How to Use Twitter

I have a Twitter account (@stefanwelsh) and have been using it a lot lately. I am not quite a pro at using Twitter, but I do know how to use it and get around on the site. I have been asked more than a few times lately to teach someone how to use Twitter so I am going to just give a little overview and answer some questions on how to use it to post pictures, links, videos, or just how to Tweet.

What is twitter? (About us page on Twitter)

Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting. Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations.
At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters in length, but don’t let the small size fool you—you can share a lot with a little space. Connected to each Tweet is a rich details pane that provides additional information, deeper context and embedded media. You can tell your story within your Tweet, or you can think of a Tweet as the headline, and use the details pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content. See it in action.

How do I Tweet?

Twitter Home Console

This is a picture of a Twitter home console. I have circled the two areas that you can use to start a new Tweet.

The first circled item is the "New Tweet" button. The bar that the "New Tweet" button is on is permanently at the top of the screen when you are on Twitter. When this button is clicked a text box appears on the page and you can start a new Tweet and submit it using this button from any page on twitter. I use this button when I am not on my home page, so I can check spelling, or copy and paste more easily.

The second or bigger circle is  the "What's happening" box. This box is just like the "New Tweet" button, but it only appears on your Twitter home page.

To actually Tweet, all you have to do is put text in either one of those boxes and hit the Tweet button. Some people don't know what to Tweet about. Well that is entirely up to you. You can Tweet about your kids, your dogs, work, lack of work, the weather, anything literally! You can become a citizen journalist or just keep your family informed; Twitter can be as powerful as you want it to be.

How do I Tweet media like links, pictures and videos?

It is easy to Tweet links and videos and pictures.

As an example I Tweeted my website after compressing the link with bit.ly

How do I Tweet a link? All you have to do is say what you want about the link, then copy and paste the link inside the box. If your link puts your Tweet over the legal limit, you can shorten it with bit.ly or tinyurl. These sites shrink your link so you can fit it into a Tweet; all you have to do is copy and paste the full link on one of those sites, then click a button and they are compressed and ready to copy and paste into your Tweet.

How do I Tweet A Picture?
Twitter doesn't offer an official picture-posting feature of its own, however, most people use a third-party application (a popular one is TwitPic) to post pictures to Twitter accounts. Check out other photo and video apps on the Twitter Fan Wiki here. I usually Tweet pictures from my phone using an app on my phone from TwitPic. I was able to find a short video tutorial to help explain how to use TwitPic.

Hopefully that helps you figure out how to Tweet a picture, but you can use any other third-party application to Tweet a picture. Here is a short list of other sites that allow you to Tweet pictures.

• ThumbSnap
• Tagxta!
• tDash
• fumpr 
• TwitrPix  

There are many more that you can use, but those are just some random ones that I found online.

How do I Tweet a video?
Exactly the same way you Tweet a picture. Check out the Twitter Fan Wiki/Apps page here. Look at the Media - Photos and Videos in Tweets section, there is a lot more of those third-party apps or websites that are made to Tweet media.

I will make another post to help out with twitter in a while. Hope this helps you get a start. Get out there and Tweet it up, and follow me on Twitter @stefanwelsh.

Easier email

I was recently reading the February issue of PC World and came across a pretty sweet fix to set the default email client to something other than Outlook on a PC.

Rick Broida's article in the January issue of PC World is located on page 104 in the Here's How section. The article is titled Rick Broida's hassle-Free PC, he included a few other tips, but this is the one that intrigued me the most.

All you have to do is click here this will take you to the GmailDefaultMaker (that is the name). It is a lightweight program that allows you to specify what email client you want to use as a default so that when you click on an email link online it launches your preferred email client, instead of the one that you never use and always hate to open. This includes Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and some other small ones (it's not just for Gmail).



Check it out, I have used it and it is pretty nice. The program is a one-time "set it and forget it" type, so pretty simple even for a novice computer user. Enjoy it.

The Aikman Mouth

My roommate and I have spent a lot of time enjoying sports on television and on radio over the past six months and we can't help but critique all of the Play by Play and Color announcers that call each game.

Troy Aikman having a basket of fries, oh Troy.

We have decided to put together a couple of lists. One for our favorite Play by Play guys, and another that highlights our least preferred Color announcers. There were only two criteria, the call had to be on T.V. or Radio.

Nate's Play by Play top 5


1. Gus Johnson

Nate says, "Don't get me wrong Gus Johnson is a man among kindergartners when it comes to commentating, but why would he say that about Chris Johnson? 

2. Denny Matthews
3. Dick Enberg
4. Mitch Holthus
5. Mike Patrick

Stefan's Play by Play  top 5

1. Joe Buck
2. Vin Scully
3. Bob Uecker

 Everyone knows who Bob Uecker is right?

     4. Jon Miller
     5. Bob Costas

Most of these guys are Baseball announcers, but that's what I grew up watching and listening to most of the time.

Least Preferred color 5 Nate

1. Phil Simms
2. Dan Deardorf
3. Ed Cunningham
4. Randy Cross
5. Bill Raferty

Just to preview my list, we watch a lot of football on FOX, and when Troy Aikman calls a game with Joe Buck it is hilarious! it is great to make fun of Aikman not only because he was my younger brother's idol when he was playing, but because Troy says some of the most confusing things when calling the cowboy games. So we coined a term just for him, and announcers who say funny things like Troy or John Madden, we call it "The Aikman Mouth." I'm sure you can find something on YouTube that backs this up.

 Least Preferred color 5 Stefan

1. Troy Aikman
2. John Madden
3. Tim McCarver
4. Dennis Miller
5. Tony Kornheiser

A new kind of fast

There are a lot of choices when going out to eat now. People are saturated with choices. I was eating at a Noodles & Company recently in Denver, Colorado 1737 East Evans Ave, I was hungry and wanted something good and fast. After we went through the line and chose our drinks we sat down and talked for somewhere between 5 and ten minutes then our food arrived. I had the Wisconsin Mac N Cheese and she had the Japanese Pan Noodles. While we were eating we began to talk about how nice it was to go to a place that served good food fast. I thought that a place like Noodles & Company was a great new fast food place, but it does not fit the traditional "fast food" category. So, since Quinn (my girlfriend) is such a great problem solver, she came up with a new category for restaurants like Noodles & Company that are fast, tasty, and sorta sitdown-ish.

There are several criteria that separate a Burger King or Subway from a Noodles & Company or a Panera Bread. Here is the short list.

1. Spread out seating (more than booths)
2. Lot's of Windows
3. Free Wifi (really free not the kind you have to pay 5 dollars to connect for ten minutes)
4. A server (someone to at least deliver your meal)
5. Wide variety menu (other than burgers and sandwiches)
6. Computer friendly (access to outlets)
7. Timely food (more than 5 Minutes, less than 15)

Now here is a list of what places fit these criteria (for the most part). Places that Quinn and I have been to.

1. Noodles & Company
2. Panera Bread (no server)
3. The Spicy Pickle
4. Il Vicinos
5. La Baguette Bakery and Cafe
6. Tokyo Joe's (not too computer friendly)

You will notice that places like Qdoba and Chipotle are left off of this list. These establishments are very similar but they are pretty much as Quinn says "Subway for burritos." There were others that didn't quite make the list either.

One more thing to note is that places like this seem to be popping up all around Denver and Colorado Springs alike, so be sure to take advantage of the areas if you are there.

Remember, Quinn and I have been to these places so that is why we have this specific list. If you have a suggestion let me know and I will visit the place and update the list on a later date.

A place for coding

I like to code, ha ha pretty geeky. I have compiled a top five list of the best places to sit down plug-in and get creative, or something like that.

1. The Blue Moon Coffee Company - Hastings, Nebraska

The Blue Moon is a cool quite place with a lot of cool booths, tables, chairs, and couches to relax in. The best part is their electricity situation. I am pretty sure that they have an outlet for at least every booth, I have not been there fighting for an outlet. A down that they have is WiFi. It is available and free but almost half of the time that I am there it is not working properly.

2. Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill - Denver, Colorado
Garbanzo is a pretty sweet place, try the food it tastes great get a pita with some hummus and beef. They don't have any really comfortable areas, but they do have outlets under each booth, and some in the walls next to small tables, they don't have WiFi, but I have always had an outlet to plug into, and they don't care how long you are there.
3. Bruegger's Bagel's - Denver, Colorado
This store is located pretty close to the University of Denver campus. Good service, they are very fast getting you through the line, and down in your seat. You don't have to buy anything either, you could just sit down in their padded booths and plug-in, the outlets are right next to the salt and pepper shakers, pretty nice. It also has pretty reliable free WiFi. But you will be lucky to get a booth, like I said it is pretty close to DU's campus, so there are plenty of college students that are trying to find a place to study that land there.

4. Starbucks Coffee - Monument, Colorado
The Starbucks in Monument is the most up to date one i have been in so far. they have free WiFi, and they actually have a little workstation that can host about six laptops at a table next to the pick-up counter. They also have several outlets by the windows and one or two along the walls. The only downfall to this area is traffic that it gets, it's right next to i25 and is always very busy, it is also a small place.

5. Ihop - Pueblo, Colorado
The Ihop in Pueblo is not full of outlets, but the food is fast, and if they are not packed they can find you an outlet, just don't show up on a Sunday morning. The last time I was there they didn't have WiFi themselves, but there were a couple available in the area, or you can just go off the WiFi on your phone like I did. They try to accommodate you and your laptop that is why they made my list, I have been to places that won't do anything to help your situation.

If you are in the area check those places out maybe I will see you there.