So I have decided that I will be using my twitter account to track my training progress leading up to next year's Iron Man 70.3 in Rhode Island. I have been updating my account after each workout, but I always forget to hash-tag the post so that I can go back and pull everything up later on. That seems to be the trickiest thing for me...140 characters is no problem...it's the stupid hash-tag that I always seem to forget.
Aside from still not agreeing with twitter as a mainstream communication platform, I am starting to take to the service as an information gathering tool. The people that I follow all provide me some sort of information that is all conglomerated in one spot...which is nice. I follow some on twitter, but also am a "fan" or "friend" on facebook...and it is interesting to see how different the two services are utilized.
So far this is what I have noticed...NYRA gets it and US Soccer doesn't. NYRA uses its facebook account to post articles and news stories about what is happening at the track or within the organization. It then uses its twitter account to update followers on trainer standings, results of big races, and other breaking news. It is great since I am not at the track every moment of every day, but am still interested in knowing what is going on. NYRA does a really nice job seeding conversations on Facebook and engaging with fans through twitter.
US Soccer doesn't get it. I am also a fan on facebook and follow US Soccer news on twitter. They use facebook to post starting lineups and provide other interesting news articles. Each posting has hundreds of comments and "likes." The fans are obviously engaged and desiring of this information. The use of twitter is poor at best, however. Last night the US Men's Team played El Salvador in what was more or less a must win game. Not a single tweet from US Soccer throughout the entire game...not at the start, not after a goal, not at half time, not after the game even. It wasn't until about 2 hours after the game ended that the following was posted "by now everyone knows USA beat El Salvador 2-1. USA should have had several more goals. poor finishing is the story." Poor...very poor way to stay on top of things.
Some other thoughts...TO loves himself a little too much and tweets way too much...as does Lance Armstrong. The biggest difference is that Lance will throw out some interesting links every now and again. I am borderline ready to dump TO from my list. Shaq is a clown. I like the little tidbits here and there outside of their blogs from Mark Cuban and Fred Wilson.
Bottom line so far...I will continue to give this whole twitter thing a try. If nothing else it is keeping track of my training for me.
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Some random notes: I didn't compete in the Crystal Lake race on Travers' morning. It was a torrential down pour and, with the course the way it is, I just didn't want to risk getting hurt. If I didn't have Lake George in a couple of weeks I probably would have raced...probably. I feel like a bum for not doing it, but I am slowly accepting that it was the wisest decision. Vacation has been great! I miss it up here so much...it is so quiet and relaxed compared to the City. The air smells clean, there is grass and birds, and, of course, my puppies! I haven't been away from the city for this long since I have been down there...it is going to suck going back. Oh well. Finally...I am debating on switching over to Wordpress. It only makes sense to me...free blog versus paying fifty bucks a year to host this on Typepad. Any thoughts on making the switch? Aside from copying and pasting manually, is there a way to migrate all past content over to Wordpress? Lake George...2 weeks from yesterday...getting excited...nervous, but excited!
