Glee Goes 3D: Movie Trailer

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I’m alive.

Yes. I’m here. Sadly, I haven’t blogged much. But, I’m kicking.

Don’t hate me. Too much.

I’ll be back this week. I swear.

XO

Janet loves ‘me’

She said it herself.

I should be honest. Like, really honest. (I promised to be more honest in 2011.)

By “me,” I really mean the city of Denver. Her No. 1 hit “Make Me” has been dedicated to the Mile High City, or so she says.

Asking her fans to vote on what cities she should tour “has been a lot of fun,” the great Jackson sister said.

“I have enjoyed hearing from all of you.  Thanks for making your voices heard.  ‘Make Me’ is the song that I am dedicating to all the fans in Denver.  I can’t wait to see you all again,” said Janet.

In all honesty, she probably said the same thing to Cleveland. Still, I’d like to believe a press release once in awhile.

There is a cool part to all of this. JJ (that’s what I call her on the phone) is seeking out 20 people under 20 who are making a difference in the community. To nominate someone, visit her website, www.janetjackson.com.

“I want them to be my guest at my show and they will come back stage as I learn from them how they are changing the world,” JJ told me.

“If you know someone who is making a difference, please get in touch. You, and the person chosen, will get free tickets to the show, and be with me after, to celebrate their accomplishments,” said Janet.

It’s okay that I’m almost 30, right?

Here’s the official video for “Make Me,” dedicated to all of us.

Way to go, Janet. It’s not all about you. Rather, it’s all about ‘me.’

Springs ain’t that ‘social,’ study shows

In other news, water is wet.

First off, congrats. If you’re one of the 5 people in southern Colorado who has jumped on the social media bandwagon, then I know how you found this blog.

If you’re stalking me, I know now, too.

Men’s Health magazine revealed its top 100 ‘Most Socially Networked’ cities. On it, Colorado Springs (No. 41). Oh, yeah, Denver was on there, too (No. 3, thank you.) We won’t talk about how great Denver is, though. At least, not yet.

Men's Health magazine ranks Colorado Springs No. 41 on the nation's 'Most Social Cities.'

The study measured a multitude of things like: the number of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter users. They then looked at traffic to the major sites, like MySpace (for real, though, it’s 2011. Get off that site!) and ReddIt and Digg. Using some awesome math, that I could never begin to understand, they came up with the top 100 cities.

You’d think somewhere in California would take top spot. Instead, it belonged to our nation’s capital. Men’s Health put it best saying, ” [D.C. is] a city where staying connected can get out the vote, and virtual handshakes help shape our nation.” How true it is.

Irregardless (sorry, that’s a journalism joke), at least Colorado Springs made the list. We got a whopping “C+.” In college, I would’ve been cool with that and moved on.

But not now.

The future of EVERYTHING is social media. Check out the commercials on TV. Long gone are a company’s website, instead replaced by their social media addys. Translation: this “fad” ain’t going away.

With the average age of social media users being between 35-44, I get, albeit just a little, while some are slow to embrace here. That’s the busy demographic of moms running around town to fetch kids, clean-up the house and make dinner by 5 p.m.

For the record, Denver’s spot on the list is a no-brainer for me. The city is plugged in and so are its people. Plus, younger crowd (and I’m sure nearby Boulder helps.)

The glass half-full moment: We’re not El Paso. They got spot No. 100, with the dreaded “F.” Major fail, border town!

So, Colorado Springs, how you gonna fix this?

Of course, you can always find me on Facebook or Twitter. And say ‘hi,” please. All five of you.

Keep it short & simple

Twitter is the new Facebook. At least, to this 29-year-old.

Chances are, Twitter won’t make any huge chances this year. They won’t go public. And, they certainly won’t have (another) re-design.

The concept remains simple. Spill your guts, but do it in 140 characters… or less.

But why 140?

The average sentence has 160 characters. And, the German who came up with SMS (aka text messages) decided they shouldn’t be longer than that. Twitter figured, if you subtract your username, it’d equal about 140. Ample room to compose your thoughts, albeit abridged.

Twitter works best when you’re NOT logged in on the website. In fact, it’s made for ease while you’re on the go.

With that in mind, here are some Twitter shortcuts (that work from your cell phone):

D username – direct message to user
F username/ follow username – follow that user
stats – get your latest followers/who you’re following, by the numbers only
get username - the last update from that person
whois username – their Twitter bio (if it’s filled out)
quit (or) stop – turn off mobile updates to your phone
off username (or) leave username – silence updates from that user
on – turn updates back on to your mobile phone
on username – turn on mobile updates for that user
invite email address – invite a person to join, by entering their email

And, some other sites I find helpful:
- SocialMention.com: real-time social media search & analysis of anything on Twitter. (Try it out, search for your name, business, etc.)

- TweetBeep.com: have Twitter search for keywords and it’ll email you whenever it’s mentioned.

Are you on Twitter? If so, you should be following me already: @BarrettTryon. I’ll follow you back!

Part of the New Year’s resolution is/was to blog more about how to make social media better for you (and your company.) Here’s to making that a reality.

Have fun!

The game changer

What I’m about to write isn’t groundbreaking. In fact, if you’re reading this, chances are you saw me link to it on Facebook or Twitter, reinforcing my point. Social media has changed the way we do business, literally and figuratively. We “check-in” on FourSquare, update our friends in 140 characters or less and brag about how great we are on Facebook. (By the way, YES, it was a killer party.)

Most certainly has social media changed the way I do my job. Breaking news? We have pictures, video and updates almost instantly. And, more often than not, people break stories on our station’s Facebook & Twitter accounts.

It’s amazing how FAST it’s all happening. In a world where we’re surrounded by technology, how could it get any better? And more important, how can you adopt it now, rather than later?

The truth is, social media is no longer a game changer. It’s already changed the game.

Case and point: I was having a major problem with AT&T. A dispute over the definition of “upgrade,” and a contract that got renewed without me knowing it. I had met just about everyone (I mean this) on their 800-number customer service. Being passed along one person to the next, having to explain my story over again and again.

Then, I thought, “I bet AT&T has a Twitter account.”

Turns out they did. And, within 10 minutes, had a reply from one of their reps. 2 minutes later, I had their email and I explained my whole situation (again.) But, this was different. They kept me in the loop with what was going on, via Tweets & email.

Flash forward four months later and I have a new iPhone4, courtesy of AT&T. Turns out, I wasn’t the first person it happened to. And, out of kindess (and maybe some threats on my part to jump ship), they shipped me a complimentary new phone.

Could you imagine this, say, five years ago? What about in 2000?

It’s crazy HOW many people are on the bandwagon. But, even crazier, those who AREN’T.

I can keep tabs on family I haven’t seen in years, get breaking news instantly as it’s happening and know what’s going on in the other corner of the world without ever leaving my computer.

So, are you a skeptic? Or, do you embrace this new, ever-so emerging technology?

I had this video Tweeted to me today. How appropriate. This “fad” is far from being one.

If you’re not on Twitter, why not? Vice-versa for Facebook?

You could be the one left in the dust.

I told you so.

Pay it forward

Thursday was a pretty cool day. It was the “Best Of” party for the Colorado Springs Independent. It was also the day someone, so graciously, paid it forward at Starbucks.

My little trip through the drive-thru was like any other. One Venti Gingerbread Latte for my growling stomach. It was rush hour and the line was packed with cars. After a short wait, I finally make it to the window.

“So, 10 cars ahead of you decided to pay for the car behind them. You can do the same, or just get your drink for free.”

I had to step back for a second. In a time when unemployment is at an all-time high, and people are scraping to get food on the table, a simple act of kindess.

“The car in front paid for you. Do you want to do the same for the car behind you? You don’t have to,” the clerk said.

Having a free drink crossed my mind, but only joking.

“Of course I will. How much is the damage?”

Turns out, their drink was much cheaper than mine.

But, it makes you wonder, how something so small starting your day, could make such a huge impact.

What will you do today, tomorrow (and the day after, for that matter) to make someone’s live a little easier, a little better? Find a way to pay it forward, no matter how small or large.