Rix Bits

I recently decided to start shifting my SharePoint-related posts over to a new blog, instead of here at RixBits.com.  My main concern was that I had [at least] two very different types of content that I was producing at RixBits, and I felt it was time to stop mixing them.  SharePoint, while a very popular topic, certainly has a smaller and more specific audience than many of the other general techie topics I blog about.  I wanted to make sure that anyone coming to RixBits to read about tablet PCs, or about how Apple is overrated, would not be confused when they see a post related to SharePoint team development using InfoPath.  :)

But as I thought about it a little more, I realized how important the idea of multiple personalities is to social media……

Well, we’ve closed the books on 2010. :)  As I reflected back, I thought it would be nice to look at all the kool geek stuff I’ve been able to be a part of this year.  2010 marks the beginning of my journey into full-time SharePoint consulting, but there were also some other memorable techie moments as well.  Let’s see….

Last nite I was a guest speaker at BDPA Columbus’ Information Exchange networking meeting at CSI International.  My topic was on how to use Facebook effectively, particularly as adults (in contrast to my presentation to young high school students).

Last week I spoke to a group of local high school boys about how to safely and responsibly use tools like Facebook and Twitter.  As you can probably guess, those tools are very popular with kids these days.  The problem is, they many times use them inappropriately or recklessly.

There’s an online techie forum I subscribe to, in which a conversation got started regarding Twitter.  They were discussing the relevance of Twitter versus ‘more popular’ services like Facebook.  I got a slight suspicion that maybe they simply had not been given a good reason why Twitter was a useful tool for today’s techie, and since I also remembered being in their shoes oh so many twitter-months ago, I decided to respond and see if I could shed some light on the subject.  Let me know if you find this useful as well.

“…Sources today informed us that the Obama Administration has made a significant amendment to their Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD) – they have added a requirement that all credit card companies must allow online Recent Activity data to be integrated into Facebook and/or Twitter feeds.

The goal is to allow consumers to use their online friends to help encourage them to achieve better debt management practices, by letting them see their friends’ credit card usage, and either praise positive behavior (like making a payment larger than the minimum balance) or chastise negative behavior (liking buying a Mac when a PC could have gotten the job done for less money).

Sources say this could soon be extended to credit score reporting agencies as well - soon online friends might start seeing messages like “John Smith’s credit score changed today: +12 points!”, to which they can respond with encouraging comments in their Facebook and Twitter feeds.

“We believe that Americans can help each other help themselves,” said a government spokesperson, “and that current technology provides great opportunities to do so in the area of social networking…”

Response to this amendment has so far been positive, as consumers have begun to see the importance of managing their finances, and allowing their friends to help them do it…”

Yes, this is a joke – I repeat, a JOKE.  (the whole Mac vs Pc comment should have given it away). :)  But what do you think – should it be a joke, or does that sound like a good idea?  Hmmmm….