Now that the HSC is over, it’s going to be interesting to see how we all keep in touch. Nowadays it is much easier with the internet and various social networks like Facebook. But I thought I’d suggest a few other networks you might consider.
1. Dopplr (www.dopplr.com)
Dopplr is a travel social network (primarily for business travellers, but still very fun to use) that allows you to share your travel plans with other people. You are able to see where your friends are travelling, and Dopplr will also let you know of any ‘coincidences’, that is, when you and a friend are in the same city at the same time. The Social Atlas has listings of places to stay, see and eat in many cities around the world. As with many Web 2.o applications today, Dopplr links to other social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, which receive updates on when you start and finish trips.
Here is a link to my public profile to see what outsiders will see. I’ve linked my profile to my Flickr photos as well.
A note about ‘friending’: Dopplr uses a two-way friending system. When you share trips with someone else, their trips will not automatically show up on your home page. The other person has to click ‘share trips’ for you too. So make sure you tell your friends to share trips with you.
(click more to see more…)
2. Google Latitude (info at: www.google.com/latitude)
Google Latitude is a service that allows you to share your near-exact physical location with friends. By near-exact, I mean the best location that can be gathered from your mobile device. You and your friend’s locations are shared, and also plotted on the map. A practical use is to see who is around the vicinity at the time. I used it to show a friend where I was so we could meet up. Now, as physical location is a rather sensitive data type, Google offer flexible privacy settings for the accuracy of location provided and applications allowed to use your location.
You can see my public badge here. (It may be disabled)
3. Twitter (www.twitter.com)
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that aims to tell your followers “What are you doing?” It’s great for those who have many small thoughts that they would like to share with the world, or for those who want to blog without writing a whole lot (you are limited to 140 characters). Fairly simple, if you ask me. Plus Twitter is accessible via iPhone apps and mobile web.
My Twitter is here.
4. Facebook
Not much explanation needed here. This is the best way to maintain a persistent connection with ‘friends’, even when people’s email addresses change/expire/become abandoned.
So, here are 4 other ways to stay connected.
All the best in everything that you do.
