DigitalFanGirlDigitalFanGirl {formerly known as Geekycybermom} - a feast of geekery and all things digital…

I think podcasts are the greatest thing since slice bread. I listen to all kinds of podcasts; marketing, technology, photography, film reviews, soap opera talk, parenting and the list goes on. Out of all the podcasts I listen to, there are a few that I just cannot go without listening to and they are as follows:

This Week in Photography

Why I love this podast: I’ve always been a fan of photography and have always enjoyed taking photographs. Recently I’ve decided to upgrade to a DSLR from my digital point & shoot for my birthday. I am a bit fascinated with photography and would like to learn more about it in general; so this is my newest hobby. This Week in Photography is hosted by [enter host names here] and they are so knowledgable and always have something great to share. It’s an excellent learning podcast and they have quite a large community, which is also nice. Everytime I listen to a show I learn something new and these guys really encourage you to go out and shoot as much as you can; afterall, that is how you learn and get better. Whether you are a novice, pre-professional or mature professional photographer; I highly recommend subscribing and listening to This Week in Photography.

NosillaCast Mac Podcast

If you’re a Mac fanboy or fangirl and you’ve never listened to the NosillaCast YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING OUT. NosillaCast is hosted by Alison Sheridan and this woman is phenomenal. In each episode, Alsion shares some tip, hack, web app, hardware/software/media gear recommendation, work-around or something. I’ve learned so much from her podcast and have really learned a great deal in listening to NosillaCast. She gives a really in-depth review of the things she recommends, which is really helpful. it’s like she’s done the legwork for you (thank you Alison). She also answers questions for listeners who are having trouble figuring things out on their own. In my opinion, this is a must listen to podcast and if you’re a Mac owner I’d go to iTunes right now to subscribe the NosillaCast.

Pine Valley Podcast

Ok, now I let you in on my dirty little secret (I LOVE SOAP OPERAS - ONLY ABC ONES THOUGH). That’s right - I love them. I’m a 26 year All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital veteran. Although I don’t get to watch them everyday I still enjoy them whenever I do get a chance to sit down and watch. Pine Valley Podcast is hosted by Ashley Mendoza, Taylor Crawford and Jordan Hudson (Taylor and Jordan are never on at the same time; they rotate shows). They do a weekly recap of All My Children and let me just say they are HA-larious. I love all the hosts, but I have to admit I do enjoy the chemistry between Ashley and Jordan more. This is a lively podcast and they are total soapologists (I just made up that word - I swear). I mean they know the entire history of these soaps; it is incredible. I cannot get enough of them. They are just so dang entertaining and I get my soap opera fix by listening. So if you’re an All My Children and you don’t know about the Pine Valley Podcast, you really need to get with it (and you call yourself a fan).

Girls Gone Geek

I listened to this podcast from the very beginning and I was so psyched to have found a podcast for girls who geek out like me. Although I liked the podcast from the start, they went through some co-host changes and I must admit; I like the show even more. Mainly because they dig a little deeper into design/development topics and seem to geek out a little more, which I love. The two new co-hosts are such a great addition to the show and really add an extra layer of geekness due to their own backgrounds and professional careers. Girls Gone Geek is on a little break right now and I am totally missing these ladies, but Liana has assured me they’ll get back to recording soon.

Boagworld

This is last, but certainly not least. I get so much out of this podcast and I love Paul Boag. Paul is super smart, really engaged in the web community (and I’ll admit; his accent is so awesome). I’m a web designer, so this is also a podcast that gives me things to take away that help me in my day job and freelance world. They cover topics from project management to scalability to libraries, version control, etc, etc. They also have a very active forum on the Boagworld blog, which is extremely helpful. If you are designing/developing for the web, Boagworld is definitiely a podcast you need to subscribe to TODAY.

What are your top 5 podcasts?

This presentation [What the F**K is Social Media?] on explaining social media is the best I’ve seen thus far. While watching this presentation, I thought this would be perfect to help management in some Government agencies get a clear understanding of what social media is. What I’ve found is they are trying their best to grasp what it is, but really don’t have a clue. They get hung up on things like whether or not to start a blog and if so, are the going to allow comments and if they do they begin to the possibility of someone leaving a comment that isn’t necessarily positive about the organization.

There is a fear, lack of understanding and resistance to change that prevents them from grasping the social media bull by the horns and getting in the game. I’m sure this is not true of all Government agencies, but I know for a fact it remains true for some (that will remain nameless).

One of the biggest problems here is many Government agencies are in the business of force-feeding information down people’s throats (whether they want it or not) and having a one-way communication street. These two habits go against what social media is about; people having conversations. There were some really interesting key points I feel could really help some Government agencies get a handle on what this social media monster is all about and how they can begin to build a plan to implement it into their communication efforts.

“1.5 million residents are on second life”

“57% have joined a social network”

“It’s not a fad; it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate”

“36% think more positively about companies that have blogs”

“By 2010, Millenials/Gen Y-ers will outnumber baby boomers”

Here’s THE MOST IMPORTANT message I got from this presentation; the thing Government agencies struggle the most with:

RELINQUISH CONTROL: “the goal is not to control the conversation”

Here’s another slide presentation I found that is really useful and provides excellent detail and information about social media for Government.

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Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

evernote logo

I love love love Evernote. I have even blogged about my strong love for this note taking service. I rarely use the web version of Evernote, but I totally wear out the Evernote Mac OS X desktop app. I mean, it is an amazing product and it does give me everything I need in terms of what I want and need for taking notes.

Here’s my BIG GRIPE; I am a BlackBerry user; not your regular run of the mill BlackBerry user, but a serious no shit power user and it would be really nice if I could install an Evernote app on my BlackBerry.. But this is sadly lacking and I must confess I’m a bit annoyed by the fact there’s an app for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones. Just in case there was any doubt; let me clear it up. BLACKBERRY USERS EXIST AND WE WANT APPS TOO… Is that too much to ask? Do I need to start a movement?

Let’s get serious for a moment. How can we make this happen? is there ever going to be an app for BlackBerry or has Evernote comepletely dismissed the BlackBerry user??

There have been a few polls asking if users of Twitter would pay for it if it went to be fee-based service. More recently Guy Kawasaki posted a poll on his blog and to my surprise 50% of the pollers said they WOULD pay for Twitter. My question is WHY??? Why on earth would you even consider paying for a service like this? Look, Twitter is a fun place to be (well, at least it used to be - the climate has changed, but I’ll save that for another post) and yes, majority of your online friends are on it, but why in the hell would you pay for a service you don’t really need?

Last time I checked instant messenging was still free and services like ooVoo, Skype, Gizmo5 and iChat have instant messengnig built-in and it’s all free as well. Just seems downright ridiculous to pay for Twitter. It’s almost like me paying to talk; as if you couldn’t if you didn’t pay.

Now, let me make it perfectly clear, I am NOT against paying for web services, but I am more inclined to pay for services that actually matter and make a difference in my daily workflow and productivity habits. For instance, Basecamp, Getsignoff, HiRise are apps that I would pay for. They are all well worth the money, but more importantly, these apps are making a difference by allowing me to run my business better by staying organized and communicating more effectively with my clients. Now, that’s worth some money.

I like Twitter and all, but if it ever becomes a fee-based service; that’ll be the day I leave the world of Twitter.

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and I have missed it. I’m redesigning my blog. Not quite sure what I’m looking for, but I’m going to try this design. I haven’t started customizing this theme yet, so stay tuned for that. Appreicate any feedback or suggestions on that..

Anyway, I am back in the blogging driving seat, so stop by on a regular basis to see what juicy goodness comes out of my head…

I hate checking voicemail. Maybe as much as I hate going to the ATM or stopping to get gas. One of the things I hate about checking voicemail is the whole surprise factor. I never know who the heck I’m going to have to listen ramble on. Call me crazy, but it’s just one of the simple tasks I just truly hate to do. In my mind I’ve been wanting visual voicemail since I acquired my very first cell phone. I also wish I had this feature at work. Checking my work voicemail is the WORST - it’s like daggers in the eyes… (hint hint to all capable developers - this would be AWESOME)..

In one of my many web surfing journeys I ran across a service called YouMail. YouMail is a FREE visual voicemail service and they say they intend on keeping this basic service free (you go YouMail creators). So I’ve been using it for one week now and I really like it. Here are some of the YouMail features.

1. You sign up for YouMail (very easy process) and the calls you don’t answer get forwarded to your YouMail account instead of your wireless carrier voicemail system. It’s honestly that simple.

2. You can retrieve your email via dialing the voicemail number, or by going online to youmail.com or via your smartphone. You can also have your voicemails sent to you via email and/or text message. I have my voicemails sent via email and I click on the play message button (certain numbers of my mom’s mobile number have been oranged out).

3. You can even share your voicemail, which I think is pretty cool.

4. They have a feature called “Ditchmail”, which ditches unwanted callers. Ditchmail hangs up on unwanted callers before they can even leave a voicemail (I LOVE IT!!!). I think we’ve all had the experience of giving our number to someone (an ex- boyfriend, old friend, sales rep, etc) we truly wish we hadn’t. I recently did. I made the stupid stupid stupid mistake of giving my mobile number to a car dealership, but thanks to Ditchmail; I no longer have to be bothered by their unwanted phone calls (in your face Infinity of Tysons).

5. You can also set up different greetings for different callers. So your friends can hear a different greeting than your family and your boss and/or clients can also have their own greeting.

For this to be a FREE service, I think you get a lot AND if you hate the checking voicemail task as much as I do; you’ll find YouMail to be a pleasant relief to that daunting task.

I’ve tried a many screenshot capture programs in the past. For the longest time I used Snap n’ drag, but they had a lot of limitations in the free version, so there was only so much I could do with it. When I ran across Skitch last year, I was thrilled. It’s really a great little program - very impressive.

Skitch has so much to offer. It really goes beyond just taking a screenshot of a webpage and YES it does that beautifully. Skitch pretty much allows you to take a a snapshot of anything on your computer and annotate it with the drawing tools inside the Skitch window. I also like how you can save the snapshot to your Skitch history, email the snapshot, paste it into a page and I really love how you can upload your Skitch snapshot directly to your .mac account, FTP, SFTP, photobucket, flickr or your facebook account.

You can even take a screenshot of your webcam photo.

Right now Skitch is free and I have no idea if they will charge in the future, but if they do I am totally paying for it. It’s worth it. I use Skitch on a regular basis and it has now become a consistent part of my workflow on a personal and professional level.

My geeky sisters over at Girls Gone Geek have been doing a what’s in your bag kind of thing, so I decided to join them and expose what’s in my bag (gasp).

Items inside to bag:
15inch MacBook Pro
Make-up Bag
BlackBerry 8800 w/case
Keyboard brush (gotta keep the dust off)
iPod w/charger
Eyeglass case
Smart Trip Card
4-Port USB Hub
ID/Badge Holder (facing down because it’s a Navy/DoD Badge)
Business Card Holder
Sanyo Xacti CG6
Office Keys
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S650 (which I used to take this photo) w/camera bag

Tags: my_stuff, inside_my_bag, girls-gone-geek,

I subscribe to a series of Mac fanboy fangirl podcasts and for the last month they have ALL been drowning me in iPhone information, news and updates. I gotta be honest; I am sick of hearing  about the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s an amazing phone, but I don’t ever see myself abandoning my BlackBerry for the iPhone. I started off with the 8700 and last summer I got the 8800; love them both. NOW I am anxiously awaiting the BlackBerry BOLD.

There are so many things I LOVE about my BlackBerry; the super stable email, the ability to add 10 outside email accounts, BlackBerry maps with built-in GPS, the calendar and contacts, wireless syncing of my calendar and contacts from my BlackBerrry to my mac (using Pocketmac and Bluetooth) and the most important thing - the full size qwerty keyboard.

If I didn’t send massive amounts of text messages, emails and instant messages from my BlackBerry the keyboard thing wouldn’t even be an issue. Not to mention I tweet, update/check facebook and use BlackBerry Messenger from my BlackBerry as well. All in all - it’s just a good solid phone and it is truly my main communications tool.

• The 3G iPhone’s internal processor is STILL the same as the original. So much for more speed. Whereas previous BlackBerrys had 312MHz and the new BOLD has a 624MHz processor. Who’s truly “twice as fast” as before?

• BlackBerry’s consumer PUSH email service is included with your BlackBerry internet Service (BIS) plan. In addition the iPhone internet you must pay for “MobileMe” subscription for PUSH email.

Listen and Respond to My Seesmic Question for this Blog Post
You don’t need a seesmic account to post your video response
{seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/Tg1c0pnQqg_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”3G BlackBerry BOLD vs 3G iPhone ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/u1mK0npBLc”}}}

Tags: blackberry, blackberry_bold, 3G_blackberry, iphone, 3G_iphone