It’s been said that 2010 will be the Year of FourSquare (via Peter Shankman) but it’s also been called annoying and worthless by folks who’d rather not see FourSquare updates on Twitter and Facebook. Like any technology or social application, there are ways to use FourSquare without annoying anyone – or, with minimal annoyance at least.
- Turn off notifications to Twitter and Facebook
This seems counter-productive, but users that login and search nearby areas will see you. FourSquare doesn’t break when you don’t send updates to Facebook or Twitter. If you don’t want to go all the way, at least turn off the notifications of unlocked badges and achievements.
- Think about where you’re checking in
There is no reason why you should check in at your house. Remember, locations you create, like your home, are publicly searchable. While paranoia shouldn’t be the rule of the day, there are few compelling reasons to put the location of your home out there for all to so easily find. Checking in at church, at a bar, at a movie theater? That’s one thing. Checking in at your doctor’s office, your (for the ladies) gynecologist, or your kid’s preschool? That’s altogether different.
- Updating every 20 minutes isn’t necessary
There’s no need to check-in at every store you visit while you’re out running errands. “At Walmart” followed by “At Ace Hardware” 15 minutes later followed by “At Staples” 20 minutes after that gets old pretty quick. If you wouldn’t take the time to type “I’m at Walmart” in your Twitter client, don’t bother checking in with FourSquare. Like anything else that goes out to the social web, ask yourself if it’s worth putting out there.
- Participate with people that want to participate
Seek out businesses that want to use FourSquare as part of a marketing strategy. They will often offer discounts to customers that check-in at their location. Bars have been quick to jump on this. Don’t go overboard! The previous three suggestions still apply.
- Don’t be rude in real life, either
Whatever you do, don’t hold up the line at the grocery store trying to check-in while you’re standing at the cashier. Don’t belly up to the bar, get the bartender’s attention, then make him wait as you check-in. True, there are people online who are annoyed by FourSquare updates; there’s no reason to annoy people in real life, too.
- Show you can have fun with it without taking it too seriously
Check in from someplace like Missy Ward’s Ample Cleavage (wish I’d known about that little bit of comedy while we were all in Vegas). If you’re making people laugh, you’re probably not annoying them.
Like anything (especially abusing services like twitterfeed), FourSquare can be used in ways that others don’t like. While I do believe that there aren’t any hard-and-fast rules when it comes to social applications, I do believe in strong guidelines. Are you on FourSquare? How do you use it?
Tagged as:
I'm the mayor of my house whether I check in or not.
As we transition from 2009 to 2010, another transition is taking place with the weekly podcast that I co-host with Joe Magennis. We began the show as Geek Dads @ Home in December 2008, and as of December 2009, that show is over. Last week we recorded our first show as the revamped and freshly painted Geek Dads Weekly!
We decided that it was time to drop the never-enforced “@ Home” requirement and open the show to any geek dads out there who would like to come on as a guest with us. If you’d like to come on the show, contact us via the form on the new site – http://geekdadsweekly.com. The site has a full archive and a wiki for our show notes. We’re excited about 2010 and we hope you’ll join us!
Episode #1 was recorded January 6th, and the second episode will be recorded tomorrow.
Tagged as:
Yeah - I know I'm late posting this here. The blog has suffered lately. It happens.
[The 50's] Louis Prima – The Wildest!
I’ve never been a Jazz fan until hearing this record. Prima brings a joy, a sense of fun and humor to this disc that is simply infectious. It’s no wonder that every generation seems to discover it anew. Did you know David Lee Roth’s Just a Gigalo is a cover of a tune penned by Louis Prima? Every track on this album is a gem. My personal faves are the aforementioned Gigolo, Buona Sera and Banana Split for My Baby.
Amazon
[The 60's] The Monkees – Headquarters
You know what? I like ‘em better than the Beatles. Yeah, I said it. It’s not a stance a lot of people take, but I take it, and with some force. The Monkees are, to this day, underrated and overlooked by most – if you’re one of those people, listen to this album and see if you don’t change your mind just a little bit. The band started writing their own music after their first two records, and proved that they were more than the sum of their manufactured parts. Check out You Told Me, You Just May Be the One and the excellent Randy Scouse Git.
Amazon
[The 70's] Rush – 2112
I’ve been to seven Rush concerts – three times on the Roll the Bones tour, and once on each tour for Test For Echo, Vapor Trails, R30 and Snakes and Arrows. I own every album on cassette and CD, and shelled out for the digital remasters. I’ve got tour posters framed on my walls. You could say I’m a fan. 2112 is an amazing piece of work, and okay, granted, I’m a little biased – but it really is. There’s a reason this album is widely considered to be a touchstone in the progressive rock genre, and if you have any affinity at all for prog rock, you simply must hear it. Standout tracks are 2112, Something For Nothing and A Passage to Bangkok.
Amazon
[The 80's] The Cure – Pornography
Fans of The Cure have no doubt spun this disc to death, but it wasn’t the band’s highest charting album – far from it. It’s dark, moody and perfectly Goth – everything you’ve ever heard about early work by The Cure. The opening lyric is “It doesn’t matter if we all die” – it doesn’t get much bleaker than that. Don’t miss The Hanging Garden and The Figurehead. They’re great; One Hundred Years is masterful.
Amazon
[The 90's] Sugar – Copper Blue
Former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould formed Sugar in the early 90’s and put out this stellar album in 1992. I bought it on CD back then, and I give it a spin pretty regularly. There’s definitely a 90’s feel to it, but it holds up quite well to the test of time. More than 15 years later, it’s still a great listen. Stand outs are If I Can’t Change Your Mind and The Act We Act.
Amazon
[The 00's] The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free
British rap… not something I have a ton of experience with, but The Streets’ A Grand Don’t Come For Free was thoroughly enjoyable. The album is a concept piece, telling the story of a bloke who loses a thousand pounds and tries to get it back. The story is compelling and the delivery fantastic. The music ain’t bad, either. Check out Fit But You Know It and Such a Twat.
Amazon
My list is a subset of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list, with my own commentary about each album. The complete list is available online, and the book is available from Amazon
, Barnes & Noble, Borders and other booksellers. Expand your musical horizons!
Tagged as:
1001 albums... 6 at a time... this might take a while.
One of my favorite comedians, George Carlin, died last June at the age of 71. I can remember thinking to myself, on at least two occasions when he was playing in the town in which I was living, that I would see him another time. I put off going to the shows because money was tight, because I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, because I had to work that night – I’m sure my excuses reasons were justified at the time.
My biggest regret on June 22, 2008 was that I never got to see George perform live. I own every album he put out, but I never got to the live show.
My first concert was Poison, in 1988. Since then, I’ve seen Aerosmith, Skid Row, Tesla, Warrant, Rush (7 times), Queensryche, Counting Crows, The Cure (3 times), Primus, Def Leppard, and a few others. Comedians, I’ve only seen a couple – Jeff Dunham (before he turned into a right wing racist lunatic) and Janeane Garofalo are the two you’ve probably heard of. There are a few artists that I’ve always sort of had on a “well, if they come around and I’m not busy maybe I’ll go” list, but after Carlin passed last year, I’m upgrading most of the artists to “whatever it takes, I must see them perform before I (or more likely, they) die”.
Peter Gabriel tops the list. Morrissey. Robert Plant (though I will steadfastly not go to any sort of Led Zeppelin reunion, just on principle). Kevin Smith. David Cross. Henry Rollins. Patton Oswalt. There are quite a few more, but I’m curious…
Who’s on your list?
Tagged as:
Yeah I saw Poison live. Wanna make somethin' of it?
There’s something that’s been getting on my nerves lately, and I know it shouldn’t, but it does: people who don’t think things through to the degree that they really should be. Now, I’m not one to put myself up on a pedestal and say I’m perfect – far, far from it. I’m talking about little things that only require a little bit of thought – things that, when thought about by a person with a bit of intelligence, should make that person stab the delete key as quickly as possible.
Longer than 140: When reading the reviews on iTunes for the new Tori Amos album, Midwinter Graces, a commenter wrote the following:
“I think releasing this album was a misstep, albeit an obvious bid for holiday sales…”
It’s a Winter- and holiday-themed album. When else would you expect to see it released, June?
Tagged as:
AT&T vs. Verizon lunatics - you're next.
Coming up on December 6th is the First Annual Webuquerque Holiday Party Extravaganz-o-rama Blowout Bash of Fun. I don’t know if that’s the real name of it or not, but it sounds festive, doesn’t it? The event is being organized by Webuquerque regular Chris Kenworthy (skyhawk133), and he’s asked me to help out by putting together a little game we can play. It’s a Who’s Who game, in which everyone submits a little tidbit, a little factoid about themselves, and the rest of us have to figure out who the factoid is about.
For example, if one of the questions on the sheet is “Who, as of October, is a published author with Peachpit?”, each participant would try to figure out that the answer is Webuquerque co-founder Emily Lewis.
Fun, right? Who doesn’t love party games?
So, my fellow Webuquerque attendees, what I need from you is a little factoid about yourself that you’d like us to put on the sheet. Have a hobby? Any interests? Did you present at Webuquerque? Do you have a pulse? If so, there’s something you can contribute. Shoot me a DM on Twitter, email me via the contact form here at the site, or, if you know my phone number, give me a call.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at the party! Here’s the real info:
December 6, 2009 6:30pm –
9:30pm
“That’s How We Roll”
at
Roller Skate City, 400 Paisano St NE Albuquerque, NM 87123
From the Facebook group:
Join us in celebrating the holidays and the end of our first year with a return to the good ol’ days, when your biggest concern was finding a partner for couple’s skate.
That’s right. We’re going roller skating!
Admission is $6. Traditional 4-wheel skate rental is $2.
Adults only.
Tagged as:
Will I roller skate? We'll see.
