**Review** Tomoson's (for bloggers & businesses)

***This is a rushed post, so forgive any errors!***

Tomoson.com matches up bloggers with providers who have a product/service they would like reviewed. Here's the viewpoint of one of those providers (since I can only speak from the position of a blogger/reviewer).

I've been signed up with Tomoson for a while, but only recently began using the site. After a few days, I've already been accepted for one invitation to review a product (and you will see that review here asap!) and the process was pretty smooth.

The products I see listed for possible review are diverse. There's a great selection - good enough that I just rejoined the dreaded Facebook so that I can apply to review more of them. See, that's how it works: the more socially connected you are, the more eligible you are for applying to review products. Makes sense. The product providers want to get your feedback out to as many people as possible and, since Facebook is so freaking popular ~insert eye-roll here~ a lot of providers make it a pre-requisite for the blogger to have a certain number of Facebook "friends".

I get it.

Thank goodness I have bunches of folks that I enjoy on Twitter and G+. I don't want to recruit Facebook "friends" just for selfish purposes. I'm hoping that those Tweeters and Plussers willl migrate over to my  ~groan~ Facebook account. That way, I'm truly only dealing with folks I like.

Back to Tomoson:

It's easy to sign up and set up your profile. There's a system for verifying your social network influence (no fibbing allowed! ), and the rest is just waiting to find a product you'd feel good about trying for review.

Like I mentioned before, I am signed up for one product review and can't wait. I really wished I had started using Tomoson earlier. If I had, I might not have just 19 Facebook friends! LOL. Seriously though, I have to restrict my Facebook account because of issues with a stalker ex and his folks.

For anyone already doing product reviews (or anyone with a blog who wants to get into that), I can recommend giving Tomoson.com a try. In the meantime, if you are already one of my social network buddies, get over to Facebook and Add me as a "friend" because those are the only folks I want on my "timeline."

I am here (for Tomoson), and here for... I dunno, but it's a page for my blog. I think

Peace
--Free

"Influence" Sites for Bloggers

(Okay, this is not just for bloggers, but for anyone on social networking sites.)

When I realized that some of my more popular posts here are the ones for reviewing products, I thought it might be a good idea to explore some of the sites made for that. Also, let's be real: I'd love not to have to spend so much money on products that I might be able to try out for free.

Anyway, I've been looking at some of the places online focused on product review. I've even signed up for some of them. Here's what I can tell you about my experience so far:

1. Klout - while this is more of a site for measuring someone's "social influence," I joined because I think that it may help me get chosen to review products. PRO: gives me an idea of my personal online "klout." CONS: is a little intimidating for the first-time user; not very user-friendly right off the bat; is centered around popularity, which makes me feel both pleased and ashamed (it's like high school cliques meets social networking); I'm not sure yet how much clout my Klout score is having. Klout tells us to "be known for what we love," but it's really about be known for how many people know you. Not complaining yet. I'm going to work on learning how to better use the site first. By the way, this is me on Klout. 
2. TapInfluence - is for "influencers" and "brands." I can't really tell you much about this one since, like with Klout, I think this one if mostly for folks with high numbers of social followers. [PROS: Interesting concept. CON: Not immediately user-friendly.]
3. Izea  - similar to TapInfluence in some ways. You can sign up as either an advertiser or creator (influencer). As a creator, you bid on jobs as they are listed. I've bid on one opportunity and am still waiting for the outcome. Izea calls itself a "sponsorship marketplace." Best description is here.
4. House Party/Chatterbox - Since I'm not interested in throwing house parties for products, I only interact with the Chatterbox part of this site. I think their are more House Party opps than there are for Chatterbox. I recently applied to be a "Chatterbox" (that's me!) for a product, but I am waiting to see if I am approved. This site seems like it's going to be a lot of fun. 
5. SheSpeaks - this used to be one of my favorite WOM (word-of-mouth) sites... Then they started doing more stuff through Twitter parties instead of directly with individual members. I think they are still one of the best WOM sites, but I don't have a lot of time or patience for sitting in on Twitter parties. I can better promote a product by trying it and blogging (or Tweeting and G-Plus-ing) about it on my own schedule.
6. BzzAgent - Along with #5, this was one of the first WOM sites I used. It's still a favorite, but there I haven't seen many opps (for myself) lately. They do have some great campaigns though.
7. Sverve - I only mention this one because I have joined it. Thing is, I have no clue how to use it to any advantage. I'm going to have to take time soon to figure out how it works or if it's worth being involved with. If it weren't for a lovely person - Kim Lewis - endorsing me, I'd have no interaction there at all! LOL (By the way, thank you, Kim.)

There are many other sites like these that I attempted to try out that exclude me by my Alaska residence. Too bad. You'd think they would want to get the word out to the consumers up here.

I do enjoy participating with these types of WOM and influencer sites, but I offer a thought: you give up a lot of information when you join or fill out surveys. I know that privacy is a big issue these days. I think about the privacy issue myself, but for those of us who've spent so much time online, I think privacy is an illusion anyway.

I want to hear here (or on G+) about any other sites like the above.

Peace

--Free

Life in the Age of the Web

So much of our lives are tied to the internet. I didn't send out many Christmas cards this time around - there are online services for that. I really kind of miss getting some cards in the mail that I can hang around my front door for the season.

This is the age of the internet though. Not surprisingly, I'm finding that a lot of my social esteem now comes from my online social circles. If I don't post on Twitter or Google Plus for a few days, I see a major drop in interactions when I return. This also affects my blog because visitor numbers drop into the canyons.

How does this make me feel? So far, it doesn't really affect my personal feelings, but I can see how it could (and still might).

Will I sign onto Twitter or G+ just to keep people interested in me, in what I have to say? Maybe. Will I do it, no matter how insincere my shared thoughts and opinions are? No.

I wonder how it makes other people feel when they experience this social lag. Does it make them realize how thin and passing an online social life can be?

We really need to make sure that we keep a balance in how much time we spend online and off.
Internet acquaintances are alright, but it's our intimate friendships that need to be nurtured most. Go ahead and fall out sick and see which friends are going to be checking up on you first.

This random line of thought brings another to mind: How many people have just disappeared from their online social circles without anyone wondering what happened to them? I've known a few people who went from super-active online to dead silent. Are they dead? Did something happen to take away their need for interacting online? There's really no way to know without turning into a stalker, is there?

I'm a worrier. When I get to "know" someone online - say on Google or Twitter - and they suddenly stop posting or blogging, I think the worst. I don't for one minute imagine that they are just too busy living an offline life to post their every third thought for me to criticize.

We might all need to take regular breaks from our online lives. I do this about once every couple of months. It's an ordeal. You can almost hear the sucking sound as I pry my brain away from the computer. I always have a little bit of "dry out" fever and I will fidget for a couple hours before I can even get anything useful done.

Everything I do offline is cushioned by the internet. If I clean or do laundry, I need my last.fm for music because I no longer own a radio. When I writing, I need Wikipedia or Google because I have no paper encyclopedias, newspapers or dictionary references. I've given my last TV away to a friend, so I have to go online for my shows and movies.

I was talking to a doctor some time back about my Sarc and the problems it causes me. He approved of the "work-arounds" I've fallen back on: different types of listing and note-taking apps. He doesn't like the idea of calculators being used by the general population though. He feels it causes a loss of basic math skills. He's right. I feel almost the same way about our use of the internet.

When did this start happening to us? How far will it erode our skills? Will children one day not know what it is to hold a book in their hands (maybe with a flashlight under their bed-covers because they just have to know how the chapter ends)? I'm already annoyed that my nieces and nephews actually have never had to leave their seat to change the TV channel. It's not fair. On the other hand, they have been robbed of the joy of decorating their bedroom walls with their favorite album covers.

Don't you ever wish that we could have stopped the progress of the internet at a certain stage? Like, we could have email but only for business reasons. We could keep our social networks, but had to ask someone what an agoraphobic is. I think if we could still have a need for each other - to share mentoring and learning and real communication - we'd be better off. I can't imagine what's going to happen to human relationships if we let things keep going the way they are. On the other hand, I wouldn't have been able to tell you all this without the internet. So... we should keep blogs. Definitely keep blogs. And shopping. I can't take those long store lines...

Peace
--Free

Spring Cleaning My Life

I have so much useless crap floating around in my life (heh heh). This morning, I was trying to clean out my email folders. I have something like 3 million notices from Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus...

Here is the sad truth: I hardly ever even use Twitter anymore. That's because I'm kind of a social network floozy. I'm all over the new guy until the next one comes along. I use to rape Twitter at least 5 times a day, then I got into Facebook - which violated me before I could really fall in love with it. Pinterest... meh. I only got into Pinterest for its looks. It was so hot and sultry. Made me sweat a little just to look at all the cool stuff it had to offer. That wore off when I realized I couldn't find any one special thing about it to keep the magic going.

Right now, I am in a serious relationship with Google Plus. I mean, we are talking, I don't know - marriage, maybe? It's pretty intense. Like with all hot-burning romances, I keep waiting for things to smolder down and just burn out. But, so far...

But back to my spring cleaning.

Are you one of those organized people who decides immediately whether you are going to save, store or delete an email? If so, I hate you.

I have three email addresses for myself  (I might have forgotten a couple) and one or two for my blogs. I'm such a neurotic pack-rat that when I have an especially important email, I forward a copy to all my addresses. That might sound really crazy, but when I fell ill, I could only remember the password to one email... And, let me tell you, even though I can't remember which email I needed to see at 3:20 in the morning, at the time, it was vital.

Yeah, so. About every two, two and a half years, I have to do an email enema. It's time.

This is Monday. I have dedicated this week to getting the important things in my life uncluttered: my closet, my kitchen jumble drawer, my YouTube playlists and my email. Never mind that this is a 3- or 4-day job and I usually get distracted after 45 minutes. The important thing is, I am going to give it a try. (My bill drawer and the storage closet are going to have to wait their turn!)

Peace
--Free