To Tweet or not to Tweet during your wife's labor? That is the question.

Back in October, I used Twitter to post 9 or so updates throughout the day as my wife went through labor. It gave me something to do with my fidgety fingers in my downtime, and some friends and relatives found it useful. (I informed my Facebook friends I'd be Tweeting and sent them a link to my Twitter page.)

Twitter, in effect, was really the sole efficient way to communicate in a "one-to-many" way to people outside the comfortable bubble we were in at the hospital. My pleasant wife only begged me to not Tweet anything gross, which I obliged.

At the end of it all, we brought home a healthy, gorgeous baby girl. A few days later, I went back through my Tweets and compiled them, and saved them in a screen-shot on my computer, for posterity. It's now a cool little digital memento for us that I can print out and add to our family photo album.

My colleague Joe Burris says in a story today that Tweeting dads are becoming more common.

Of course, there's a debate on how to use such technology during such a sensitive time as a child's birth. I guess all I can say that I think it's really up to the couple to come to an agreement and set some ground rules. You both should feel comfortable about what it means to Tweet the delivery. And Dads, it goes without saying that you shouldn't let it get in the way of any of your fatherly duties.

So what do you think? Is live-Tweeting your kid's birth a ridiculous idea or just another sign of the times in our texting/Twitter digital lives?

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Apps, Good Reads, Smartphones, Social Media
        

I've been a little busy the last week putting together some print stories, but finally today got a chance to do some catching up on my blogroll. With a cup of coffee and a cup of instant oatmeal in hand (one at a time) I took a quick cruise through the Baltimore/Maryland/DC tech blogosphere. Here's a snapshot of what people are writing about:

* DCTechEvents. Scads of events and meet-ups all week, except for Friday, when apparently all the DC Techies just drink alone.

* UMBC's Ebiquity blog takes a look at the "high impact factor" of the Journal of Web Semantics.

* Entrepreneur Dave Troy takes a look at Baltimore from the train in his simply-titled post: "From the train, Baltimore looks like hell."

* Beltway Startups covers some local tech-company news, such as Merkle (of Columbia, Md.) buying Cognitive Data, and Cognitive Data buying CMS Direct. Is this a case of big fish eating smaller fish, which ate an even smaller fish?

* In one of the more pleasantly insightful Michael Jackson-inspired blog posts, local tech guru Mario Armstrong writes about the recently deceased pop singer's patent on special shoes that would help give you the illusion you're leaning forward at a 45-degree angle.

* One Fine Jay gave himself a new blog look, and he's got a post about how Twitter hashtag contests are hurting the free service. Amen, brother. Oh, and he thinks the phenomenon of bloggers generating mindless lists also stinks. Double amen to that. (I haven't done any lists for this blog, I think, though I'll concede you might see me generating an occasional list or two here; I will try, try, try to make them absolutely useful, One Fine Jay. I promise.)

* Want to learn more about Wolfram Alpha (that new computational search engine)? Somewhat Frank sat down with one of its co-founders for an interview, with video. See below.

* Technosailor, taking a cue from the Steve McNair death coverage, urges the mainstream media to report important breaking news even if it's a rumor, to hedge your bets.

* Things are looking up for Technotheory, who is off to Barcelona for the summer. Good luck! Have fun! Eat lots of tapas for me.

* EastCoastBlogging writes about Tweetdeck and Evernote as a match made in heaven. I haven't gotten into using either app yet. Should I?

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: East Coast, Good Reads, Media, Social Media
        

It's a wet Friday here in Baltimore and I'm home caring for my sick daughter (who is now peacefully sleeping.) So now's my chance to catch up on and share some Good Reads I've come across in my virtual travels this week. Do you have a favorite tech-related story you read this week that made you ponder something a little differently? Please share in the comments, and I'll add to the post through the day. (Update: No self-promotion!)

:: Tweeter @chipmcmann suggested I try "Unix turns 40: The past, present and future of a revolutionary OS" http://tinyurl.com/qdca3c. Good, easy read that gives you insight on the (relatively) long history of computing and UNIX.

:: @OneFineJay blogs about "proactively maintaining your corner of the web" in Futureproofing: the economics of scale. Should we be worried about all these Web services that probably won't be around forever. Worth pondering, since we all seem to be uploading and sharing more and more of our personal lives and information at an increasing rate with myriad Web sites.

:: Work in a place where the dynamic seems to be "management by crisis"? Take a gander at the latest post on Rands in Repose. Quote: "Management by crisis is exhilarating, but it values velocity over completeness; it sacrifices creativity for the illusion of progress." (via @jbusteed)

:: The Maryland Daily Record's On The Record blog covers how a couple of surveys left Baltimore off their highest rankings for thriving tech areas. "What gives?" Jackie Sauter writes. Indeed. There are so many competing rankings and studies out there, put out by both private and government interests with their own agendas, that they all sorta blur together and start to feel diluted and meaningless.  Among the big Baltimore-area success stories over the last several years have been Advertising.com and Bill Me Later.

:: What the heck is Palm thinking with these Pre ads on Facebook? AdvertisingAge considers the Zen of the ad campaign. (thanks, @dwplanit)

:: Wouldn't you know it. San Francisco can submit their 311 requests via Twitter. Technosailor considers their approach vs. Washington DC's, which doesn't rely on Twitter. Should government put so much emphasis (and data) in Twitter, which hasn't proven yet it could be around for the long haul?

What other Good Reads did I miss? Add below, with your Twitter account, if you have one, so I can give your nerdy self some props.

(Photo credit: "No Substitute," by accent on eclectic on Flickr.com)

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Good Reads