Check out my personal blog at http://dangarion.com or my food blog at http://eatinoc.com

Thanks!
Daniel

I've been on the Internet for about 14 years now. I remember using the Mosaic browser, and even Lynx. I've seen lots of trends come and go. I've usually been close to the cutting edge when it comes to the "next big thing" on the Internet. One of the biggest trends on the Internet lately is the number of people who claim they are Social Media Experts. If there was ever a completely overused term for the 2009 version of the Internet it is this term. From my observation those that claim to be social media experts are so just because they make the claim. I've been on the Internet, interacting socially with others for years. I've had various forms of blogs for 9+ years, used messengers, chat rooms, MMORPG, and etc. for years, thus my experience has to count for something, especially when compared to these people who all of the sudden claim they are the experts.

From my observation of the users of Twitter, just about 10% of its population claim to be a social media expert. I find it humorous that so many people claiming are to be experts in social media. First let us look at what Social Media is. According to Wikipedia.

Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media supports the human need for social interaction, using Internet- and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.

What you are reading right now (my blog) is a social interaction, it's highly accessible at a domain that I've owned for 9+ years, and it's scalable since I can easily expand upon it. I allow social interaction, by the way of comments, which allows others to add their input to the information I share, and I've become a content producer because of this. So if I read this definition correctly, I've done everything "social media" is for nearly 9 years, which in turn would probably make me an expert in the field. How many other social media experts can claim this much experience? Don't answer that question it's not really important. I guess my main point is what makes someone an expert in their field? In most fields it comes down to experience (hands on actually doing it day in day our experience) or certifications (book knowledge but no actual usage). I don't know of a Social Media Expert certification so it comes down to experience. Experience isn't having a couple thousand followers on Twitter, anyone can honestly do that, with a couple minutes of work a day. I have only 160 followers on Twitter because I've chosen the path of not automatically following everyone that follows me. This is an active decision I've made because I like to communicate personally with the people who follow me. The creation of lists on Twitter appears to be my chance to finally expand my followers-base. I can no separate people I follow into those that I want to personally communicate on a whatever my time frame is basis, and those that I just want to disseminate content to.

I wasn't looking to actual make a point, just share my thoughts on the current state of Web 2.0 and the Social Media Expert explosion. This is Daniel Schoonover Social Media Expert extraordinaire saying, don't sell yourself short, but also don't oversell yourself.

Originally published at Powered By Dan!. » Click here « to leave any comments.

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We will always have the USC Trojan song girls to cheer us up. Terrible loss by the Trojans this weekend, but honestly I didn't think this team was as good as some of the last couple teams we've had. The defense was very suspect this week. Here is to bouncing back. Looking forward to UCLA in a couple weeks, maybe we can continue their winless Pac-10 streak...

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There is only one thing I need to post this week.

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NBC has requested 6 more episodes of Chuck! So now we will get 19!

TV Squad
via NBC wants more Chuck and so do I.

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Just added some new caching to my server to help reduce PHP and DB queries. Want to test that posting works fine.

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Two Weeks in a Row! Two Weeks in a Row! Ok, now that Im done with that. USC beat Notre Dame last week, it was nail biter of a game al the way through, but the better team ended up with the victory. On Sunday, Kelly and I went up to Oak Glen (near Yucaipa) to do our annual apple picking. Unfortunately all the u-pick farms were closed due to a hail storm that knocked off the blossoms. So we ended up getting some pumpkins and also some apple cider and headed to Victoria Gardens instead. Tomorrow we are having a Windows 7 Launch Party! Should be fun reason to get together for no real reason, other that to watch the USC game. Im going to cook bangers on the grill and we even have some door prizes for those that bring the digital cameras with them. Lastly I put a job bid in for a System Engineer position here at work. We will see what happens, Im not looking to leave my department, but Id like to get back to a more technical role if the price is right. Lastly, I really want to go make some beer at Brew Bakers, maybe someone could get me a gift certificate to do that

Now, on to the links!

TV Stuff
If you have ever wanted to know more about the themes that make TV writing then I highly suggest to take a couple hours to browse and read around TV Tropes. Its especially a great read for anyone thats ever wanted to learn the tricks of the trade for writing anything from Comics to TV.

Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, what's the difference?



Music Stuff
Looking for music like the music you like? Check out Musicovery, a music discovery service. Doing a search for Jimmy Eat World on there actually links me to a number of other bands Ive also enjoyed throughout the years. Pretty impressive.

Here is a funny music video



Chicks Man
If you are interested in attractive philologists, check out Hot for Words. Shes not really my type, but hey I know there are a lot of you out there that like big boobed blondes.

Check out these chicks melting ice.



Food Stuff
Lifehacker had an article this week on 10 Simple Freeze Tricks to Save You Time and Money. Info and links about what can be frozen (Broccoli yes, Onions No) to how to make your freeze more efficient. Its a good starting place for many people.

Windows 7 Stuff (Tech Stuff)
So yesterday Windows 7 was released. Ive already been using it for 3 weeks and think its pretty great, especially the 64bit version because nothing beats using 8 gigs of RAM on a computer (except 16 gigs). A number of websites had guides for Windows 7, but Lifehackers Complete Guide to Windows 7 is the most comprehensive, plus it links to lots of other great starting points to learn more. If you are looking for a more historical look at Windows, you have to check out Maximum PCs 50 Best (and Worst) Moments in Windows History.

Funny Stuff
Check out Lifes pictorial on 30 Dumb Inventions, how about those screaming tomatoes, and to think people follow that crackpots religion. I only read Maxim magazine for the articles, thats why Im sharing the 10 People in Every Office article they recently posted. Lastly check out Stuff White People Life and Photobomb for some more funnies.

Oh no the Pixar lamp killed the letter I!

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Oh wow, it's been nearly a month since I've had a "weekly" cool links! Apologies to the three of you that actually check out my blog, I hope you didn't get too sad due to the lack of updates... Not much really going on here, it rained the last couple days, which was nice. We hadn't had rain since the spring, so it was nice to get some wet weather. Of course they say is supposed to be back up to the high 80's this weekend... Not much else is new, so I'll just get to the meat and potatoes of the post... The Weekly Cool Links! You would think I'd have a lot of them, but there really hasn't been that much that I consider cool lately...

Halloween Stuff
Halloween is coming up so Kelly and I are working on making our place a little spooky for the trick or treaters that were are expecting (our first Halloween with them). So far we have lights up on our porch, and three pumpkins. I'm exploring the use of dry ice in our flower bed to make it a bit foggy, and also looking at some other options for scariness. Recently I found this section on Halloween Props over at Instructables. I'm thinking of trying my luck on one of two of these.

Software Stuff
It's here again, the top voted software from Lifehacker, this list is from their April to September voting. Lots of good stuff there, and most of the software is free or has free versions to try before you throw down some money.

Cool Stuff
Ever needed to open a Master combo lock that you lost the combo to? Well you can either do it by figuring out the combination (about a 5 minute process if you follow this guide) or you can use a cut up soda can... The choice is yours.

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Funny Stuff
Bootysweat must be checked out personally to appreciate it, that' the most I'll say about that. I highly suggest creating the video for a friend at the end. For anyone that is a How I Met Your Mother fan, you'll appreciate the website, It Was The Best Night Ever. And lastly what Weekly Cool Links isn't complete without some sexist vintage advertising? For more great "vintage" ads check out Marcy Writes.

Cool Videos

Like always I have some videos to share. First video is a link to an SNL parody video of the Disney Vault, really looking forward to checking out 101 Fellations!

So this is what my parents were up to in their teens!


Can't wait for Lost to come back, but this can hold you over till then.


Lastly a list of Fan cuts of TV shows and movies like the Lost one above.

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Big congrats go out to my friends Pam and Jim who are soon going to get married! WOOHOO!

Pam & Jim.

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Oktoberfest, 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com.

It's Oktoberfest, queue the young women in cute outfits!

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