notes on Social Dashboards

(Note, I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing down, please forgive my variable fonts.  I'm looking for something that works well.)
In order to manage less than 375 different sites you need a social dashboard.  A dashboard is either a web-based (web-page, with a URL), PC based (install it on your computer) or (Web)browser designed to help you manage multiple social media sites at the same time  Some of these also work as a browser add-in (it's like a tool you can add to your browser.  I will only review those that work for the Google Chrome browser).  I plan to review the ones I have found, Lifehacker has an excellent review here as well (it's a list of top 5 based on reader input).
My list is Hellotxt (web-based), Netvibes (web-based), Yoono(web-based or add-in), Brizzly  (web-based), RockMelt(web-browser), Seesmic(web-based, PC-based), Digsby(PC-based), TweetDeck (web-based, PC-based) & HootSuite (web-based).
There are also phone tools for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and in some cases, others.  I will not be reviewing the phone tools.
Today I will cover Hellotxt (web-based), Netvibes (web-based), Yoono(web-based or add-in), Brizzly  (web-based), RockMelt(web-browser).  Please remember this is a general overview plus my opinions.  Don't consider this a "full review".  I just don't have the time to go into that much detail.  I will give you a general idea how the dashboard functions and highlight points I find important.

Hellotxt (hellotxt.com) This one is web-based, go to a URL and your at your dashboard.
I don't like the configuration.  How the page places information is not comfortable for me.  Sometimes it's hard to tell what the source behind the information is; is this a Tweet?  LI update?  Too much time wasted checking.  Bonus, it looks like you can update your status on all your networks at once (I never tried).  Nice feature.
Setup was very simple.  Easy to follow instructions.  I did have trouble finding my page after setup though.  It left me on a blank page ("Lifestream").  I expected this to be my information page but it's not.  Where is my data?  O, it's at 'home'! If I click the 'Hellotxt' link in the top left I see my data!  Not intuitive enough.  Hellotxt does not auto-update, a boon for some but a bane for me.  Auto-update everything and just highlight what I haven't read yet.  Remember your job Mr. Social Dashboard, is to make my life easier.


Netvibes (netvibes.com) This one is web-based, go to a URL and your at your dashboard.
I like this one.  Nice, appealing layout, fairly easy to read.  You can have tabs to separate major categories.  I have a tab for RSS feeds and one for everything else.  You can chance themes to affect the background image (kinda like GMail).  This works on a 'widget' theory.  Every information source in a widget, widget for Twitter, widget for LI, widget for Facebook, you get the idea.  I don't like that each individual RSS feed has to have it's own widget.  I want to read them all at once, like I can in Google reader.    Lots of customization for layout, because you can put a widget almost anywhere.  I really like the 'quick close' (my words) feature.  There is a pointing down triangle at the top right of your page, this "minimizes" all your widgets at once (you can do each one individually if you want).  It's a really handy feature to see at-a-glance which widgets have new information to read. LOTS of widgets, Netvibes runs an open attitude to widgets so anyone can create a widget (think iPhone or Android app store) and this means A LOT OF WIDGETS.  Options are a good thing.
Big negative; you cant update your status on all your networks at the same time.  They make it very easy to do one at a time though.
I like this one.  It has a nice layout.  I like the tabs which allow you to separate stuff.  you can change themes which affect the background image, nice feature.  i don't like that my RSS each has to have its own widget tho.  that's a bad thing.
also needs the ability to send a status update to everything at once.  Very good LI widget, nice stuff

Yoono (yoono.com) This one is a browser add-in

This handy sidebar only shows the 'everything' column (and the quick buttons toolbar) but remember you can always switch the 'everything' column to only show you one feed.
There are quick buttons at the far left for 'Popout' (gives you that handy side bar instead of running in a tab on your browser.), "Configuration" (settings), close all individual columns and 'share'.  'Share' lets you share any web-page.
The negative is my fault and blame does not go to the folks at Yoono at all.  I'm having trouble with RSS feeds.  I can't import RSS directly but I can import my Google Buzz.  Google Buzz should grab all my RSS but it isn't.  As soon as I can figure this part out, I may go to using Yoono all the time.  I'm very impressed.  In my opinion, Yoono is the best so far.

Brizzzly (brizzly.com) This one is web-based, go to a URL and your at your dashboard.
I'm not even going to try this one.  Only works with Facebook and Twitter.

RockMelt (rockmelt.com)  This one is it's own web-browser.
Rockmelt is pretty awesome.  You must have a Facebook account, this is an absolute.  They verify real people (as opposed to bots) through Facebook so you just cant get it w/out Facebook.  It integrates with Facebook, twitter and (at least) news feeds.
Rockmelt is not a website, it is not a program you download to your PC (sort-of), RockMelt is a modified version of Google's Chrome web browser.  You download this modified browser and it has columns on the left & right side for your information and friends.  I've seen the video and it looks very productive.
RockMelt is in beta right now but that is not a bad thing.  If I ever hear of them offering options outside of Facebook, I really want to try this out.  I have heard a lot of good things about RockMelt.  Some Gizmodo & Lifehacker readers swear by it and won't surf the web with anything else.


I hope this helped you.  If it did or you think it will help someone else, please share this with them.


(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

Are you comfortable in your own skin?

This morning I was thinking about a networking event that is coming up soon.  A friend invited me to this event and I hear that there will be over 500 people at this event.  I've been really excited about going and seeing my friend and meeting new people.
I recently learned that my friend is not going to make it to this event.  I was really disappointed when I got the news and considered not going.  (In my friends defense, he has an excellent reason for not making it.) As I was thinking this morning about the event and considering skipping it I remembered something.  I'm comfortable in my own skin.  I like myself.  I have the self-confidence to walk into a room of 500+ strangers and not only be OK with it but to expect to see someone that already knows me.  I'm a likable fella and I know it.
When I was young (very young), some wise adult told me "Son, you have to learn to like yourself before other people will like you.  If YOU don't like you, and you know YOU better than anyone else on this earth, why should other people like you?"  That hit me, I mean it really sunk into my brain, right down to the parts of it that work most of the time.  I worked on it and never forgot the advice.  I don't remember the source (thank you, wise adult, whomever you were) but I have always remembered to like myself.  If someone asked me to name 10 things about me that I like I could rattle them off pretty quick {1) I'm a nice guy, I'll help you if i can.  2)I try not to break the law, I'm a good citizen.  3) I'm a good dad, I know because my kids love me. 4) I'm a good husband, I know because my wife loves me. 5)I'm worth something, I know because god loves me.  6)I'm a good son/brother, I know because my siblings and parents love me. 7) I'm a good worker, I know because my boss {all of 'em} have told me.  8)I'm smart, I can learn things {I learned to like myself didnt I?} 9)I'm a good cook, when I try.  10)I love my eyes, I have great eyes. (When I got contacts the first time, I asked the very pretty assistant if I should get colored contacts.  She took one look into my eyes and said "no way".)}  That was really 11 because #6 is actually two things.  I timed myself, it took me less than 5 minutes to come up with those things and type them here.
My question for you today is: Are you comfortable in your own skin?  Do you like yourself? If you don't, (and really think about it, don't just snap off the obvious answer.) then you need to work on it.  Find a book on self-esteem or a book on how to make friends or maybe you realize you need more help than can come from a book.  Find a local church or Google for local self-help groups.
(Quick edit, could I rattle off 10 things I don't like about myself just as fast? yep.  Do I? nope.  I focus on the positive.  I realize my shortcomings and work to improve them but I don't 'sweat' them enough to get me down!)

My point is, you have to like yourself.  Who you are, what value you bring to a conversation, your family, your job or whatever.  If YOU don't like you, and you know YOU better than anyone else on this earth, why should other people like you?


As always, I hope reading this helped you, or at least made you think a little.

As a side note; here are 50 Twitter acronyms defined and used in a sentence

First and foremost.  I 'stole' the acronyms from a writer at digiphile.  I would tell you their name but I couldn't find it in the article.  They offered the acronyms.  I put them in sentences.

People abbreviate stuff all the time in Twitter.  It makes sense.  You have a limit of 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation.  In Twitter, you have to make every character count for as much as possible.  A LOT of these carry over from text-message-on-the-phone days so some are easily recognized.

Below, you will see 50 abbreviations (or acronyms) and not only what they mean but also their use in a sentence.  I will try to keep my examples to 140 characters or less.  (BTW, I'm fairly new to Twitter so writing the blog is also helping me to remember all these abbreviations so I can read some of the hieroglyphic tweets I'm getting!)

Please note:  Some of the abbreviations below are for foul language.  I have deleted them from the list so it's really less than 50.  

and another note... I realized that the links below, for example "As Far as I Know" for AFAIK are links to excellent definitions.  I still plan to add my own, sometimes shorter definition and use them in a sentence.  I started this article, I plan to finish it.

@

1) Reply to [username]; or 2) call out a person in Twitterville or 3) mention a person in Twitterville.  (yes, these are mostly the same.)  (SIDE NOTE: If you want someone to be sure and get you’re Tweet, put "@NAME" in what you are writing).

1) "@Name is awesome!" (Mr(/Ms) likes this {from 'Mr NoOne'} and wants to say thank you for the compliment, so they Reply with "thanks @NoOne! your awesome too!")  So the Reply is "thanks @NoOne! your awesome too!"

a great little note here.  In the "Whats Happening" box on Twitter, if you type the "@" and then any letter such as "@N", Twitter will try to help you by guessing the name of the person 9taken from the list of people you are following)

2) "@Name is awesome!" is a call out.  It's a chance to say something about someone in Twitterville.  From my experience, people on twitter love to see their name mentioned.

3) "love to follow @Name & @NoOne" is a mention.  If you put someones Twitter name in a Tweet, you are mentioning them.

AFAIK

As Far as I Know  "AFAIK I may write this article but no one will read it."  It's 4 less words or more importantly 11 characters shorter than typing 'as far as I know'.   We all know character count is important in Twitter so 5 characters is better than 16.

b/c

Because  "I Tweet, b/c I can."  (5 characters shorter than 'because').  IF I were actually tweeting the example sentence, I would spell out 'because'.  I'm old school and believe that unless I need to I shouldn't use abbreviation or acronyms. (This sometimes means I type a tweet 5 or 6 times before I get my message short enough to fit!)

BFN

Bye For now (Also try here) "Bye for now".  Pretty straightforward.  I personally have never seen this one used.  

BR

Best Regards  "Best Regards", again, simple and almost a sentence in itself.

BTW

By the Way  "By The Way, @NoOne is a great guy to follow!"  'BTW' saves you 7 characters.

DM

Direct Message. d username sends one. "D@NoOne how about coffee after work?"

Also called a DM and most recently called simply a "message", these Tweets are private between only the sender and the recipient.  Tweets become DMs when they begin with the 'D username' to specify who the message is for.  Saves 12 characters.

.  

EM

Email  "Twitter is too short to explain what I'm talking about.  I'll EM you tonight." (saves 3 characters)

FB

Facebook  This one is global.  I've seen "FB" instead of "Facebook" in regular print.

FF

Usually #FF for Follow Friday. #FollowFriday is supposed to work better than it does. If you #FF someone, take the characters to explain why.  Usually looks like "#FF @NoOne @editadvertising @SellingATL @TNR01 @O_W_S @jacobkotze " This is silly.  PLEASE take a few extra characters and EXPLAIN why someone should follow these people.  

FTF

Face To Face. Also, F2F. Or the Fair Trade Federation. Many other options, see here and here for more on "FTF" & "F2F". (also see "IRL" below)  "I have a FTF with @name tomorrow".  saves 9 characters.

FTL

For The Loss  "Our team ain't gonna make the Bowl this year :-( FTL"  Saves 9 characters.

FTW

For The Win   Expression of enthusiasm about something. "Have you seen the new VW commercial? FTW!!"

FWD

Forward (I disagree; I think more of “Front Wheel Drive”).  It can be used as both.  "I'll FWD you the details later" or "I LOVE my FWD Chrysler!" Saves 4 characters as "Forward" and 14 as "Front Wheel Drive".  16 other definitions here.

FWIW

For What It’s Worth  "FWIW I'm an excellent artist." saves 14 characters.  Very common in comments on articles.

HT

Hat tip is a compliment, usually in reply to something someone said.  also pretty common in comments on articles.  "HT to you, sir."

HTH

Hope That Helps (or Hope This Helps)  Usually a closing comment on (what you believe to be) helpful information you have offered someone.  Person 1 "try restarting your computer"; Person 2 "I'll try that as soon as possible"; Person 1 "HTH, let me know."  Saves 12 characters.

IMHO

In My Humble Opinion  (or In My Honest Opinion) "IMHO the new Camaro is a sweet ride but doesn't pay respect to its origin" . Saves either 16 characters either way.

IMO

In My Opinion  one of my faves, I offer my opinion a lot.  "IMO Android has the best phone OS right now."

IRL

In Real Life my absolute favorite (forgive the soapbox in the next few sentences.)  EVERYTHING that you do professionally in social media should strive towards IRL.  There is no social site (or any other kind) on the internet that, I believe, will allow you to reach your professional goal without some IN REAL LIFE activity.  In your personal life, do what you wish.  "I have an IRL meeting with a LinkedIn contact next Wednesday!" saves 9 characters.

JV

Joint Venture  Read the link for the definition, it doesn't get better than that.  "My friend is considering a JV with someone he met through Twitter"  saves 11 characters.  (Note, if you are a teenager, it probably means Junior Varsity and you are probably not reading this article, except for laughs.)

J/K

Just Kidding  pretty self-explanatory.

LI

LinkedIn My favorite professional networking site.  check me out here, if we have something in common or your in Tulsa I'll be open to a connection.  "I use LI every day in my job search."  saves 6 characters.

LMAO

Laughing My Ass Off  As old as phones that can text.  not as popular (IMO, ha ha) as LOL.  This does not need an example sentence.  Saves 15 characters

LMK

Let Me Know  "I heard you’re grounded, LMK when you can get out."  Saves 8 characters.

LOL

Laughing Out Loud  Someone said something funny and your reply of "LOL" says 'You can't see or hear me but I'm laughing at what you just said."  saves 14 characters and is probably the biggest reason why high school kids can't spell "Laugh" anymore

MT

Modified Tweet in a nutshell from the link "I have modified this tweet substantially, for reasons of my own choosing, and you may want to seek out the original before coming to any conslusions about the original author's content, meaning, intents, or purposes." Saves 12 characters.

NSFW

Not Safe For Work  refers to something that should not be viewed, read, listened to or on your computer screen, at your place of work.  May be vulgar or lewd content.  Usually added to a link " check this out! www.notareallink.com NSFW"  saves 17 characters and maybe your boss getting really angry with you.

OH

Overheard  "I OH the boss saying he was flying out on Thu"  saves 7 characters

PRT

Partial Retweet (at the start of a tweet). Sometimes “Please Retweet” Old School: Party  (Old School??? I REMEMBER when "PRT" meant "Party!" OUCH).  "PRT mom headed to hospital, need your prayers."

RE

In reply to. As in, use RE for @replies on Twitter. Used in front of the @ to ensure all followers can see the conversation. Further on text: “Community, @replies, #fixreplies and Change“  More good stuff about this here.  Clicking the "Reply" link on a persons Tweet will open a "reply" window and will start the message with "@NAME".

RR

Re-Run  I haven't seen this before.  This is a great description taken from the article in the link "Now, if you want to retweet yourself, just put RR in front of a tweet.  Use 'RR:' instead of 'RT:' and your all set.  Most often, people RR tweets when the first occurrence may have been too early or too late to be seen by many people.  Or maybe a RR is in order if there are other events being shared on Twitter that render your little message insignificant. "  

RT

Retweet  not a bad link, try here and here or here  You will see a "ReTweet" link on every Tweet you read.  Most people like to have their stuff ReTweeted.

RTF

Read The FAQ. RTFF shows up too. RTF also stands for Rich Text File and others here.  Person 1 "I cant get this stupid thing to work!" Person 2 "did you RTF?"  Saves 9 characters

RTHX

Thanks For The ReTweet  "thank you for ReTweeting me!"  Obvious use, I like this link better for a definition.

SNAFU

Situation Normal All fouled Up  Started as a military term means the situation is in terrible shape.   saves 25 characters.  

TMI

Too Much Information  I like this link better.  It is a response to someone who has shared more information than you wanted or needed to hear.  Person 1 "I've been stuck in the bathroom all morning with diarrhea"  Person 2 "Sorry your sick but TMI"

YMMV

Your Mileage May Vary  Link appears to be dead, try this.  means your results may vary.  " There is a great sale going on at the store, most 75% off but YMMV".  

YW

You’re Welcome  Obvious.  

NB

Nota Bene.  (I like Wikipedia better) Make sure to read the comments, where there are many great additions.

ICYMI

In Case You Missed IT (better link here) "I sent you the reports from last night, ICYMI"

CX

Correction  Means this tweet is a correction to an older tweet.  "CX Chrysler is my fave auto not Ford"

RTQ

Read The Question or Retweet Question  Long list of different possibilities here.  Best understood in context.  If discussing a question, it's probably one of the two mentioned here.  Not commonly used IMO.

So, thats the list as I know it.   Remember you can always try the Twitter Help Center or  Google it; or you can try all-acronyms.com and the acronymgeek.com.  Remember if it has been used as an abbreviation somewhere else, it's probably being used on Twitter.  Also if you are talking to someone in your industry, industry specific abbreviations and acronyms are of course acceptable.  I work in call centers, so Tweeting to associates I could use LD (Long Distance), VoIP (Voice over IP), AHT (Average Handle Time) or SPC (Sales per Call).

As always I hope this has helped you to use social medial in your job search.

(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)