Tag: Social web

My Social Universe

My Facebook Universe
My Facebook Universe

It might seem a little egocentric, but I thought this was rather cool. After wading knee-deep in Facebook code for the last few days, I came across some nice little tools. As with 90% of Facebook apps, it is debatable as to whether they are considered “useful” or not, but the power of this social media platform is abundant.

Take this application for example. Using an easy to use Java interface, you can get a visual snapshot of your online social network. I’ve only got as far as displaying all my friends according to location; in my case, predominantly from my hometown of Bristol, England and university town of Aberystwyth, Wales. There is also a strengthening contingent from the US (in the bottom left of the image, above).

So, this is my very own social universe. All they need to do is to make this 3D and rotate dynamically and it really will be like having my very own planetarium of Facebook friends 🙂

Ok, ok, I’m getting back to the space science writing now…

Follow Astroengine Live! on Facebook

Facebook logo
Facebook logo

In an attempt to hard-wire Astroengine.com and Astroengine Live! to the complex web of social websites out there, I’ve created an Astroengine Live! Facebook group. Although Facebook seems to eat time, I wanted to give my little radio show a boost in popularity. As I have so many friends on the social site, it seemed logical. However, a big thanks goes to my good friend Avi for showing me the powers of social websites, I don’t think I would have pushed into the world of Twitter, Digg or Stumble Upon if it wasn’t for his motivation.

I’ve always seen social networking/bookmarking sites as “timewasters”, but when used correctly, you can gather information in a very efficient way. In turn, you promote yourself, simply by socialising. A great tool.

So, be sure to visit my Facebook group for Astroengine Live, and I’ll be sure to maintain it to bring you all the show news and updates. The group will also give you an additional opportunity to provide feedback (i.e. if you find me boring one Wednesday evening, you can give me a good telling off…)

Note: Have a look to the right of this post, and you’ll see a few social websites I use most frequently. Be sure to check me out and give me a tweet, shout, email, message, text, thumbs up or a vote when ever you like 😉

Follow Astroengine on Twitter!

Astroengine on Twitter...
Astroengine on Twitter...

As if I’m not spending enough time in front of my computer already, it appears there’s another social web application I’ve been neglecting! I actually signed up to Twitter in August, but forgot about my Twitter account’s existence until now. After an explore, I realised it’s actually a very powerful tool, providing up-to-the second updates (in under 140 characters) about, well, anything.

First things first, I’m going to use it for personal stuff (although, “I’m doing my teeth,” or “I’m hungry” probably won’t feature) plus Astroengine article updates. I’ve now seen, that if I get enough followers, it might also be a good way to notify everyone about forthcoming Astroengine Live shows (next one is on Wednesday at 4pm PST – don’t forget! I’ll post another reminder later if you fancy tuning into my banter on the airwaves…). There will also be various updates for articles I post on the Universe Today.

So, if you are currently Twittering, follow me on the Astroengine Twitter feed, otherwise, sign up for a free account and start making sweet Twitterings…

See you there!

Cheers, Ian