, easier, efficient, and effective in your Internet life.

It’s also my desire that it turn into a community of people sharing tips with each other. I’ll present at least one way to do something, in the comments you can tell us other ways. That’s fine with me. If it needs a new post, I’ll do that. But I want it to be an interactive place.

So I invite you to stop by 170spoons.com as I get it started. Choose one of the multiple ways to be notified of something new, and join the conversation!

Today is just the welcome day. This weekend the tips begin. Feel free to use the website logo in this post to help spread the word and join the new community at 170spoons.com!

I just read through a 15 page eBook called The Easy SEO Report Launches – SEO Advice and Money by Josh Spaulding. It’s not bad.

If you have a website or thinking about having a website, this is a nice, short eBook that will take you through some of the basics easily (though he talks about buying links, I’m not a fan of that).

One day I need to write one of these myself. Everything he talked about are things I’ve touched on through my Internet consulting and teaching.

Anyway, download it here if you’re interested.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Just so you know, I supposedly get 20 cents per referral who downloads his free eBook. Meh. Whatever.

Well I’ll be! Google has gone and done a novel thing. They have added Google search to Google Reader. I’m still perplexed why it took so long. Seemed like a no-brainer. Guess that’s why I’m not working for them.

They also changed the unread items numbering system they used. It used to be if you had over 100 items unread, it would just say 100+ items. Now it gives you the number.

And I found out that they’ve added a quick way to collapse the left-hand listings of feeds.

Funny how little things like this make my day.

Kevin told me first.

Social Networking in Plain English

YouTube – Social Networking in Plain English

Wikis in Plain English

YouTube – Wikis in Plain English

RSS in Plain English

YouTube – RSS in Plain English

Man it seemed to take forever but Google Reader finally improved the one feature that I really thought it to be lacking in.

One of the features that I really liked about Bloglines is emailing an RSS article out to someone. The email received was nice and clean, formatted for your liking. When Google Reader came out, their email was just plain text that looked like garbled gook.

Today I noticed that they had the word “(updated)” by the email icon. And wouldn’t you know it? The email looks great! Finally! Thanks Google Reader!

NOTE: I’m am talking about a feature it already had. I still think it’s a crime that Google Reader doesn’t use Google Search!

UPDATE: Ha! After I made my discovery I found that Download Squad already reported this after the official Google Blog announced it!

Can you explain how the web world culture 2.0 is changing the way we communicate in less than 5 minutes and make it compelling? Try this:

YouTube – Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us

After watching this, what sort of thoughts does this generate in you? What is your response to this? Leave a comment.

Disclosure: I posted this originally on eMinistryNotes.com

Oh, I feel as giddy as a school girl pumped ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh, uh, yeah, that sounds cool.

I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas. And next November I might just go to the Blogworld & New Media Expo and meet a bunch who would rather communicate with others by typing and not speaking.

I can dig it.

Scheduled for November 8-9, 2007, the event will be a combination of a trade show, conference and media event. Blogworld & New Media Expo will be a unique blending of the needs of individual bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, internet radio broadcasters and corporate America. It will provide a vibrant platform for an exchange of ideas and technologies that will make attendance in Las Vegas a “must” for all serious bloggers.

If you’ve got a blog, please syndicate fully. In other words, don’t send just an introduction in the RSS feed. Put it all there. I promise I’ll click through if it’s good enough.

If you’re not syndicating fully, I may drop you from my RSS reader. I just can’t click through to everything anymore.

And if you really want to do a better job syndicating, do like Kim did and run your feed through Feedburner. It’s better for us all.

There. That’s my shot across your RSS bow.

podcasts, originally uploaded by orangejack.

These are the podcasts I’m subscribed to in my iTunes.

What do you listen to?

In case you don’t follow my blog about effective web ministry notes, I wanted to let you know that I think I’ve officially changed RSS readers.

I’m now using Google Reader (gReader). Why? I think overall, it’s better than Bloglines. I know that’s hard to believe, but it is. I have more to say on eMinsitryNotes including a link to a little tutorial of it.

Think of Google Reader as an inbox for the web. When the websites you like to follow are updated, gReader will let you know similarly to how if someone wants to send you email, you go read it in your email reader (like gMail).

If you wanted to try it out, add some RSS feeds and play around.