Websites, e-mails, social networking, streaming video, hyperlinks – whether it’s work or play, my life is saturated with technology. It’s what I do and what I love.

What many people don’t know about is my low tech side, my obsession with things like typewriters and snail mail. When I was hired at KWWL, one of the first things I asked for was a Rolodex. A real life, old school, write on the card and file it under the correct letter, Rolodex.

Often the old is reinvented, but why not take the techie chic and give it a paper and pen spin?

At the last #CVTweetup, Katie (@kmnoon) introduced me to the area’s newest communication tool. Have a comment, either informational or comedic, to share? You can tweet it, or you can Tweet-it©.

Tweet-its Portable Postsare the brain child of Cedar Valley native and graphic designer Chris Corkery.

“I had heard so many people talk about not ‘getting’ Twitter and their fear of being out there online and I joked about a paper solution to ease people into the idea of posting their day to day thoughts for all to see,” Corkery said (via e-mail).

Imagine a Post-it prepped with an @.

Ex: At a restaurant you like – leave a Tweet-it on the menu to recommend a particular dish. Someone sees that, picks it up, and “re-tweets” it in the break room at work.

Of course, just like hashtags are often used more for comedy than for information, Tweet-its don’t require a real handle or hashtag to work.

Here’s an example from the Tweet-it Facebook page:
@Stomach Grumble, grumble. I may have to eat early. #feedme

Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen “Tweet-it sightings” popping up on Twitter. Yes, the irony (and Chris admits it’s ironic), Tweet-its have a Twitter account (@Tweet_Its)

So the point of it all? Much the same as Twitter. Sure we can live without it, but it’s another way to connect, inform and entertain.

You can order your Tweet-it pad, in creatively named colors like Firewire Orange and Snow Yellow, for $2.99.

Whether it’s online or on paper – happy tweeting.

Posted under Twitter

By popular request, the May #CVTweetup has been moved to Thursday, May 13.

Still at 6 p.m. at Bourre Lounge in Waterloo.

Follow the hashtag for updates or RSVP on Facebook.

See you there!

Posted under Food and Drink, Twitter

Photo courtesy Samsung Mobile

Got a note yesterday from a Samsung Mobile representative about new charging stations being installed at nine U.S. colleges, including the University of Northern Iowa.

I’m told UNI will get 4 charging stations in Maucker Union and the UNI-Dome. They could potentially be helpful depending on where they are positioned. I know that I ended up sitting on the floor in a hallway while I was at an out of town conference last weekend because it was the only outlet I could find when my phone died. It will be interesting to see how often the stations are used.

If you spot one or try it out, send me a pic or a comment to share.

Posted under Web/Tech

Earth Day is like Valentine’s Day, and many other holidays for that matter. You don’t tell the important people in your life that you care about them only on Valentine’s Day, and if you believe in being environmentally friendly, it’s a lifelong commitment and not just a yearly celebration.

But, Earth Day is a chance to highlight the best the eco-friendly community has to offer. And here are some of the most interesting sites and apps I’ve come across on this particular Earth Day.

Good Guide
GoodGuide.com and its corresponding iPhone app claim to rate more than 50,000 products on their health, environmental and social impact. If you’re in the store deciding between Product A or Product B, you can scan the barcodes using the app and get an instant rating from Good Guide. The website provides methodology the company uses to develop the ratings.

EPEAT
Good Guide is going to rate basic household items but EPEAT focuses on electronics. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool is run by the Green Electronics Council. Products must meet 23 environmental criteria before being registered with EPEAT, then the products receive a bronze, silver or gold rating based on 28 additional criteria.

Mashable’s Recycled Gadgetry
Okay – something a little more creative. Mashable had an interesting post as part of series sponsored by Best Buy’s RecycleItOn.com. It includes 10 examples of innovative recycling including a chair made out of Playstation consoles and a necktie made out of cassette tapes.

#picnikearthday
And for some artistic flair, one of my favorite photo editing sites is looking for Picniked nature photos. Use the hashtag to share with the Twitter and Picnik communities, or follow the hashtag to enjoy.

Share your Earth Day finds below!

Posted under Holiday, Web/Tech

It’s been a relatively quick change by television standards. In a matter of months we’ve managed to build a new control room, graphics package, install new equipment, train our staff to use all of it and even design a new logo.

On television, we’ve given you the occasional glimpse into our transformation with a picture or some video, and a few times you may have heard the construction in the studio during a newscast.

But behind the scenes, it’s been much more than some extra make-up or picking up a toolkit. As everything started to take shape, our staff began the grueling task of putting all the new equipment and elements into action. That meant doing each newscast twice. Once on the air using our old control room, equipment, and graphics and then once for practice using the new versions. It’s made for some very long days, but all the preparation will be worth it.

And now it’s launch day. The old and new have lived together for the past few months. But now we officially took down the backdrops and moved out the old cameras. Everyone is on hand, adjusting lights, moving equipment, marking camera positions.

It’s kind of like the atmosphere before a big surprise party. There’s this buzz and excitment. You catch someone taking a moment to look around the room, taking it all in and realizing they’re a part of something special. Putting up streamers and unpacking party plates, all the while, keeping an eye on the clock so you can get into position before the big moment.

There’s no party decorations here tonight, but there are some snacks in the break room. Which can be just as exciting for a news crew.

The content of our newscasts will not change, but the way we look will. HD televisions will notice the biggest change, but everyone will see a clearer picture and truer colors starting tonight. So here it is. HD!

Producer Mike Verlo condensed four months of work into two minutes. Watch it.

Posted under Web/Tech

We get lots of information into the newsroom about upcoming community events. Since these have an Internet twist – I thought I’d share here.

Holy Family Catholic Schools in Dubuque and the Keystone Area Education Agency are hosting an Internet Safety event for parents on Tuesday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School gymnasium. The speaker, Deb Henkes, will also meet with the 7th grade students during the day. But this evening session will be a chance for parents in the community to find out what are the Internet trends for teenagers and get tips to make sure their kids develop safe Internet habits.

And if you know a younger teen who is already showing some real tech talent, be sure to check out the 2nd annual Peacocks Cyber Camp at Upper Iowa University in Fayette. The camp runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. It’s designed to teach 6th-9th graders about Scratch programming, cyber safety, robots and computer games. The camp costs $5, which includes lunch and door prizes. Click here for more info.

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

I’ve blogged about my secret (or now public) love for Farmville…which some of you didn’t seem to appreciate. But, I like to balance the serious and the trivial. So here’s a little of the latter…

Harold Hocken sent this picture to the newsroom of a Farmville cake his sister-in-law Denice made for Easter. It even has the little pink drops over the animals to show they are ready to harvest. Harold says it took Denice over a week to finish all the intricate details!

PS – Does anybody else love the new co-ops as much as I do?

Posted under Holiday, Web/Tech

In my humble opinion – the second #CVTweetup was a success.

Thanks to Sakura for being great hosts and putting up with us as we moved tables together, then separated them, then moved from table to table and completely confused our servers!

We had about 20 people show up, some new faces and some repeats. One of the Twitter crashers at our inaugural event has even become a convert and officially had a Twitter handle to put on his nametag.

I had some awesome sushi (special cucumber roll and Manhattan roll), awesome conversation (thanks to @NickTaiber, @joellaneville, @DevinRange, @BrookeBeckner, @JoshBeckner, @thejoshcrain, @kmnoon, @CandySteele, @grantschultz – and anyone else I forgot!), and found an awesome new toy (@Tweet_its, more about it in an upcoming post!)

Unfortunately I was a big nerd and ended up explaining the history of the retweet to someone. Seriously. I really was that boring. But, aside from that slip-up, I generally avoided talking about Twitter and just tried to make some new friends. In fact – I don’t think any of us were as caught up in documenting our get together this time, just chatting and eating! So I only ended up with a few pictures!

Josh and Joel (from @CandySteele)

Katie, Josh and Josh

Everyone getting settled in

There’s a new Facebook page for the #CVTweetup. So become a fan!

I’ve heard tentative plans for the next tweetup are May 12, 6 p.m. at Bourre Lounge in Waterloo. I’ll keep you posted if I hear differently.

There has been some discussion about choosing a different night of the week in the future. So let us know what you think in our Twtpoll.

Posted under Food and Drink, My Adventures, Web/Tech

Okay, maybe you were like me – a bit skeptical about hanging out with a bunch of strangers based on using a social network. That was your excuse the first time. But for the second Cedar Valley Tweetup, that’s not going to cut it.

Chances are that if you live in the Cedar Valley and you use Twitter, you probably know someone who went to the inaugural event. I think I managed to say hello to everyone last time, now I’m hoping to actually chat with everyone, and maybe even meet some of the skeptics who have decided to join in for round two.

So if you use Twitter and would like to do some real life networking, drop by and say hello. And if you don’t use Twitter but have been thinking about it, we campaigned with some non-Twitter crashers at the last event. At the very least – come for the good food!

April 7 at 6 p.m.
Sakura in Cedar Falls

RSVP here…

Posted under Food and Drink, Web/Tech