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Jay Whitenoreply@blogger.com2008-07-16T08:40:51.325-05:0010 Awesome Tools That'll Make You An Expert Twitter User</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 7/16/2008 by Abhijeet Mukherjee, of <a href="http://www.jeetblog.com/">Jeet Blog</a>.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://twitter.com/home"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SH36SysJ_3I/AAAAAAAAB8Y/RI4A4PQASr4/s400/twitter.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223606343571210098" border="0" /></a>There hasn't been a single day in the last few months when I haven't heard anything about <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>. Whether it's the simplicity of the product, various tools built on it's API, the famous and hyperactive twitter users, or the notorious downtimes, twitter hasn't failed to hog the limelight since its launch. In fact it wouldn't be an exaggeration if I said that there isn't a more popular or more simple tool. Twitter has had it's own share of criticism, primarily due to the downtimes it experienced (and still experiences quite often). This has many calling it an unproductive tool. However it has it's own benefits and hence has a huge fan following. It allows you to interact with many people simultaneously and in the simplest possible manner. So for all those twitter lovers, here are a set of tools which could further enhance your expertise as a twitter user and utilize it effectively. And those who despise twitter, there is no harm in taking a look. You might start loving it :) Before you read this, I would like to mention that this is not a comprehensive list of all twitter tools (there are hundreds of them) but these are the ones which I found very useful and thought would be good to share. And yes, these are some of the very few twitter apps which actually make sense! <ol><li>Desktop apps The best way to update twitter is through the various desktop apps like <a href="http://twhirl.org/">Twhirl</a> or <a href="http://alertthingy.com/">AlertThingy</a> for Windows and <a href="http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific/">Twitterific</a> for Mac. They have a nice interface and let you interact with other twitter users easily. However they might fail to update when they cross the limit or twitter has technical problems and you would then need to revert back to the web interface.</li> <li> Twitrefresh One of the main reasons twitter users prefer desktop apps and not it's web interface is because they have to manually refresh it to check the tweets. <a href="http://twitrefresh.com/">Twitrefresh</a> provides a solution to that and refreshes the twitter page after every 1 minute. Those who love twitter's web interface will find this tool very useful.</li> <li>Firefox extensions If you are one of those who don't like to leave their browser when they are online, then there are some cool firefox extensions like <a href="http://www.naan.net/trac/wiki/TwitterFox">Twitterfox</a> and <a href="http://twitbin.com/">Twitbin</a> which work like the desktop apps helping you to update and use twitter from right inside the browser. </li> <li> TwitterSnooze If you are getting a blast of tweets from a particular follower then you may want to snooze him/her using <a href="http://twittersnooze.com/">TwitterSnooze</a>. For example if you've got a follower who uses <a href="http://www.foxytunes.com/twittytunes/">Twittytunes</a> to update his twitter status then you could get frequent automated tweets from that person when he is listening to songs. If that gets irritating you can use this tool to snooze tweets from that person.</li> <li> Twitterfeed <a href="http://twitterfeed.com/">Twitterfeed</a> is a must use app if you're a blogger and use twitter. It retrieves the RSS feed of the blog and updates the twitter status when you publish a new post on the blog. This could be an additional source of traffic for your blog.</li> <li> Summize <a href="http://summize.com/">Summize</a> is the best way to search twitter real time for any information. It also has very good advanced search features which let you retrieve results quickly and easily. <a href="http://www.jeetblog.com/5-nice-tools-to-search-twitter-in-real-time/">Here is an article</a> which delves further into some nice tools to search twitter in real time. Note: This tool worked so well, <a href="http://blog.twitter.com/2008/07/finding-perfect-match.html">Twitter just bought it</a>.</li> <li> Twitterfone <a href="http://twitterfone.com/">Twitterfone</a> is a nifty tool which let's you post messages to your twitter account using your voice. It translates your voice into text and posts them. You can use it when you don't feel like using your cellphone's keypad to tweet.</li> <li> Twittercal Twittercal, as it says, connects your Twitter account to your Google Calendar account and let's you easily add events from twitter.</li> <li> Quotably <a href="http://www.quotably.com/">Quotably</a> let's you view the twitter conversations as a discussion thread and also allows you to reply to them and participate in the discussion. This can be very useful if you are looking to follow a particular discussion.</li> <li> Timer Last but not the least, <a href="http://twitter.com/timer">Timer</a> does a very simple but extremely useful thing. It uses twitter to remind you about a task at the time specified so that you don't forget to accomplish it.</li></ol>I hope you'll find all or some of these tools useful as a twitter user. You could also <a href="http://twitter.com/jeetblog">follow me on twitter</a> and discuss more twitter features and what you like or hate about twitter. -Abhijeet <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=9548e3528d8e5ccacc4ede1cb546aceb"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=9548e3528d8e5ccacc4ede1cb546aceb"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=9548e3528d8e5ccacc4ede1cb546aceb" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=nbSze2"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=nbSze2" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=LO5Iaj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=LO5Iaj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=I0YN4j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=I0YN4j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=3vnHoj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=3vnHoj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=ConGzj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=ConGzj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=Mrz8aJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=Mrz8aJ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~4/337088953" height="1" width="1"/></content><author><name>Jay White</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><updated>2008-07-16T08:41:42.710-05:00</updated><title type="text">6 Ways to Cut Costs on your Wedding Day</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 7/15/2008 by Jim who writes about money & personal finance at <a href="http://www.bargaineering.com/articles">Blueprint for Financial Prosperity</a>.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/morton/525462691/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SH0CeGwTEPI/AAAAAAAAB7w/CTVdLZj8FDo/s400/wedding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223333859052163314" border="0" /></a>Having recently been married myself, last February, I'm acutely aware of how expensive weddings have become in America. Couple that with how our economy is in free-fall and it's clear that anyone looking at a wedding in the next few years will have to keep things as economical as possible. Gone are the days when you could sell a couple share of Google and have your wedding all paid for. Here are seven tips you can use to help reduce the cost of your wedding. <ol><li> Invite Fewer People Catering expenses are per person. Invitation costs are per person. So many of the expenses in a wedding are per person, so logically it makes sense that to save money you need fewer people. Unfortunately, it's difficult to <a href="http://www.lifeorganizers.com/wedding/5-Ways-To-Cut-Your-Wedding-Guest-List.html">cut your invitation list</a>. So, how do you do it? Consider having a <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Small-Private-Wedding">smaller ceremony</a> that includes only family or close friends and family. If I'm friends with someone and they told me they were having a small ceremony with only family, I wouldn't feel slighted (unless I was family!) if I wasn't invited. But also consider having a non-wedding party celebration for those you didn't invite as a compromise and you'll find that caterers will charge far less per person. :)</li> Get At Least 5 Catering Quotes Unless you're going the firehall wedding route, catering will be the most expensive line item of your entire wedding and so it makes sense to try to trim as much as you can here. You'll have a lot of choices and lot will have to do with your personal preferences but one thing you have to do is get five quotes minimum. It will seem like a lot of work to call up five different places and schedule five different tastings but it'll be worth it. Our cheapest quote was offered by the most professional operating and best tasting catering company and was the fourth quote we requested. In addition to getting the lay of the land, five quotes gives you <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/02/art-of-negotiation-fifteen-steps-to.html">flexibility in negotiations</a>. The economy is bad for caterers as well (companies are having fewer catered functions) and so they'll take a few percentage points off just to get the work; use that to your advantage. <li>Skip the Wedding Planner If money is no option, hire a wedding planner. For most folks, <a href="http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_wedding/article/0,2025,DIY_13783_3517092,00.html">doing it yourself</a> is the more economical, and harder, option. Wedding planners aren't all bad though, they have a network of folks they are familiar with and can potentially negotiate discounts in your favor. However, most people I've talked to who have used one say that you hire one to save you time and headache, not money. Instead, get a wedding planning book and follow the checklists they provide.</li> <li>Invitations This is another one of those "per person" charges and it doesn't really hurt to go austere on invitations and Save The Dates. You won't save a lot on invitations even if you go simple but every little bit counts. Go to a crafts store for some fancier paper, glue, and print your invitations. If you don't have a good printer, consider getting the cards printed on colored card stock and assembling something nice on your own. Finally, turn your RSVP cards into RSVP postcards, rather than cards inside envelopes, and you can save a few cents on return postage.</li> <li>Sheet Cake Instead of getting a huge ornately decorated wedding cake that's large enough to feed everyone, consider getting a smaller decorated cake and several flat sheet cakes. After the cake is cut, no one will know (or care) if it started its life as a sheet cake or the actual decorated wedding cake. The baker will usually give you a discount on the price because a sheet is far easier to make and transport.</li> <li>Amateur Photographers/Videographers This particular tip is risky but you can save a few thousand dollars by forgoing the professional photographer or videographer (we didn't use a videographer) and leveraging any burgeoning amateurs you know may. With how far technology has come, amateur photographers can do just as well as the professionals when it comes to taking stills. If they understand composition and other basic <a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/wedding-photography-21-tips-for-for-amateur-wedding-photographers/">photography concepts</a>, you probably will be happy with their work. The risk of a bad job is always there and it's magnified since amateur photographers likely won't be used to working eight hour stretches. Also, afterwards you might have to do the touching up yourself (or again rely on friends and family!), but you could save money by going this route.</li> <li>Buy Bridal Bargains Book Every bride I talked to, including my wife, raved about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridal-Bargains-Throwing-Fantastic-Realistic/dp/1889392081">Bridal Bargains</a> by Denise Fields. You can probably find a copy at your local library or just ask someone who recently got married. Inside you'll find a wealth of cost cutting ideas that will rival any resource you'll find anywhere. They recently released an 8th edition so it's very current on the trends and very comprehensive. </li></ol>Remember, every dollar you save is one that you can blow on the honeymoon! -Jim <img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=d4e1425b62832aa3442d2848ff70f622" height="1" width="1"/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=d4e1425b62832aa3442d2848ff70f622" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=87BwWO"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=87BwWO" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=66b2c05330304248a29f2f3cb0c4f3b6&u=%%UNIQUEID%%"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=66b2c05330304248a29f2f3cb0c4f3b6&u=%%UNIQUEID%%" border="0"/></a> </td></tr> <td> <a href="/dmoz/"> Top</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Arts/"> Arts</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Business/"> Business</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Computers/"> Computers</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Games/"> Games</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Health/"> Health</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/Kids_and_Teens/"> Kids</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/News/"> News</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Recreation/"> Recreation</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Reference/"> Reference</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Regional/"> Regional</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Science/"> Science</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Shopping/"> Shopping</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Society/"> Society</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/Sports/"> Sports</a> | <a href="http://www.brujula.net/dmoz/World/"> World</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/dmoz/World/"> Languages</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/news/"> News</a> | <a href="http://www.ba.net/news/"> Blogs</a> <HR NOSHADE> <center> <!!--#exec cmd="/cgi-bin/banner"--> <table><td> <script type="text/javascript"> GA_googleFillSlot("news-banner-bottom"); </script> <td> <a href="http://www.ba.net/about/"> <img src="http://ba.net/gifs/adbrite-your-ad-here-banner.gif" style="background-color:#CCCCCC;border:none;padding:0;margin:0;" alt="Your Ad Here" width="11" height="60" border="0" align=right></a> </table> <form method="POST" action="http://www.brujula.net/cgi-bin/buscar"> <input name="text" size="45"> <input type="submit" value="Search"> <input type="hidden" name="buscador" value="categorias-en"> </form> BA.net Brujula.Net © 2008 <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/acerca/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">advertising</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">english</a> <A HREF="http://www.brujula.net/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">español</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/italia/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">italiano</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/germany/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">germany</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/japan/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">japan</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/france/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">france</a> <A HREF="http://www.ba.net/world/" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">more</a> <A HREF="javascript:window.external.AddFavorite(window.location.href,document.title)" STYLE="text-decoration:none;font-size:xx-small">bookmark</A> </center> </td> </TABLE> </TD> <TD valign="top"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="23" height="1"></TD> <TD bgcolor="#333366" valign="top"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="3" height="1"></TD> </TR> <TR bgcolor="#ffffff"> <TD colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFCC66" valign="top"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="1" height="24" border="0"></TD> <TD colspan="3" valign="top"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="1" height="24" border="0"></TD> <TD rowspan="2" colspan="2" bgcolor="#333366" valign="middle"> <CENTER> > </CENTER> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD colspan="5" bgcolor="#333366" valign="top"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="1" height="3"></TD> </TR> <TR bgcolor="#666699"> <TD colspan="8"><IMG src="http://www.brujula.net/gifs/sep3horiz.gif" width="1" height="10"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> </BODY></HTML>