DISQUS

My top 5 are
1. Samsung Omnia - just got it and love it. I like the touch much better than the Blackberry Storm since I am use to iPod Touch.
2. Live Mesh - this has been a great service from Microsoft that allows me to sync folders between computers as well as have remote access. Still waiting for Windows Mobile feature so I can sync with Samsung Omnia.
3. Evernote - I just love this notetaking application. I can sync my notes between my laptop, desktop and mobile phone. Plus check my notes anytime online from any computer.
4. LastPass - it is my password manager of choice. Works in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Introducing a form filling feature as well that makes life easier.
5. Feedly - I use this as my primary feedreader. It syncs up with Google Reader and imported my feeds from Netvibes. I like the magazine feel of the front page and easy ways to share and save items for later. Works only with Firefox though.

iPod Touch
Sony PS3 (love the Blu-ray)
Sony Handycam DCR-62 (nice 40gb hard drive)
Twitter
Google Reader

You forgot phonezoo, http://www.phonezoo.com which I have found very useful.

Great post Chris. I think there is room for both microcontent and longer content posts on blogs.

I like reading Lifehacker because the posts are short, sweet and to the point. I know by the post title whether or not the post is relevant to me. It also leaves room for people to comment and add to the content.

I think longer posts are useful for indepth reviews. I do want a summary upfront to let me know if the review is worth reading. Profy.com, TechCrunch, Read/Write Web and Mashable provide such content.

As for hyperlocal media you have given me an idea for the apartment community I live in which has recently been purchased and under new management. Rumors have flown all summer long because no one knows what the future holds for long time residents. A blog for our community would be great and something I am going to talk to management about...thanks for the inspiration.

One question for you is why you put the two ideas, microcontent and hyperlocal media in one post. Why not break it down into two separate posts?

I to use prefer Wink to aggregate all my profiles.

It's funny, when I joined Twitter I couldn't wrap my head around what it could do for me, especially having no friends. But it opened up my world and I have friends who are active in social media like you and Jeff Pulver, Jim Long, etc. By being active on Twitter I stay connected with the ever changing world of social media.

I resisted joining MySpace for such a long time but ended up joining because that is how my nieces and nephews connect with each other and I could become part of their network.

Facebook has become an extension of my Twitter friends and contacts I have made in the blogging world. It's nice to be able to follow what people are up to and joining in on different groups. It is more a professional networking tool than MySpace.

I agree with you that LinkedIn is really just a large address book. I don't visit that site daily or even weekly.

Twitter resonates with me because of its ease of use and the number of tools available (see my post 4 Tools That Make Twitter Easier For Me (and Maybe You)). Pownce is nice but lacking the tools to make keeping track of friends and sets easy. Hopefully those tools will start appearing because Pownce does have potential to really fill the microblogging/instant messaging market with its ease of posting content, sharing files and links.

I would love a desktop app that ran in my system tray that would notify me of new messages/posts for all of the different networks I belong to and when I open it up would allow me to see all of what is happening under each of my profiles while allowing me to post content. Sort of like a start page of my social networking profiles but making it so I don't have to have a browser window always opened. Does that makes sense?

Thanks for the Auto-Login Script. I've been getting tired having to login all the time.

I have been mulling this question over for a couple of days and still can't come up with one distinct answer because it depends on what I am looking for and where my head/heart is at for that given moment.

If I need something to make me laugh then I seek out viral videos, funny pet flicks and the like. Many times those videos are unscripted and unedited, just lucky in capturing the moment.

If the video is providing me with information then more factors come into play such as the personality of the presenter(s), video & sound quality, and final editing. Just as with a feature film I think editing can make or break a videocast.

Lastly, when it comes to watching live, streaming video my favorites are where there are two people bantering back and forth on topics, where their personalities complement each other. One person live streams can be interesting if the chatroom is active but like many I don't find it interesting to watch someone stare at their screen through their webcam.

Having said all that I have been experimenting with live streaming video and video blogging and have had no idea what I am doing. The comments provided by everyone have given me things to think about.

I think anyone looking at doing a video blog, like myself, needs to experiment a bit and see if their personality is "video worthy." Personality is definitely key for vlogs.

One tool missing in your list, taking Podcamp for example, is having those who attended in the past to write about how they benefited from attending and have reminder posts or a button on their blog about upcoming Podcamps. Because if those people did indeed benefit it means that their community has grown and they are reaching more people than they did before attending. That's the ripple in the pond growing larger and larger.

Another tool again goes to the people who have attended a Podcamp is to comment on blog posts that deal with issues that were resolved for them at Podcamp. When another reader comes across that comment that gives a hopeful solution to the writer's dilemna what do other readers do? They click on that person's name to be taken to their website or blog.

Blogs are the grassroots campaigns of the past. Where we used to sit around in someone's living room and discuss issues we now can do it on blogs What starts out as a single post spreads throughout the community and beyond by others commenting on a post or blogging about their take on someone else's post.

Look at how people rallied around, discussed, vented, came up with a "blogger's code of conduct" and such because Kathy Sierra wrote about the death threats made against her on her blog. It was amazing.

Great jam session! I guess I'm going to have to come to PodCamp Boston to hear more.

Great post, especially where I am formulating who is my inner superhero. Am I Infomania World where I feel more creative or EJM Resources which feels more business like? Or is it something completely different? Your posts are helping me to search within to find out.

I do have business cards and I didn't want to put my home phone number so I signed up with Grand Central which gives you a free phone number and a great service. You can have it ring your home phone, your cell phone, or both phones at the same time (really weird when I'm at home). It has tons of great features which I haven't even begun to use yet but the main objective for me was to have a business phone number and it's great that I don't have to pay a dime for it.

Your post really hit home considering I call myself an Infomaniac, a person who knows a little about a lot of different topics. I've always been a generalist. My jobs in the past always were multi-faceted and my major in college was management. When I have taken career and personality tests I always come out in the middle, never skewed to one side.

So, where does that leave me especially where the Internet has opened up all kinds of new worlds for me? I really don't know. My quest for a long time has been to find that passion, especially one that can make me money while I pursue that endeavor.

You have given me food for thought. I don't know if I want to "kill the jack" but I do want the jack to have one thing she is really good at.

Thanks Chris for more to read in my Google Reader :) Now I subscribe to Scoble's saved items. For news in the web 2.0 world I read TechCrunch, Mashable and O'Reilly. For new websites I read Killer Startups and Startup Squad. Lastly, I subscribe to Techmeme, Digg, and Megite Technology feeds. A lot is redundant but gives me a pretty good overview of the most popular stories on the web.

Great post Chris. I've used both blogtv and ustream and agree with your take on the services. I broadcasted live on both services which is something I thought I would hate doing since I'm really not one to like having the spotlight on me. But something weird happened while broadcasting live, I actually enjoyed myself.

All I was doing was sitting in front of my computer, browsing the web, either watching t.v. or listening to music and talking about the different sites I was visiting and what I was listening to. People joined the room and a chat took place while I was live. It felt like having my own talk radio show! I was chatting with people from different parts of the US, the UK and one person from Brazil.

It is exciting broadcasting live and also fun to be unscripted and responding to peoples comments in the chat. I don't think live broadcasting will hurt taped broadcasts though I think it adds a new dimension with having live chat going on at the same time giving the broadcast more of a talk show feeling.

I hope to see you broadcasting one of these days. I follow you on twitter so I'm sure I will soon.

Thanks Pete. I'm glad I was surfing around on Friday night.

I used to be a serious multitasker and what I found is that my mind got tired a lot quicker than if I concentrated on one task at a time. I still jump around a bit, especially when reading people's blogs or email but if it is something I need to concentrate on I send myself an email to work on it later.

I have come to practice mindfulness more in my life where I am aware of the act I am doing at the time. If I am washing dishes, I wash the dishes and feel the soap in my hands and the weight of the dishes. If I am working on a task I try to stay aware of the task itself and bring myself back to the task if my mind starts to think about the next task I have to do.

There is a Chinese proverb that basically says that if you are doing one thing but thinking about another than you are half dead because you are not present doing what you are doing and certainly not present in what you are thinking about. I try and not live half dead anymore and I find my mind is a lot clearer and I tend to stay on task more.

My one downfall is I like to have noise in the background whether it is music or the t.v. When I was in college I prefered to study in the cafeteria rather than the library because of the drone of the chatter in the background. I don't find it distracting, though I am not really listening to what is in the background I just have a need for some noise.

I would love to attend. I just have to make sure I can get there for that weekend. I've always wanted to go to Chicago and I really need to learn how to take my blog to the next level. Thanks for posting about this conference.