Pentimento

How To Create Your Daily Newspaper Using Twitter, Facebook And Paper.li

Expand Your Readers With paper.li

It's been a little over a week now that I created my daily newspaper using paper.li and it seems to me to be one of the best idea extensions for social networking of late. If you haven't already heard of it, I think paper.li is going to be one of the next big things!

The Facebook Focus

As you can see in the graphic above, you can generate your paper in English, Deutch, French and Espaniol. Right now, paper.li is in test for using it with Facebook. Creating a Facebook related paper might be a little more involved because of the way the online newspaper is created.  (1) You give your paper a name (which can include hashtags=#) that indicates your focus or interest. (2) Add three words that also will pick up links to your specific focus. (3) Choose which language in which your newspaper will be written. That's it! 

The Twitter Focus

Creating a daily online newspaper using Twitter was the first effort by SmallRivers - AKA paper.li and it will be interesting to see which application for promoting shared interests does better. Maybe both?  With the Twitter format you can choose three ways to create your paper: (1) Of a twitter user + those being followed; (2) of a Twitter #tag; or (3) of a Twitter @list. You really need to give these Twitter choices a lot of thought.  In my case, I new I wanted a genealogy-related paper, so I first chose to go with a #hashtag one. As it turned out, #genealogy is too broadly used for other topics besides researching one's family.  I deleted that newspaper (very easy to do on the website) and changed it to my list of @genealogists instead. (Carol is the author of iPentimento | Genealogy and History) Come visit! It's Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories month.

What It Does For You And Your Friends

For you, whether you use the Facebook focused paper or the Twitter focused one, it enables you to read the freshest news once a day (you can set your paper to 'print' twice a day, and choose your time zone), and in my case, for my Genealogists #Genealogy Daily using my list of genealogists I created for my Twitter profile.  Just a little tip here too, if you want your own tweets to be included in your own paper you need to ADD YOURSELF to the @list also. Why is this important? Because you want to promote your articles just as you want to promote your like-minded friend's articles.

It's Not Just For Genealogy Enthusiasts

Everyone loves linky love and this is another way to give it. Share your passion, share your loves, be creative and go make your own special interest paper!

Internet Newspapers: The State Your State Campaign Needs Your Cooperation

Pentimento Blog - Port Orchard, WA

Kitsap Sun - located in what state?? There is nothing in their header to tell you!

I was going to write about this on iPentimento | Genealogy and History, but then I realized that this is not just a genealogist's complaint. It should be everyone's complaint and here's why:

How many times have you searched for a newspaper by city name and found yourself in the wrong state? Shouldn't it be EASY to tell what state an online newspaper represents by being able to glance at the header and see a two letter abbreviation?  I mean, how hard could it be to amend your header to include that? It irks me that it's still so hard to find information on newspaper sites (the long-in-the-tooth purveyors of information) and those normally "who, why, what, when and where" sticklers, but do you think they have thought to include the "where" on their websites? NO!!

And, while I'm at it, and this might be a more broad problem to tackle, if they are submitting a story to their RSS feeds and email subsribers too, the state should be included there also. If we're all going to be socially networking, wouldn't it be a good thing to be specific? 

If you support this idea, please post this email to Twitter, Facebook, your newspaper, and anywhere else where it might get some notice. Thanks!

Pentimento Is Podcasting Now Too!

I put Odiogo on my other blog iPentimento | Genealogy and History a few days ago, and now I'm wondering, "What took me so long"?  It isn't my voice you'll be listening to here, but I was very impressed by the quality of the audible high-fidelity results Odiogo presents.

What are the benefits of Pod-casting?

• It's quick, easy (and free) to sign up with Odiogo. Your subscribers can listen on their cell phones, PC's, iTunes or iPods + more any time they feel like it. As the site says, "Give your text content voice...and legs". 
• Share content easily with like-minded friends or business acquaintances by re-tweeting on Twitter, Facebook or FriendFeed to name a few.
• Using MP3? You can download and listen to high-fidelity podcasts with your player.

Unless You're A Trained Broadcaster...

I've listened to a few live podcasts in the recent weeks, and here are a few thoughts you might want to consider if you plan on going that route.  Your textual content might be excellent, but if your speaking voice is not, you could actually turn off your audience with a poor quality recording, repeated pauses "um's, ugh's and other noises that could be offensive.  

Here's a graphic taken from their site with some additional information. Please let me know what you think about using Odiogo if you try it on your blog. 

Keeping It Social With Boost Mobile

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Face(book) it, most of us are all over the social networks these days. Most people are keeping their family and friends updated using their cell phones on Facebook, Twitter, and lots of other apps we couldn't even have imagined ten years ago.

Getting and using a cell phone is second nature to everyone, young and "mature" alike. Companies like Boost Mobile make it easy to purchase a phone perfect for your needs, activate it and start using it in the blink of an eye.  It's even a snap to Re-Boost your phone with just a couple pushes of the buttons.  You can have your account set up to replenish automatically and never have to worry about not having mobile phone service on your Blackberry, making it so you'll never have any concerns about being able to send that important email to the boss.

With Boost Mobile you can have it all, right in the palm of your hand. Browse the web, call a friend, order dinner, update your calendar, schedule an appointment, make automatic payments or share a new photo of your kids. Easy, affordable convenience with monthly unlimited use and small extra fees for access to Facebook and instant messaging features.

The Benefits Of Using A Tweet Spinner Advanced Account

For at least a year, I had used TweetSpinner as a free account, but recently I decided it was time to upgrade in order to get more relevant Twitter followers.  I'm not really interested in having "the most" followers, etc., but I am interested in creating a list for my genealogy friends so I can get updates from their posts and tweets.

On August 8, 2010 I posted You May Have Been Pruned here on Pentimento, and it was soon after that I subscribed to the paid version of TweetSpinner.  Rest easy, I'm still not an affiliate. But, I have noticed a gigantic difference in the amount of followers I have, as well as their content. It's been pretty easy because I set up keyword following for #genealogy, and mimic following for my friends like @footnotemaven @geneabloggers @dearmyrtle @familytreemag and @ancestrydotcom

When I have a new follower I'm able to automatically send a direct message (DM) that says, "Thanks for the follow! I hope my tweets keep you interested and involved."

One of the other features I love is that with one click of the mouse button I can de-spam my inbox, or prune my list of followers as mentioned above. One thing I would caution you to understand is that Twitter works with TweetSpinner and you can't do things too quickly on TS or Twitter won't like it. 

I pay $14 per month for TweetSpinner, which I feel is a good investment. Have you used TweetSpinner? Are you thinking of using it for your Twitter account?

Get Your Half-Naked Savages Here!

Need Some Music For Your Luau?

My friend Fred Barnett and his musical group the Half-Naked Savages have just released their newest album. My favorite tune is "Hey Bahtoondah!", but all of them are wonderful. Yes, this is an Amazon affiliate link, but only so I can put the whole ad on here. Fred lives in Hawaii and is one of the funniest guys I've met up with on Facebook. Let me know how you like the album after you get it. Hey Bartoondah!

Suggestions For Free RSS Feed Readers

Which Blog Reader Should I Use?

I have a friend who is currently coming into the twenty-first century and just getting started reading blogs that interest her.  She can't be the only person late for the IT party, so I'm going to tell her, and you, just what's available for reading blogs. Some of it depends on which browser you use, others, not at all. If you already know all this information, just come back and visit in a day or two. 

So, what's that funny orange thingy up there, huh? That is the universal symbol for a 'feed'. You might see them in a rainbow of colors, but most people look for the orange one. That is what you will be looking for in the address line of your browser once you choose which reader service you want to use.

Google Reader

Google Reader is probably the most widely known and used feed reader around.  First, you will have to create a Google account which takes just a few minutes. Once you get the account set up, then click back here, or on the Google site for the link to Google Reader.  Google Reader is easy to use and you can set it up to your liking within a few minutes. I personally like to have mine in "list" view so I can see new blog posts at a glance. 

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Another widely used reader is Bloglines. It has the similar layout as Google's reader page, but with a cleaner more polished look to it.  Smooth and easy to use, with no software to load. Easily customizable too.

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As I have found so often in the past, making a list of anything has probably already been done. I did a search for a list of feed readers and found: 

Top 10 Free Windows RSS Feed Readers / News Aggregators

Did you know?? My other blog is now available for subscription on your Kindle!

iPentimento | Genealogy and History

800 Posts On Pentimento Today

This blog post will be number 801! Sheesh, I wonder what blather went into all those other 800? Just kidding. Some of them did have a bit of redeeming value I guess. The best part is that there were just about as many comments. Yeah, there could have been much more, but hey, what the heck, I'll take 'em!

A lot of my visitors come from CMF ads, and if you're one of them, many thanks to you! I think CMF ads are awesome and very easy to use.  I only charge 30 cents for a month long ad, which seems well worth the money for what it does for this blog as well as others. Traffic is 'golden', so they say.

These are just a few of my many CMF ad purchasers:

   

   

CMF Ads Are Number One For Publishers and Advertisers

CMF Ads - 30 day ads starting from $0.01

If you're new to blogging and are looking to get some traffic to your blog, why not try spending a couple bucks and advertising on CMF Ads? Personally, I've used several ways to advertise on my blog, as well as on other people's blogs, and CMF Ads proved to be the easiest and most profitable way to go.

CMF Ads have recently revamped their dashboard making it even more easy to find, buy and place ads. You can also connect with other bloggers in the forums where you can find additional information about driving traffic to your blogs and creating eye-catching advertisements.

Confused? Don't be! CMF Ads has a very robust help wiki that covers any question you might have. What are you waiting for? Go straight over to CMF Ads and start making money that pays for your advertising!

Do Twitter and Twittad Have A Squabble?

Just recently, I accepted a Twittad from someone and truthfully, I was concerned that they might not be getting their money's worth on my profile. That makes me wonder if I would want to buy any Twittad advertising space for myself. I received an email this morning from Twittad saying they know there are API issues, but they have "halted" the ad.

In the great scheme of things, it's not the end of the world, and I didn't stand to make big buck$ (just a few) from hosting the ad, but still, I do feel bad for the advertiser. So, what else can I do? I guess it would be nice if I just put a link to Andrea Metcalf's site, right? Is it her ad that doesn't work with Twitter on the sidebar?