This is the 2nd part of my research and analysis of Twitter Apps. Its somewhat brief, but since there are so many I do not want to type out an elaborated report for each of them. If you want to know more, you gotta ask me 🙂 (Note: this is strictly my own opinion based on my experience and analysis.)
The Apps covered in this post is to find interesting and note worthy Tweets on Twitter. It will help you understand the world better. Hope this helps!
Topics by Search:
Twitter Search (Search for the latest trends on Twitter): Most basic. Difficult access, but fast and MOST up to date. Also updates real time. 8/10
Flaptor Search (A search tool that can be installed on your browser): OK. Less up-to-date. Fast. Nice going with browser. Unnecessary if you have TweetDeck. 7/10
Tweet Scan (Search keywords and people on Twitter): Very Slow. Doesn’t find relevant info. Not very up to date. Pretty bad. 3/10
Twitterment (Search Twitter users and topics): Fast but just does a Google search relating to Twitter. Pretty useless. 2/10
TweetDeck Search (Desktop App that also has Search Functions): TweetDeck is one of the most amazing Twitter Apps because it makes almost all your Twitter activities easier and faster. After the DL, its search is easy to access and updates real time. Highly Recommended. 9/10
Topics by Type
Tweetmeme (find out the latest Stories on Twitter by type of file): Well designed, very inviting, good topics, you can choose what type of files you like (image, video, audio etc etc). One problem is lack of info on how its compiled. 7/10
Topics by Hype
Twitturly (Find out the most talked about stories on Twitter based on Links): Good info. Nicely done. Does not show the content very well. 8/10
Twitscoop (A search tool that tracks trends as well as certain events): Well made. Tag Cloud finally put in good use. Easy to browse, easy to access and very up to date. Chosen by Tweetdeck. 9/10
Favotter (Find out the most favored tweets): This idea is very good . Fewer tweets get favorited than RTed, so it must be quality stuff. Not much news but some witty lines. Helps you be a better Tweeter. 8/10
Topics by Special Interest
Twistori (Find out what tweeter’s loves, hates, believes, etc.): This is awesome. It lets you understand the world better and connect with people better. However, it does not link to the actual tweeters. A big disappointment. 8/10
GoodBadMe (Keep track of the good and bad on the twitterverse): Interesting idea, but not very well executed. Hard to read tweets, and not very engaging. One of those sites that are fun to know about but wouldn’t really use often. 4/10
Find this Useful? Share this with your friends by tweeting this: “A Rating for Popular Twitter Apps II: Discovering Worthy Topics and Tweets http://bit.ly/xSUm”
So since I’m being paid as a Twitter Consultant right now, I’m doing some research regarding all the Popular Twitter Apps out there. I thought since I’m doing the work anyway, I might as well share some knowledge to my readers. Its somewhat brief, but since there are so many I do not want to type out an elaborated report for each of them. If you want to know more, you gotta ask me 🙂 (Note: this is strictly my own opinion based on my experience and analysis.)
This is the first post about the Twitter Apps I checkout regarding how to find Tweeples to follow. Hope this helps!
Twits like Me (Find out people like you): Not particularly good. Couldn’t find relevant people to me. 3/10
Twellow (A Twitter directory sorted by occupation): Excellent. Fast, gets the people you want ranked by followers, and shows all relevant data. 9/10
Just Tweet It (A twitter directory sorted by interest): Decent. A bit unfriendly. 7/10
Twubble (Automatically finds people who are compatible with your interests): Quite good. Fast and easy. Shows you who do people you respect follow. Doesn’t tell you details of person though. 7/10
Mr Tweet (Finds worthy followers that you are not following, and influences beyond your network): Excellent. Like Twubble but better and shows more info, including Tweet Frequency, Ratio, and Behavior(!). 9/10
Twittie Me (Creates a twitter ad for you on front page and allows you to find others): Not that good. Hassle to use. 3/10
Twitdir (Search for words in usernames, locations or descriptions): Quite complete. VERY slow. Average. 6/10
Twitter Grader Search (Search for top Tweeters with certain keywords): Excellent too. Fast and shows you the top Tweeters regarding each topic. Limited to top people. 8/10
TwitStat (looks at your tweeting behavior): Interesting App, as it can find the “most social” “happiest” “most tired” “most responded” people in the last 14 days. The interface is not very well built, and you can’t really get much of the info of the people. Interesting but not that great. 6/10
Find this Useful? Share this with your friends by tweeting this: “A Rating for Popular Twitter Apps I: Searching for Tweeples To Follow http://bit.ly/nx6p”
AM
8:30-10:30 Class
10:30-12:30 Coordinating email communication for the Professional Committee in Delta Sigma Pi(Business Fraternity) PM
1:00-3:00 Meeting for my consulting startup Veridical Group with client from Re/Max
3:30-5:30 Class
6:00-8:00 Professional and Resume Meeting with a Delta Sigma Pi member
8:00-10:00 Facilitator of the Think Tank
10:00-12:00 Econ HW due midnight AM
12:00-3:00 Structure, stratagize, and discuss Think Tank status and future with leader
3:00-4:30 Drive home and coordinate emails regarding the Think Tank, Veridical Group, and DSP
4:30-5:00 Write this blog
Life is leading me towards exciting places, and I cannot wait to be able to create more value for people in this world. I rather have a busy schedule/life with meaning than a chill schedule/life that does not stand for anything. At this point, only school is an annoying drag, and I need to spend more time on my large Startup: FD World.
This morning, around 1:00AM, I was getting gas on gayley, and a homeless guy approached me seeking for some change. I only had a twenty, so I told him I would go to the store, buy something, and give him a dollar or two. While I was walking towards it, I thought why don’t I just also buy something for him. He told me there isn’t something in that store he needs, but he needs to buy hot soup for him and his wife at Ralphs. I offered to drive him to Ralph and buy soup with him instead.
So on the car we had a good chat. We talked a bit about the government, people, annoying paperworks, geeks and the Geek Squad. Tony is homeless for awhile because he didn’t get the paperwork in, and so the government canceled his welfare until next month. Long time ago he used to be a factory worker in a chemical factory, and he accidentally got hurt, and since then had no ability to do good work. I asked him if he had hobbies if he was able to have any, and he said, “not really, maybe crossword puzzles.”
When we got to Ralphs, since it was so late, there were no hot soup. I then offered to buy him a whole roasted chicken. He was ultra-grateful and thanked me continuously. I told him the truth, that it was simply from the mercy of the Lord. I then offered to have him and his wife drop by my place some time so I can make some food to eat together. He liked the idea, but he said he can’t make a decision for both him and his wife, hence he cannot say yes to it. I told him I respect his care for his wife’s opinion.
Afterwards, he thanked me and told me he didn’t want to trouble me anymore. I told him to take a good rest because it is late at night, and make sure he doesn’t rest hungrily. He said that whenever I see him around, stop by because he wants to somehow pay me back if he could. I told him not to worry about it.
Anyway, I’m telling this not because I want to let people know that behind the craziness, I’m a pretty nice guy, but just to express that there are too little events like these that occur in society. I figured that $8 to me is worth A LOT less than $8 to this guy, and I thought it was an overall gain in the transaction. I know a lot of these homeless people choose to be like that, and buy drugs with new money, but there are poor fellas who just ended in a bad place due to bad luck. I am not asking people to sacrifice that extra boba, starbucks, or jamba juice money to the homeless people, but simply to be kind and express care. I think talking to them like a real person and expressing care is more valuable to these people than a couple quarters.
I am an entrepreneur, and believe I have the qualities of one. However, I feel that the term Entrepreneurship is used too generically. An entrepreneur could be one who opened his/her coffee shop. It could be a scientist who made a new technology and started his own business. It could be a high school kid starting a lawn mowing service. It could be someone finding students to tutor or making money through a one-page website. So what does it mean when I say “I am an entrepreneur?” Which one am I? How do people know?
Yes, I understand the key characteristic is the Entrepreneurial Spirit, in which flows commonly between persistent entrepreneurs, big and small. Many well-known entrepreneurs started off their careers providing a simple service, hence the common reference of the lemonade stand. But I would like to create different classification of Entrepreneurs. Just like Eskimos have more than a dozen words for different kinds of snow, entrepreneurs should have clearer terms for what they do.
I think the type of entrepreneur should be classified by these traits:
Scale: how many employees, customers, revenue etc.
Difficulty in Initiation: requires permits and regulations, fund raising, new technology, patents.
Opportunity Cost: what he needs to give up in order to become an entrepreneur. Could they make $200,000 a year anyway if they didn’t start the business?
Creativity/Originality: truly created something new in society, or just following the trend.
Risk Associated: what do you lose if you fail?
Past Ventures/Experience: whether or not this venture is the first one. Also, one who failed once is often greater than one who succeeded once, because anyone could fail, but it is more entrepreneurial for one to fail and not give up.
With these means of measurement, I made some classifications. Some entrepreneurs fit in two or more of these categories, but I don’t see that as a problem. In addition, many people start with one, acquire experience, and slowly move to a different group.
Classification 1: Solo-Service Entrepreneur
Usually a sole proprietorship (just him/herself) with friends as customers. It’s most often a service that requires time but little or no investment. There are few opportunity costs as Solo-Service Entrepreneur sare mostly students who are selling gum or mowing someone’s lawn. The tasks are usually generally not original. Needless to say, they have limited experiences in entrepreneurship.
Classification 2: Commodity Entrepreneur
These are entrepreneurs who make healthy investments to start something that is somewhat saturated in the market. This means you can find many similar businesses that do the same thing. Most restaurants and coffee shops, as well as common commodity businesses are within this category. They usually follow what the Opportunity Entrepreneur does after it becomes common and adapted. When asked why they started that business, it is usually not because they see a special demand or a better way to do things in the market, but simply because they think it would be interesting (“I always wanted to open a flower shop”), or they are good at the technical work of that business and want to open a business with that skill. Real Estate would be categorized as Commodity Entrepreneurship.
For those who don’t know, network marketing is the pyramid way of doing business, where you do business, and you recruit other people to run divisions under you. They do the same, and you get some commission from those under. It’s legit business as they truly create some value, as long as they are actually selling a valuable product or service. I feel like the initialization process for this type of entrepreneur is too easy, and the opportunity often comes to search for you with full force, not the other way around (entrepreneurs create opportunities themselves). I feel this is more of a salesman/manager than an entrepreneur, as even though one needs to make entrepreneurial tactical decisions, nothing truly new is created. You just follow someone’s model, use someone’s equipment, and have relatively small investment and risk. 80% of the business is worked out for you. Most people can start without any past experience (as a Starting Entrepreneur). However, it is true that the same problems with stress and creativity runs in Network Marketing, so it is still considered entrepreneurial.
Classification 4: Opportunity Entrepreneur
Opportunity Entrepreneurs look at the newest trends, figure out what works, and do it. They usually identify some competitive advantage and start something that exists, except better. The scale is usually decent and initial investment is usually pretty large. Starting is difficult because one needs to go through all regulations and registrations as well as obtain decent capital. Risk is relatively high because it is hard to rightly evaluate which market trends can be followed and have the technical abilities and timing to do it well. Creativity/Originality is based on how the entrepreneur picks the business and the creative processes to get a solid edge, but it is not completely innovative. In an Economics graph of supply and demand, these are the people that “shift the supply curve forward” when there seems to be profit in an industry. Finally, Opportunity Entrepreneurs often have some past experience as a Solo-Service Entrepreneur.
Classification 5: Innovation Entrepreneur
These people create something new, something no one else has ever done in an industry. They identify something that does not exist yet is missing, and they do what it takes to make it happen. The scale usually would be pretty big in order to bring something completely new into the market. The difficulty in initiation is extremely high, especially in some industries. However, the strongest characteristic about an Innovation Entrepreneur is that they think outside the box, and are willing to take huge risks, as nothing has indicated this business would work at all!
Classification 6: High Tech Entrepreneur
The High Tech Entrepreneur can be some of the most respectable in terms of being entrepreneurial. Instead of creating improvements or introducing something good in an industry, they create industries. These guys invented computers and start the entire computer industry. They invented automobiles and started the automobile industry with all its parts and accessories. As you can tell, it is incredibly hard to initiate such a business. Investments, creativity level, and risk are all extremely high. You are investing for something that might not even be created! (let along being tested and proven) These companies usually need to be backed up by Venture Capitalists, and it also has a high chance of failing due to technology competition (someone might be already almost done with what you are trying to make when you are still mindlessly inventing).
It takes a true Entrepreneur to spend this much time, money, money forfeited elsewhere, and energy for this huge a risk. However, there must not be a mix-up between Inventors and Entrepreneurs. There are cases where the Inventor is also an Entrepreneur (or Entrepreneurial), but many times simply knowing the technological work of making a new product does not make one an Entrepreneur. Inventors create new great products, but entrepreneurs create new great businesses.
Classification 7: Escape Entrepreneur
Some people go on their ventures because they simply want to make a lot of money and/or want to be their own boss. In essence, they are entrepreneurs because they want to “escape” from something else. These are wrong motives and usually result in a failing business (unfortunately, this is the majority of people who start businesses, and is part of why so many businesses fail.) Often times, these entrepreneurs fail because they realize that being an entrepreneur means working twice as much as having a job, and getting paid 1/3 of it, especially in early years. The “grind” will often make them lose motivation and “escape” back to their former career.
So the big four accounting firms have long names like PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and such, and the reason for that is that accounting firms combine together and form a larger firm, and their original names were often named after the founders’ last names.
If this exact same phenomenon would happen in China, than this dialogue would happen:
“Hey, where do you work at?”
“Oh, I work at Chou Yang & Lee.”
“NO WAY! That’s like, one of the largest firms in China! I only work for Chen Chou Wang…”
“Haha, that’s ok. It’s still a formidible firm.”
“What about me? I work for Liu Lee & Chan.”
“Umm, never heard of that one. Probably sucks.”
Do you know that the game of bingo actually goes back several centuries! What more, it’s a form of entertainment that has helped a great multitude of people, from all walks of life, to get through difficult circumstances at various times in the world history. During the times of economic depression, people used to stay entertained by playing bingo at non-operational movie theatres.
Furthermore, it’s a proven and well-documented fact that playing bingo the conventional way or on the internet can help boost brain’s reflexes and activity- whether you are right brained or left brained. In fact, you can go to some no deposit bonus casinos and start playing bingo right away without any money (or real money) on the internet!
Talking more about the mental benefits of bingo, in the UK, tests have revealed that people who regularly play bingo score significantly higher on the mental ability tests.
You’ll often see these people exhibiting better mental speeds, better memory and better ability of picking information from their surroundings.
Bingo trains your brains!
Research has repeatedly revealed that playing bingo positively impacts the way in which brain processes information. The thinking capacity of humans declines gradually as they age, however studies have found that playing bingo can possibly counter this effect. The stimulation of brain cells caused by the game enables you to easily process and recall the stored information.
Furthermore, if you play the harder versions of the game, for instance 75 ball bingo that features more difficult patterns, it can further improve your mental abilities. Therefore, you might want to switch to the difficult bingo versions that you had been avoiding for so long!
Improves reaction times
Another significant area where bingo can help you get better at is your brain’s reflexes. When you play this game you are required to remember the patterns and numbers within certain time limits. This can improve both the concentration as well as reaction time of your brain. Another similar game that has the same kind of impact is Sudoku.
Prevents cognitive disorders
Another bingo related benefit you should know about is that the mental stimulation caused by this game can help greatly in prevention of cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia, at later stages of your life. Playing it regularly or even in short-bursts every now and then can both have a long-term therapeutic effect on your mind.
But please don’t become a bingo addict!
However, please note, these facts aren’t provided to make you start playing bingo at every living moment of your existence! Instead, you can consider playing this game for fun at least couple of times a week! Perhaps you could undergo a memory test before starting playing and then do another test after playing it regularly for a few months!
After all, the best way to know the effectiveness of a method is by trying it first-hand!
