Living Without Twitter

Earlier this month, I wrote a post about why I don't need Twitter.

Everything I wrote in that post is still true for me, but as I looked through popular bookmarks on Delicious yesterday, I started thinking of ways I might use Twitter. I came across a collection of social bookmark icon sets and Mashable's post about Blogger widgets, many of which were Twitter-themed. I considered incorporating Twitter into this blog and posting interesting links I found throughout the day. Hypothetical Tweets floated around my mind.

Then I thought about how I don't need to get involved in another web service, that I stopped using StumbleUpon and hardly Digg anything anymore. I remembered I don't even update my Facebook status that much. Currently it says something about not having anything to write as my status.

Leo at Zen Habits posted How to Get Things Done with Twitter today. I know the post is for people who already use Twitter a lot. It's not meant to convince people start Tweeting, but I still read the post looking for a reason to start.

I realized most of the tips and uses listed in Leo's post I already have covered.

My version of his list:

1. Reminders. Post It notes, a comment in my planner, or a calendar event in my cell phone.

2. To-do list. I use to-do gadgets in iGoogle and NetVibes, and I keep paper to-do lists. I used Remember the Milk for a while too.

3. Calendar. Regular paper planner. I take it with me everywhere (which is handy, being a college student) and write down assignments, meetings, and anything else I need to keep track of.

4. Delegate. I don't have to delegate many things, but e-mail works for me when I do.

5. Follow up. E-mail again. Phone call if necessary.

6. Accountability with goals. Not something I really need, but I could use Facebook for it. Use my status, write notes, or write on friends' walls.

7. Get info or ideas quickly. I think this would be the most useful for Twitter if you had a good network. I'm limited to people I know or browsing the internet for ideas and info.

8. Do real work. I know people write poetry and even stories on Twitter, but the 140 character limit would frustrate me. If I want to write something, I'll open Word or pull out a notebook and write it down. No limits, no formats to worry about.

I've never used Twitter, so I can't speak from experience but it seems like it would be a huge distraction for me. That's why I stopped using StumbleUpon. I wasted too much time on it. Same with Digg. I don't even sign onto instant messenger anymore when I have work to do because I find it's too much of a distraction.

Social networking is a great way to get up to date information, stay connected, and find people with similar interests. There is a breaking point, though, where social media cuts into your other work and hinders your productivity. Twitter would push me to that breaking point.

Social bookmarking: Diigo and Delicious

I started using social bookmarking last year after using Bookmarks in Firefox became messy and inefficient. I set up folders and subfolders but I was bookmarking so many sites--to read later on or for future use--that it became impossible to go back and find the sites I saved. Firefox 3 has a tagging feature for bookmarks, but I thought if I was going to go through all of my bookmarks and tag them, I might as well use a social bookmarking service so I could organize my bookmarks and also access them from any internet connection.

I came across Delicious early on. It’s a popular service and probably one of the oldest. It’s simple, dependable, and easy to use. Delicious integrates nicely with Firefox (just three small buttons next to the address bar). You can pull up a sidebar with your bookmarks or you can access your bookmarks through www.delicious.com. I also like keyboard shortcuts and the ability to keep individual bookmarks private.

I was happy using Delicious and some months later, I stumbled across Diigo. Diigo is similar to Delicious but it has more of a social aspect. You can leave comments and sticky notes on sites that other Diigo users can see. You can highlight text on sites so you can reference the important parts later. That's handy for research. The service emphasizes social networking with groups and friends. There’s social networking in Delicious, but it’s more prominent in Diigo.

The downside to Diigo is that you have to install a whole toolbar if you want to integrate it with your browser. I didn’t see an immediate way the added features in Diigo would be beneficial to me, but I tried it out anyway.

I imported my Delicious bookmarks into Diigo easily enough. All my tags carried over. The bookmarking aspect of Diigo is exactly the same as Delicious, so I didn’t need to figure out anything new to use Diigo.

I used Diigo for a month and a half and then switched back to Delicious. Why? For starters, I was using Diigo exactly the way I used Delicious. I wasn’t leaving sticky notes on any sites, and I wasn’t highlighting any text. I didn't use the social aspect of Diigo because I had no use for it. So I updated my Delicious bookmarks and uninstalled the Diigo toolbar.

The only thing I miss about Diigo is the hot bookmarks list. I do think it’s better set up than the Popular and Recent bookmark lists in Delicious. Anyone can see Diigo’s hot bookmarks, though, without using the service. (Same goes for the Popular and Recent lists in Delicious. You don’t have to use it to see them.)

Delicious is all I need in a bookmarking service, so that’s why I went back to it. What are your thoughts on social bookmarking? Which service do you use?

Watchmen still set for March 9

FOX and Warner Brothers agreed on a settlement and Watchmen will still be released on March 9, as planned.

Check it out on The Movie Blog.

Lex might come back to Smallville

Here's the second post in a row about a show I no longer watch.

The Movie Blog posted today that Michael Rosenbaum might return to Smallville if there's a season 9.

I loved Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal of Lex Luthor up to the point where he obsessed over Lana. Lex could come back to Smallville for an episode or two, but like The Move Blog, I want to see Michael Rosenbaum in something else--preferably movies. He did an incredible job with Lex. Time to move on.

Smallville Season 9?

The Movie Blog posted yesterday that Smallville may have a ninth season. And this is the first thing I thought:

Really?

I haven't regularly watched Smallville since the 100th episode in season 5, and I haven't seen any of season 8 so I can't comment on what the show is like now. I do know, however, that the CW struggled last year to get Alison Mack (who plays Chloe) to sign on for another year, and Tom Welling (who plays Clark Kent) has had a few complaints about the direction of the show over the last few seasons.

Hopefully they have fresh ideas for season 9 and I'm sure there's plenty of money to make.

If I were in charge of Smallville, I would have made it a four-season series. One year for each year of high school. The season finale would have been Clark throwing the crystal in the Arctic to form the Fortress of Solitude (exactly how season 4 ended).

The show is going beyond high school now (has been for 4 years), and I think they should have changed the name or made a spin-off series. It's not about the town of Smallville anymore and that's why the series was unique and interesting in the first place.

Man of Steel News

Man of Steel is the title of the Superman reboot, and the Movie Blog posted an update about it today.

Kevin Spacey wants to be in the movie, but Lex Luthor won't be the main villain. I'm happy to hear the WB is looking for a different villain to face Superman. I like Lex, but he's overdone.

Lex was in Superman I and II, and I liked him in both films. He was less of a threat in II because Zod, Ursa, and Non came to Earth, but Lex was still involved. I think that's the kind of role Kevin Spacey should have in Man of Steel--be there and have a connection to the main threat, but not be the major villain.

Brainiac is my choice for the next villain Superman has to face. I want someone who is actually a threat to Superman, someone Superman actually has to fight.

Not something like taking a few punches and throwing a Kryptonite land mass into space.

I liked Superman Returns in general, though, and I hope Brandon Routh can don the red cape in Man of Steel.

You can see the Movie Blog's post here.

Twitter: I still don't get it

On average, I read (or at least skim) 2-3 articles or blog posts about Twitter every week thanks to Delicious.com's popular bookmarks page. I don't have a Twitter account, but I'm waiting for a convincing reason to start Tweeting.

I do prefer textual communication, but here's the thing. I use Facebook and e-mail most of the time. (I should say I don't use my phone a whole lot either because I have access to a computer throughout the day. I can hop online to send or respond to messages easily.) That works for me because I can leave a message for someone when I have the time to, and they can reply when they get a chance. We can communicate without being available at the same time. Twitter works like that too, sending and receiving Tweets without you necessarily being at a computer or with your cell phone.

But my point is, if I'm functioning fine, why would I add Twitter? I don't know anyone on Twitter that I can't contact some other way. It's a great way to keep up with people and interests, yeah, but I'm not sure that's enough to make me sign up. I'm not sure that's enough motivation for me to get involved.

I've visited quite a few Twitter pages of bloggers and YouTubers. I can see how Twitter is useful for many people. I'm just talking about me, personally, though, or anyone else who doesn't see a need to use Twitter.

I just read this article and it's well-written, but still...

Readers, I'd like to hear from you. If you're on Twitter:

• How long have you been (actively) using Twitter?
• What do you use it for? (Talking to people, sending links, posting information...)
• What benefits have you seen from your Twitter use?
• Any down sides? (time you spend on Twitter, for example)

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions. Post a comment below or write a blog entry/record a vlog in response and leave a link in the comments.

Have you heard of Lymabean?

I didn't know about it until a few days ago.

Lymabean looks like what Facebook should still be: a social network for college students where you can write to each other as well as share interests, pertenient information, photos, and videos.

Based on the video tour on the site, Lymabean looks like it has an intuitive design and you can customize a few things. I like that you can read and write reviews of local businesses and restaurants as well as check out job listings in the area.

No sign of irritating applications. I'm tempted to try it out.