Baby bonanza Twitter party!

It’s been fun to join the “mommy-blog” world of resources. There are some really great bloggers out there who write about real-life stuff that I can relate with. Thank goodness, because Chisum didn’t come with a “how-to” book! I’ve also relied very heavily on my family and my new-mom friends, too. But just with the everyday stuff, it’s nice to know that there are other moms who have gone through it too.

I’ve connected with some other bloggers via Twitter, and one such mom connected me with an upcoming Twitter party that I wanted to share with all of my other new-mom and mom-to-be friends.

They will be asking several questions of those in the party like, "best advice you've received as a parent to be?" and "worst advice?". Best baby gadget you can't live without? Whoever joins in and answers questions is automatically entered to win a $1500 gift card for Young America furniture through Nebraska Furniture Mart. I’m all about that! ;)

Hope you can join me this Thursday, March 27th at 7pm-8pm CST. Use #babybonanza!

Follow Jesus | He is Risen!

Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is Risen!

We watched this video at church this morning and being the Twitter-nerd that I am, I wanted to share.

Technology Review | iPad 2 vs Xoom

This was my desk today – does it look like technology overload?! Nah – I am in tech-heaven!

I’ve been trying out the iPad for a couple of months (front right), now I’m trying out the Motorola Xoom tablet (front left) – pronounced zoom.  I’m going to post my review below, but for an Android platform lover, the Xoom is the way to go and I’m so excited for this new tablet! It will allow me the business options to create, edit and view documents, spreadsheets and powerpoints, as well as provide the ease of utilizing social media to send messages from wherever I’m traveling.

Motorola Xoom

• Moto's partnership with Google (and use of the 3.0 version of its mobile operating system, Honeycomb)
• 32 GB
• Free 4G upgrade when it becomes available in the fall
• 1GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 2-based slate boasts a sizable 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 capacitive display, 3G connectivity
• Meant to be used in landscape mode more than portrait – better for video and screen viewing
• Front and rear facing cameras (rear facing has a larger zoom)
• HD video capability
• Wireless options – cheaper with a Verizon contract
• With what Google has done on the software side -- the Xoom could represent the next stage of tablet evolution

Apple iPad

• Options of 16, 32 and 64 GB – you pay for the memory. Overall, the iPad 2 is more affordable, but to get to 32 or 64 GB, it is more expensive
• 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 screen – easier to read both in portrait and horizontal views
• Thinner designed and slightly lighter
• 1 GHz dual core chip, 512MB of RAM, A4 CPU
• Front & rear camera for pictures, video
• A little longer battery life than the Xoom
• Only 3G capabilities
• No Flash player available – many movies and pictures cannot be viewed because it is not supported by the Apple platform

 

Overall

Basically with the Xoom, you have the capability to control what you want to do, and the iPad pretty much controls what you can do.

There are so many more options, especially the business features with the Xoom. I discovered how you can create and share documents, which will be beneficial. There is a similar program with the iPad, but since Mac has their own system, it won’t work as well with our PC computers and data.

There is not much sharing between the devices, except for a few apps, so it’s not like we have to have the Android phone with the Xoom or the iPhone with the iPad. But it would be easier if they were the same platform for familiarity and ease of use.

The biggest difference is that the Xoom is more computer like, whereas the iPad is more oversized-phone like.

Anyone have one or the other tablet that they like?

My role in social media

One of my roles in my job is coordinating the social media to help promote agriculture. And I love it.

I know a lot of people don't quite understand it, or they think, "Why should I tweet what I'm doing all the time?", or "Who cares what I eat for dinner?", or "Nobody wants to read what my day was like". Well probably for most people -they don't. However, for farmers and ranchers, it's different.

Consumers want to know where their food comes from, how their animals are being taken care of, and generally, are just curious about life on the farm! Also, farmers and ranchers are trusted by consumers - so they want to hear it from them. So yes, people don't want to know about me sitting at my desk all day or I'm flying to now - but if I can help the farmers/ranchers tell their story by passing on what they are saying, or giving them the resources to tell their story, then it is worth it.

Using social media in agricultue is just one form of promoting - but mostly it's a form of a continual conversation. Like last year when I had a conversation with an atheist vegan. I knew I wasn't going to change his mind on anything, but at least the conversation was open for others to join in, read or click on the links. Hopefully I was able to reach someone that day with my positive messages.

And my role in it is kind of a beast that's grown it's own legs! Now here is the best part:

Last week, I received a phone call from Washington. Yes, like D.C., like from the government, like from a little department called the USDA. They were wanting my advice on using social media to promote agriculture. Whoa, I was totally excited! Not only did I help them out by sharing my thoughts and ideas, they shared some really great info for me to utilize as well.

I've also heard from some people in the field that what I'm tweeting and posting on facebook is where they get their first information for ag updates. A pretty nice little compliment to know what I'm doing is helping someone. And that is the biggest reason I'm telling this little story about social media - helping others, promoting agriculture and educating about issues that affect us is what it's all about.

I should have known when I was a 4th grader and couldn't decide between being a writer or a teacher when I grew up - I guess I'm kind of both now.