The Pope and Twitter ? What could they possibly have in common ???

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Pope Benedict XVI tweeted for the first time using an Ipod, announcing the launch of a new Vatican news website.
His tweet read " Dear Friends, I just launched News.va. Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI"

The Vatican has been attempting to share its messages to greater Internet-savvy audiences. This follows their use of facebook and youtube.

I cant wait to see who may join the Internet revolution next!

Augumented Reality ? Now this is some cool stuff.

Augmented Reality

Sounds funny doesn't it -  So what is it ? Is is a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. (wikipedia, 2001)
How how is it being used:

Hotels.com - hotels.com aims to drive bookings by offering 3-D virtual views.

Magic Tee - This is a kids clothing company. Its a t-shirt that comes to life on screen. For an example, check out this youtube video.

Museum of London:  by using google maps and geotagging you get a look at what London used to look at. Click here for a more detailed explanation

Tattoos: A company called ThinkAnApp has made the first Augmented reality tattoo. The tattoo looks like a square barcode, but when viewed through a webcam an animated figure appears.

Ray Bans: Ray Ban has developed a "Virtual Mirror" on line that allows you to try on Ray Ban Sunglasses.

These are just a few examples of how Augmented Reality is being used. It is quite fascinating if you really think about. For more information, details or examples check out this very informative slide show.

Do you know who Gene Sharp is ? You certainly should!

I have never heard of Gene Sharp but after covering him in my social media course last night, i was left very interested in finding out more.
Gene was born in 1928 in Ohio. He received a BA in Social Sciences in 1949 from Ohio State, where he also received his MA in Sociology in 1951.  In 1968 he received his Doctor of Philosophy in political theory from Oxford. He is currently a professor of political science at Umass Dartmouth, where he has been since 1972.
In 1983, Sharp founded the Albert Einstein Institution.  The Albert Einstein Institution in dedicated to studying and promoting the use of nonviolent action in conflicts around the world. He is well-know for his non-violent methods " 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action" which were first published in his 1973 book, the Politics of Nonviolent Action, Vol. 2: the Methods of Nonviolent Action.

Some of these methods include ( but are not limited to)
Public Speeches
Signed Public Speeches
Newspapers and journals
Picketing
Wearing of symbols
Vigils
Singing
Parades
Walk-Outs
Silence

Today, Social Media is being used to share Sharps methods and idea. This is causing a major threat to those ddictatorships who are fighting with their people. The world is turing to these non-violent methods.
"Peaceful protest is best, he says — not for any moral reason, but because violence provokes autocrats to crack down. “If you fight with violence,” Mr. Sharp said, “you are fighting with your enemy’s best weapon, and you may be a brave but dead hero.” - Gene Sharp 

Interesting Social Media Facts

Social Media is still growing, and growing fast at that. However here are a few intersesting facts i found on social media..

1) Australia has the most number of established users of social media in the world, followed by USA and 
    UK.
2) If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 3rd largest country.
3) The most popular YouTube video – Justin Bieber, Baby ft. Ludacris has had over 374,403,983 views
4) YouTube receives over 2 billion viewers each day.
5) To watch all the videos currently on YouTube, a person has to live for around 1,000 years.
6) There are over 181 million blogs.
7) The 10 billionth Twitter’s tweet was posted in March 2010.
8) Of the 60 million users of LinkedIn half of them are from outside US.
9) Every second a new member joins LinkedIn.
10) If $1 was paid to you for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia, you would earn $156 per hour.

Just a little bit of information to get you thinking this morning. For more wild facts on social media visit Fascinating Social Media Facts of Year 2010

Do you think Obama has time to tweet ?

We are seeing more and more political figures using social media today, but why ? Why would taking the time to tweet, or manage a facebook page be beneficial to those in the world of politics ? There are a few reasons.
* It gives you a platform to explain your actions. So you voted one way or another on a bill, or you are against a certain law. People want to know why. Social Media is a way for you to explain your actions.

* Social Media is a very inexpensive way to promote yourself. The more advertising and marketing you have out there, the more people you are sure to reach.

* You have the ability to specifically target a certain audiece. You can choose who sees what and who can access what information on your pages.

* Social Media is a great way to present people who support you. By supportes leaving positive comments about you can only help your image.

* Social media can help politicians really connect with the people. Most are here to serve and protect out country. Speak with the public and see what they want !

Now That is Great Customer Service....

I knew there was a reason why i loved TJMaxx so much. Besides filling my closet, having reasonable prices they company has great customer service. The company takes the time to respond to almost every post posted on their facebook page.  Here are a few examples:

DC: Are TJX stores not getting in as many items ? The Store that i usually go to - I have not seen hardly anything new for the past month.....
TJ Maxx: Hi Diane, our buyers are always in the marketplace striking up last minute deals with designers, and thousands of new items arrive at each TJ. Maxx each week. Which location are you referring to?

OTF: Just had a horrible experience this afternoon (June 9) at the TJMaxx in Pinnacle, Rogers, AR. I slipped and fell on the floor not once but twice! At first I thought it was me but the second time around and in the same exact place made me wonder. Lo and behold there was some cream or lotion that spilled on the floor. I reported the incident to the store manager, Jim R. and had it put on record as a complaint. My knees are bruised and now hurting and bothering me. :(
TJ Maxx: Hi Odessa,
Thank you for reaching out about this issue at our Rogers store. If you need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 1-800-926-6299 M-F between 9-5 EST.

MW: I bought a carry on suitcase at my TJ Maxx yesterday, took it on a flight today and the handle that extends so you can roll it broke! The receipt is at home, but they have stores where I travelled too. Can I get I take it to a store here and exchange it or get store credit for a new bag or do I have to wait until I get back home and suffer again at the airport?
TJ Maxx: Hi Melanie,
Our customer service team can address this issue for you. Please give them a call at 1-800-926-6299 M-F between 9-5PM EST.

The company cares enough to reach out to all of their customers. They add their own personal touch...

Now if you will excuse me, this Maxxinista has some shopping to do....

Lost millions of friends, yet still taking over the world ?

That is exactly what facebook is doing. In a report posted on msnbc.com titled Facebook loses 6 million US users, continues to conquer globe it states that in May 2011 6 million users in the United States deleted their facebook accounts. Despite the amount of people who are not logging on, there are a few different reasons given for the decline in friends. One believes some may have just stopped logging into their account, they have forgotten or ditched certain accounts or there is an error with the tools used to calculate these statistics.

Even though millions of people have stopped updating their statuses, posting photos or commenting on friends pages, there are still a fair amount of new members each day. Facebook is still well on its way to reaching 700 million users. Now wouldn't I be taking over the world too if i had 700 million friends.

Imagine being worth $10 BILLION

You may not be too familiar with it, but trust me you will want to get involved.  Location Based Service is set be worth $10 Billion by 2016. So what exacly is Location Based Service (LBS), it is a service you can use through mobile devices to make use of your geographical position. It allows you to identify the location of a person or an object. Fedex can use LBS to track their packages or to track their delivery trucks. Websites such as DailyCandy send me their daily e-mail because i am located in Boston. My GPS has a "Points of interst" function on it so i can locate the closest ATM or gas station.  And the T is now using LBS in order to track their T and bus services.

According to a report in the LA Times due to popular demand of tracking locations on using maping, the LBS industry can reach $10 billion per year by 2016.

So, its time to go "check in" on my facebook page !

NKOTBSB

Oh Yes, i am 28 years old and i am about to admit that i just went to go see New Kids on The Block and the Backstreet Boys ! This past Saturday, the big summer concert at Fenway Park was NKOTBSB. I brought my sister Chrissy along and joined a bunch of co-workers where we danced to hangin tough, step by step and please dont go girl - acting like a bunch of 12 year olds.
We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit in a luxury box that came stalked with food and beverage.
We started the night with dinner at Tarver in the Square located in Porter Square. It was quite good and i highly recommend their peach sangria, yum. From there we headed to Fenway - after 3 hours of dancng around ( Jordan Sparks openeed the show, Mark Walberg introduced the boys and Naughty By Nature made a surprise visist) we were in no mood to head home. We walked over to the House of Blues, stopped by Bills Bar and ended up at Cask n' Flaggon.

We had a great time and it really brought me back to my childhood... now shhhhhh ! dont tell anyone i just told you that!

Chocolate Heaven

I helped a friend out in Vegas last month and they returned with a gift certificate to a new restaurant in Boston called Max Brenner as a thank you. I was finally able to take some time this past Saturday to try out this new establishment. If you have yet to hear about Max Brenner, you must look into it. Max Brenner is chocolate by the bald man. They have reinvented chocolate drinks, desserts and anything chocolate you can think of. According to a Boston Magazine article, owner Oded "Max" Brenner is quoted saying " Chocolate should be a much more extensive experience than just buying it in a box". From chocolate pizza to an ice cream bar, this place has everything you can imagine and more. We started our lunch with a Satisfaction Guaranteed drink - is consists of castries peanut liquor, caramel liquor, milk chocolate served up. It was basically a Snickers Bar in a cup. By far the greatest drink i have ever tasted. We were seated at a nice small table outside on their patio which was perfect for people watching, especially on a sunny day on Boylston Street. For lunch I ordered the Rosen Deli Smokes Turkey Crepe with Sauteed mushrooms and melted swiss cheese. While it was a bit pricey, it was a great portion.The have salads, sandwiches, pizza and more, but they next time i go back i am heading straight to the dessert bar! Diamonds ? I think Chocolate is a girls best friend..

Summer and the City

Don't get me wrong i love living in the city. I love being a city girl.. Just this past Saturday i spent the day down on Newbury Street. Just walking around... i stopped and had some lunch. I got a massage from Emerge Spa ( which i highly suggest ) I also had my first Pinkberry ( must try). But Monday was my favorite day of the long weekend. Monday, i took the drive up to Jenness Beach located in New Hampshire. Ever since  i was a little girl my mom and dad would take my sister and I up to Jenness Beach. It didn't take me long to fall in love with the area. The house are amazing - the beach is just perfect.
The beach to me is heaven, i could spend all day / every day with my toes in the sand :)