Twitter for Facebook Users

As a Facebook user, I have tried THREE TIMES to understand what Twitter is. It took me once to get Facebook, but three times to finally get Twitter. Why? My best answer – “I wasn’t ready for it yet”.

Twitter is a confusing beast. It’s very simple, but so hard to understand. If you’re a Facebook user, it appears to be just “Facebook status updates”. If that’s the case, I already have Facebook, so why would I use Twitter?

But Twitter is much more, and in many regards, much less than Facebook. It’s another animal all-together. And to say it replaces Facebook would be to misunderstand what Twitter really is. First, it’s best to know what Twitter is not.

Twitter is not Facebook. It does not have in-web applications like Poker, Scrabble, and Mafia Wars. It does not have centralized photo management. It does not organize high-school, college, and work information. It does not collect much information at all about you. That’s a good thing, since becoming “friends” with someone on Facebook provides that friend with a lot of personal information. On Twitter, that information was never gathered, so it’s not there to share.

Instead, Twitter is mini-blogging. It’s intended to be a public news feed. Great for public figures, businesses, and those who don’t like all the “noise” that Facebook generates. And by “noise”, I mean all the photos, applications, and unwanted status updates. Twitter allows users to follow other Twitter people. But unlike being a “friend” on Facebook, your friends won’t get your status updates until they “follow you” too. For example, I want to hear what our newest Cavalier is up to (THE_REAL_SHAQ), but I’m pretty sure that Mr. O’Neal doesn’t care to see what I’m up to. We don’t have to be friends, but instead, I treat Shaq’s Tweets as a news feed, much like an RSS news feed or an AP news wire for journalists.

Facebook is great for connecting with people you already know – high-school friends, co-workers, neighbors, family, etc. Twitter is awesome for connecting with people you may not know now, but want to know better. When you follow someone on Twitter, you seldom have to wait for their acceptance. Instead, you follow them immediately. There are settings that can make Twitter status updates (aka “tweets”) more secure, but Twitter is intended to be public, so many people don’t turn these on.

Neither Twitter nor Facebook is better than the other. Instead, they are different, and will likely co-exist for some time. Twitter may not be right for you … yet. But try it. And if it doesn’t make sense now, try it again later. Remember it took this author three attempts. Twitter’s value can be difficult to see at first glance.

Google Voice Rejection Reminiscent of MyNewber

Google Voice wrote an application for the iPhone which would revolutionize how we use our cell phones.  Unfortuantely, Apple and/or AT&T doesn’t appear to like this revolution and rejected this app from the Apple App Store.  It would cut into AT&T’s wireless revenue.

The Google Voice application provides you with a common phone number that you would use for the rest of your life.  You would configure it to forward to whatever your current phone number is.  You can even have it ring multiple phone numbers (work, mobile, home) and has voice mail when you don’t pick up.  Heck, it even has this awesome feature that will TRANSCRIBE your voice mail into TEXT!

But this isn’t the first time Apple/AT&T have blocked an app from the App Store that would hurt AT&T’s revenue stream.  When I was at CES earlier this year, I fell in love with this awesome iPhone app called MyNewber.  Ya see, MyNewber would allow you to have a second telephone line on your iPhone, which you could use for business or whatever.

What was really groundbreaking about the MyNewber app was that it used the GPS technology inside the iPhone.  For example, if you were at work, you could configure MyNewber to forward calls from your iPhone to your work phone.  While in the car, they would ring your iPhone.  When you reached home, MyNewber calls would forward to your home phone.  The GPS in your iPhone would know where you are, and forward to the correct phone.

Unfortunately, Apple never approved this app — even after a huge marketing campaign from FreedomVoice, the developers of the MyNewber application.  I’m guessing this is because it would reduce the usage of mobile minutes on your AT&T wireless bill.  Somehow, an iFart application can make it through the App Store, but MyNewber is left out to dry.

I look forward to the day Apple is exclusively in control of the App Store.

My Initial Reaction after Ooma Installation

Well, I finally did it. After contemplating ooma since CES in January this year, I finally forked over the $230 to buy the ooma hardware at Best Buy. And after the first couple days, I have to say that it’s phone quality is almost as good as a landline phone, and definately better than Vonage and my cell phone. Why do we keep calling them cell phones anyway?

Ooma is similar to Vonage, in that it’s a VOIP phone that connects your existing home phones into an Internet adapter to make your phone calls. All calls within the USA are free. And what’s even better is that there are NO MONTHLY PHONE BILLS! The hardware is your only purchase for basic home phone service with common features like Caller ID, Call Waiting, and Voice Mail. And if you like it, you can port your home phone number, so you don’t have to tell everyone that your phone number has changed! I feel like Elaine from Seinfeld with all these exclamation points.

I like ooma. Or is it Ooma? Not sure if you’re supposed to capitalize it. Nonetheless, it’s pretty awesome.

There are additional features you can pay $100/year for, though you totally don’t need them. But if you want, the chargeable premier features are 2nd phone line, Google Voice integration, and national blocked call lists (to block all the telemarketer and alumni association fundraiser calls). You can even create a personal call block list to block calls from an ex-girlfriend or local car dealership that recently found your phone number.

I give this device 4 out of 5 stars. Pretty darn good quality, no monthly fees, and a new ooma Telo product coming out will integrate the ooma box with 2 wireless phones, so they are continuing to innovate. I was a Vonage customer, twice, and wasn’t a fan either time. I’ll save that for a blog on another day, but trust me, the people at Vonage are lying thieves. Ooma is new to me, so they could turn out to be just as bad as Vonage, but right now, ooma’s on my nice list. Hope they stay there.

You can buy ooma at Amazon or Best Buy for $230. Check it out today.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

One of our most memorable experiences from our visit to Disney World this year was our daughter’s trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Quite expensive, but worth every penny.

The Boutique is a Disney salon that caters to any age, but mostly girls 3-10 participate. My daughter, Hayley, was 3 when we visited, and she enjoyed every minute of the experience.  There are two Boutique locations — one is in the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney, and the other is in Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom.  We went to the Downtown location, as the Magic Kingdom location was booked. We reserved our spot about three months in advance, so these salons seem to be pretty popular. When we arrived at the Boutique, every salon chair had a new princess in the making.

Hayley opted for the super-duper package, called the Castle Package, which includes the hair styling, the costume, and professional photos. The professional photos can be placed on your PhotoPass card, which allows you to buy the high-resolution digital pictures at the end of your vacation (which I also highly recommend). There’s another salon package that is much less expensive, which includes just the hair styling. If you have a costume at home, this is a great way to save money. Unfortunately, we forgot to pack Hayley a costume, but I think this may have enhanced the experience, as Hayley was able to pick-out her own new costume, along with ALL the accessories.

After picking out her costume and having her hair styled, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom, where we had a date with the princesses in Cinderella’s Castle for lunch. Apparently, a lot of parents have this great idea too, and many of the girls at our lunch had their hair styled and costumes on. Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, and Belle visited our table at lunch, which ended up being another highlight for the day.

Overall, we highly recommend the Boutique experience for anyone’s daughter. Hayley felt so special being cared for in the salon, and she wore her princess costume all day. Everyone at the park would comment how beautiful she was, and this really made her feel confident.

Toy Story Midway Mania

I found a new favorite attraction at Disney World, and it’s located in the newly-renamed Hollywood Studios’ Pixar section. The attraction is called Toy Story Midway Mania, and it’s something between a ride and a game.

If you’ve been to Magic Kingdom, this attraction is most similar to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Two people are placed in a pod with two toy guns (I use the word ‘gun’ loosely as they have strings on the back that you use to shoot, instead of a trigger). The pod is moved from station-to-station on a track. At each station are very large flat computer screens that play midway-style games, like ring-toss and ballon-pop. Players use the toy guns to toss rings, throw darts at balloons and balls at plates. Points are awarded, and a daily and all-time high-score list are displayed at the end of the ride.

The attraction is very kid-friendly and play is simple to follow. Woody and friends instruct you how to play, and there’s even a practice round at the beginning of the ride to become acquainted with the controls.

The technology behind this ride is fascinating. I never noticed at red lasers coming from the gun. Which makes me wonder if the sensor is in the gun or in the screen. Either way, it’s unnoticable, and that’s the beauty with this technology. It’s transparent to us.

I hope you get to visit Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World soon. Be sure to get in line for the Aerosmith coaster and Hollywood Hotel ride while you’re there. Star Tours (Star Wars) is another fun one that my five-year-old son loves too. Enjoy!