TheStyleGeek.com

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been testing out different tablets in order to figure out which one to ask Santa for for Christmas this year.  I’ve gotten hands on with the Amazon Kindle Fire, iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Nook Tablet.  I’ve made videos about my experience with the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet and I’ve even come up with a theory about what people’s tablet choice says about them.

Ultimately, I decided to add a Kindle Fire to my wish list.  It’s small, easy to use and gives me instant access to thousands of movies, tv shows, books and games.  You can check out my complete comparison on the Experts Exchange Tech News Blog or see which tablet matches your personality on Business Insider.

As you may or may not know, I work full time as the content manager for technology help website Experts-Exchange; and part of my job involves blogging.  In an effort to better brand ourselves, my fellow blog contributors and I are starting our own columns, where we will write about the tech topics we’re personally passionate about (rather than simply writing about the ones with mass appeal).  We’ve each come up with a name for our columns, and I decided to name my column after this blog.  I mean, what better way to further The Style Geek brand (whatever that is, exactly) than to give her a column–even if it is, well, nepotism.

In my inaugural piece, I decided to weigh in on the issue of women (or the lack thereof) in technology.  Check it out and be sure to share your thoughts!

PS- I randomly found the image for this post in a Google search, but you can be sure that, if possible, it will be making it’s way onto this blog!

The other day, a friend asked me if I would train her to use Twitter.  She seemed to think that since I work on the Interwebs 40 hours a week, I must be good at social media.  And maybe she’s right. I might be decent at managing my online identity–and even attracting people to follow me (still amazed that 420 people actually care what I have to say on Twitter or that you lovely folks read this blog); but just like  everyone else, I’ve made my share of mistakes online.

So, in an attempt to save all of you from committing some of my past sins, here’s a list of my top social media recommendations:

1.) If you’re going to Tweet at a celebrity, make sure you use the 140-characters to demonstrate your razor sharp wit. Anything less just seems desperate.

2.) No one cares what you want to eat, are eating or just ate. Unless it’s some sort of animal reproductive organ. But that will (hopefully) repulse more followers and friends than it will attract.  So yeah. Just don’t do it.

3.) LinkedIn is a professional website.  If your Twitter stream posts to your LinkedIn page, make sure you only Tweet resume-quality stuff. And make sure it’s all spelled correctly. Most employers find good grammar to be an asset. (And you don’t want to work for the ones who don’t.)

4.) I know the 240 people you’re connected with on Facebook are labeled as “Friends”, but really, that’s more of a technical term. You wouldn’t call all 240 of us to vent about what a skank your ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend is, so there’s no need to post it as your status. Trust me, this makes you look bad, not her.

5.) When it comes to trending Twitter Topics, proceed with caution.  As I type, Keith Sweat and #babymakingsong are trending, and I guarantee I’d lose a few followers and even more credibility if I were to join in on that conversation.  Unless of course I brought out my razor sharp wit.  That is the Twitter Trump Card. (Sidenote: Someone should tell @RealChuckie that Keith’s song is one word. His version makes it seem like the title of a CSI episode; and also, the fact that this dude has nearly 200,000 followers pretty much answers the question of what’s wrong with  America’s youth.)

6.) Know who follows you and why.  I use Facebook to connect with people I actually know in real life. Many of relatives, friends from elementary school and even some of my mom’s friends have friended me on Facebook, so when I made a snarky comment about Tina Fey the other day, only one person commented.  In the future, I’ll save the snark for places where people expect it from me (this blog and Twitter) and use Facebook as a way for people to keep tabs on me (eg- stalk out my pictures to see if I’ve had a baby, gained an inordinate amount of weight or been stricken with a bad case of adult acne).

7.) Limit profanity. Don’t be crass. Don’t show your wiener. You would think this is self-explanatory. The news tells us this is not.

A recent poll showed that 18 percent of people regret posting something on the Internet.  Personally, I thought this number was a bit low.  Clearly they did not survey politicians  (see above recommendation).  Here’s my personal litmus test for posting something on a social media site: If it’s something you’d be annoyed or offended to read on someone else’s wall, you’re probably not cool enough to post it on yours.

Last week, I redeemed my upgrade and got a new smart phone.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know how much I hated my Blackberry, and my new HTC Incredible 2 is like a breath of fresh air in comparison.  The Apple-esque interface offers a clean, easy-to-use alternative for non-Mac users and despite what you may have heard, I’ve yet to find an app in the Apple store that isn’t on the Android Market.  Well, at least one that I want to use that is.

Earlier today, I posted my Top 10 Android Apps for Work over on Business Insider.  (Please check it out…and then Tweet it…and then share it on Facebook and LinkedIn…I’m a narcissist, er, sucker for tracking those social stats.)

But in my quest to find the best apps for business, I also stumbled upon a few must-have apps for any woman–whether your full time job involves putting on a power suit or changing poopy diapers:

Remember the Milk- When it comes to organizing an often complicated schedule, simplicity rules, and Remember the Milk has the corner on the easy-to-use market.  Input a task, select a due date and level of importance and let the productivity begin.  The app also offers more robust features like the ability to add notes, receive notifications and categorize items by work, personal, etc. so you can be as detailed  as you want—or not.

GasBuddy- This money-saving app gives you a list of the cheapest gas stations in your area, sorted by price or location. For people in one of these states, it’s a must-have.

My Days Period & Ovulation- Trying to get pregnant? The My Days Period & Ovulation app wants to help.  Mark the first day of your period and the app will tell you what days that month you’ll be most fertile.  Tell the app when you were “intimate” and you’ll be more likely to know what day you conceived.

Baby Bump Pregnancy- Once you’re pregnant, you’ll want to know what’s going on inside your body, and Baby Bump Pregnancy gives you daily updates on your baby’s develop, connects you with other moms-to-be and lets you track your weight, cravings and more.

Kid TV- After the little one arrives, you‘ll need all the help you can get; and Kid TV has a bevy of cartoons and kid-friendly videos that are sure to distract him/her when crying.

What’s for Dinner?- If you’ve ever gone to the grocery store without your shopping list, you’ll appreciate the What’s for Dinner app.  You can access your grocery list and check items off as you put them to your shopping cart or, if you forgot an ingredient, check your recipe file or the

Calorie Counter by Fat Secret- Not only does the Calorie Counter app let you keep a food diary, but if you’re uncertain of the nutritional value of a certain food, you can use the app’s barcode scanner to find it.  Calorie Counter also lets you log your exercise, so you know exactly how many calories you’ve consumed and how many you’ve burned each day.

Mint.com- Whether you’re the one paying the bills or not, it’s always nice to know where your budget stands each month and Mint.com’s Personal Finance app is a one-stop-shop for tracking and managing your money.  If you find the thought of loading all your account information into one location a bit intimidating—or just downright scary—why not start off with your bank’s Android apps.  At least you’ll know when you’re out of dough.

Have another app you think should make the list? Leave it in the comments section below.

I’m gonna say something that may offend a few of you: Clothes look better on fit women.  Now, before you fill my inbox with hate mail, re-read that sentence.  I didn’t say “skinny” women.  I didn’t even say “thin” women.  I used the word “fit,” so hear me out.

If you’ve been around The Style Geek long enough, you know that I struggled with an eating disorder off and on through college and finally kicked its vomit inducing butt in graduate school.  When I moved to California in 2008, I weighed 125 pounds.  An unoffensive number to most of you, but one that was hardly healthy for my petite five foot one and three-fourths (when you’re this short you measure everything) frame. Since 2008, I’ve lost 20 pounds and successfully kept it off.

While my weight loss story is hardly worth writing home about compared to the likes of the Biggest Losers, I’d venture to say that most of you reading this blog identify more with the struggle to lose a muffin than a baby elephant around your waist.  So how did I do it and why should you care?

For once, I didn’t go on a crazy diet. I didn’t even deprive myself of some of the foods I really enjoyed.  The bottom line with any weight loss plan is that you must burn more calories than you are consuming.  Period. End of sentence.  If a person weighing 125 pounds burns an average of 284 calories per spin class and the average slice of pizza has around 250 calories, that means he/she should only have one slice of pizza for lunch.  If there’s 3500 calories in a pound of fat, that means he/she would have to burn 500 more calories per day than he/she is consuming in order to burn a pound of fat in a week.  That’s it.  Simple math.

And simple trade-offs.  If you’re going to have a glass of wine (or two) with dinner, skip dessert.  If you heaped your plate full during the office potluck, have a salad sans cheese with low fat dressing for dinner.  Yes, it does mean occasionally having to go to bed a little hungry (though a glass of hot tea will fill that gnawing sensation); and no, a transformation won’t happen overnight (or, in 7-10 days like some diets that will remain nameless promise), but it will work.  And you can sustain it.

Now, how does this apply to style? Well, as I so boldly proclaimed earlier, clothes look better on people who have a healthy, in-shape physique.  It doesn’t mean you have to look like ready to rock the runway (some of us will always fight the pear) but it does mean that you should put on every outfit knowing that you have done your best to look and feel as healthy as possible.  (Sidenote: Your wallet might thank you as well.  I’m personally less prone to shop when I feel confident that I look good in the clothes I already have in my closet.  If I feel insecure about my body, all I want to do is disguise it with something new to wear.)

And since this is The Style Geek, allow me to suggest that everyone download Calorie Counter by Fat Secret to your smart phones to augment your weight loss efforts.  It’s available for BlackBerry, Android and iPhone and lets you keep a food and exercise diary that automatically calculates how many calories you consumed or burned as well as provides other tools to chart your weight loss.

What about you? What are your tips for staying in shape?

Every Friday over on the blog that pays the bills, I post a wrap-up of the week’s top stories in technology.  The tech world must have been on furlough this week, as toddlers and poop (yes, you read that right) were deemed newsworthy.  Therefore, I decided to write a snarky version of The Friday Four for the EE-Tech-News blog.  Unfortunately, my boss said I couldn’t post it on the site (which I totally understand… the word “dookie” is not exactly in keeping with the Experts Exchange brand), so I decided to share it with all of you.  Enjoy!

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Perhaps the tech world put business on hold this week, (cue poorly synthesized music) because we couldn’t find anything even mildly redeeming to write about in this week’s Friday Four.  Sure, the Netflix CEO joined the Facebook board of directors, but unless I will soon be able to stream 30-Rock reruns via status update on my Facebook for Blackberry app (which sucks, by the way, and probably wouldn’t stream video in the first place), I really don’t care that Reed Hastings added another feather to his cap.

Nor do I care that toddlers understand the difference between faulty hardware and operator error.  But apparently the folks at ArsTechnica do, since this little gem was the top story on the site yesterday.  The “study” of 83 toddlers (apparently, the children in the  church nursery constitute a valid sample size these days) revealed that “even very young kids have a sense of when something has gone wrong that’s beyond their control and can differentiate between that and a situation where something is apparently beyond their abilities.” Parents take note: This means that your two-year-olds should only cry when they have filled their britches with explosive diarrhea (clearly caused by faulty hardware), and should change their own diapers for their everyday, average dookies (a result of operator error).

Speaking of dookie, the Japanese poo burger that first hit mainstream media in the 1990s is now going viral on the Internet (again).  Personally, I’m not sure what’s more disturbing: the fact that fairly reputable media outlets like Fox News, The Village Voice and Gizmodo have taken one YouTube video as credible and given poop top billing this week or that someone is having this much fun with feces—and wants us to share it with us in an edible fashion!

If the poo burger turns out to be a hoax that will mark disappointment number two for the Japanese this week. Aimi Eguchi, the PYT who ran lead vocals for the very popular all-girl Japanese idol group AKB 48 revealed that she’s not real, causing Bieber fans everywhere to question everything as well.

But all is not lost for Tweens in Japan—or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.  J.K. Rowling has announced that in addition to this week’s launch of her interactive website, Pottermore, she will make e-book versions of the Harry Potter novels available.  For me, this just reifies my belief that the rich really do get richer.  For Potterphiles, this means one less reason for social interaction and an online location to plot ways to finally beat those Twihards.

Hopefully they’ll be news to report next week.  Who knows? Maybe MySpace will turn a profit or the WinkleVii will finally win. Hey, at least they got to meet Ashton.

As part of a post I’m working on for Business Insider, I had the pleasure of interviewing Regator co-founder Kimberly Turner last week.  This past Thursday, Kimberly and her colleagues at Regator (one of the best places to discover quality content on the web, IMO) launched a new product called Regator Breaking News (RBN).  In just a few days, the application has become near and dear to my blogging heart.  

Using semantic algorithms and the curated collection of web content on Regator proper, RBN is able to determine what is trending faster than Twitter and major news services like CNN or Reuters.  Up-to-the-minute news alerts are sent to your email inbox, meaning you, as a blogger, have the chance to break a story before it hits mainstream media.

When I talked to Kimberly, I asked her why she wanted to launch RBN, what type of news is most popular and the ways she’s seen technology change the field of journalism.  Here’s what she had to say:

Jenn Prentice (JP): What was the impetus for starting Regator Breaking News?

Kimberly Turner (KT):  I was a journalist for 10 years, so I know firsthand that there’s so much information out there that it’s overwhelming.  You spend so much time looking at RSS feeds, making sure you don’t miss anything.  I have a Master’s Degree in applied linguistics–which I’ve been able to use in developing Regator’s semantic algorithms–and I realized that through experimentation that not only could we analyze all the curated data we already had on Regator, but are also able to identify big news stories before they reach major news sites.

JP: I’ve noticed that my RBN alerts are a bit skewed toward entertainment news.  What conclusions, if any, have you been able to draw about what types of news people are interested in from looking at RBN’s results?

KT:  When something major happens, regardless of the topic, we pick it up quickly.  I think news in general is becoming more skewed toward entertainment pieces because people in the entertainment industry have employees who send out press releases to tons of media outlets every time they do something.  It’s definitely getting more bubblegum out there. while we could talk about what that means sociologically, it could be something as simple as the fact that people have really serious stuff going on in their lives these days and they might be interested in taking their minds off it.

JP: Have you found any other site that you would consider competition for RBM?

KT: I don’t think there’s anyone specifically doing anything like what we’re doing, but I suppose competition would be anywhere that people go to find their breaking news.  CNN, Reuters, Yahoo News. We’ve timed ourselves against most of them and we’re faster at breaking news.

JP: And how is RBN able to report news so fast?

KT: What I think makes us work best is that we’re curated on the front end through the content we allow or don’t allow in Regator’s blog directory;  and the actual breaking news alerts are generated through algorithms. That makes us faster than other sites because we’re generating stories just as they start to take off, not after someone has sifted through all the content that’s already out there.

JP: Other than up-to-the-minute news reports, are there any other ways that RBN helps journalists out?

KT:  The key for any journalist is that first you have to know what you’re gonna write about.  RBN is not intended to replace reporting, and in fact, we firmly believe that serious reporting has to place on every story.  So, we also provide historical data and images along with our breaking news alerts. We pull historical data from Regator so that people can identify peaks in interest in a story or other stories that may have related to a breaking news item in the past.  The images are from the sources that we have, or point people to places where they can find or purchase images.  The bottom line is that as things move faster and faster, we are trying to help people move faster and faster as well.

Regator Breaking News is regularly $19.99 for individuals or $14.99 per user for newsrooms, but the company is currently offering a 14-day free trial and the first three months of membership at half price.  After just five days of using the application for both personal and professional reasons, I’d say it’s worth it’s weight in story-idea-generating gold.

Words are powerful.  They make us laugh and cry, they inspire us, they spur us on to action. You name it, words can do it.  In my public speaking class, I tell my students to word their speeches in such a way as to evoke emotion.  “You can make the audience feel whatever you want (about your topic), but just make them feel something.”

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on The Style Geek, but I’ve been posting on another blog pretty regularly lately; and in the past 48 hours, it seems my words have evoked quite a lot of emotion.  If you want the full story, read my post here, William’s response here and a question posed by a StackOverflow member here…and then go back a few years to understand the full history.

But the reality is that for the first time in maybe, well, ever, something I posted on the Internet was relevant.  Relevant enough to get over 17,000 page views.  Relevant enough to get people talking. And relevant enough to get me to start blogging on The Style Geek again. (Go ahead. Call me an opportunist.  Believe me, I’ve been called far worse already this week.)

The moral of the story? No one cares what you have to say until it’s relevant to what they care about…or what the media tells them they should care about.  The takeaways from this moral? Find articles, blogs, and current events that relate to things you are passionate about and comment on them…intelligently.  And don’t be afraid to be edgy.  People may not like it, but at best they’ll respect you for saying it.

So hello again, Style Geekers.  It’s good to be back! I can’t wait to be relevant again.

Lately, I’ve been focusing a lot of my posts on the style part of The Style Geek. Personally, I prefer talking about more fun, fashion related things, but I think the Geek deserves some love too.  It’s been a week since I’ve made a post on this website, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing elsewhere, namely the website I work for from 8 AM to 5 PM, five days a week.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I periodically lament the fact that: “My day job is ruining my ability to Tweet.”  What is my day job? I am the content coordinator for Experts Exchange (EE), a website that helps people solve their technology problems through question and answer and articles.  My job is to recruit people to write articles for our website–and write a few articles of my own.  So, on the weeks that I don’t get a chance to make a post on The Style Geek, it’s probably because I’m writing for EE.

For me, my ability (or lack thereof) to mix my personal and professional life is something I constantly struggle with.  After sitting at a computer for eight hours a day, the last thing I want to do is sit back down in front of my laptop and start writing again…Oh, and did I mention that I have a husband who deserves my attention and friends I’d like to hang out with?  That being said, The Style Geek is my creative outlet and I feel like something’s incomplete when I don’t get the chance to make a post.

But enough about me. What about you? What do you do to balance your personal and professional life? If you work for yourself, do you feel like there’s a clear line between business and pleasure?

Oh, and if you feel like reading more about what the geek does all day, check out what I’ve been doing this week:

What’s the Buzz About Google Buzz?

Socializing (Your EE Articles) on Facebook and Twitter

The fourth Twizzler was half way in my mouth this afternoon when I was hit with a wave of disgust–or maybe that was just a sugar rush–over my eating habits as of late.  Cookies, pizza, cheese, crackers. If it contains refined sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates, I will eat it.  I had been doing so good last year when I was preparing for my wedding… and then the honeymoon came…and then the holidays…and five pounds later I’m doing the pants dance to get into my skinny jeans.  (Come on! You KNOW which one I’m talking about!)

Honestly, though, it’s not about the weight.  I’m fairly certain that the scale is always going to read plus or minus five pounds, for me–and believe it or not, that’s OK.  What it IS about is developing good eating habits: generous helpings of fruits and vegetables, moderate portions of grains and proteins and not-so-much of the sugar and fats that have been crowding my plate lately.

Unfortunately, with all the fad diets and weight loss books on the market today, it’s difficult to weed through that information to figure out exactly how–and how much– we should eat.  (Personally, I’m a fan of Michael Pollan’s way of eating. I highly suggest you read In Defense of Food and Food Rules.  Pollan will at least make you think twice before putting something in your mouth; but I just don’t think it’s realistic to say that I will cut all processed foods out of my diet, indefinitely.)

Yet even with all the new information out there, there’s one guideline for healthy eating that has stood the test of time: The Food Pyramid.  Fortunately, the US Government has taken The Pyramid to the web, making it the perfect candidate for Tech Tuesday (which is being posted on Wednesday and you guys won’t read until Thursday).

MyPyramid.gov is not just a website about the Food Pyramid, it’s a resource for healthy eaters of all ages.  The site is a combination of basic information about the pyramid, tips for healthy eating and interactive tools that allow you to customize your eating plan based on age, sex, height and weight.  Once you’ve created your eating plan, MyPyramid.com helps you plan your menu, calculate the cost of your meals and track your healthy eating progress.  And, for your calorie counters out there, My Foodapedia lets you search for a food and see how many calories it contains.

I’m planning to make my customized eating plan this weekend; and  I’m assuming it will contain large quantities of things that grow in the ground. I’m hoping that some, if not all of you, will visit MyPyramid.com along with me and join what I’m calling the Fruit and Veggie challenge.  Here’s to a healthier 2010!