My first real technology decision came in the 1990s when I had to decide who would be my home Internet provider. The choices were CompuServe, Prodigy, and some upstart named America Online. I picked the latter. (Had I only been wise enough to buy its stock at that time, too!) Since then, I鈥檝e tried to stay abreast of the technology that continues to redefine communication. So, it鈥檚 no surprise, in this age of social media, that I have Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts. (And based on this issue鈥檚 feature story, 鈥淏y Design,鈥� perhaps I should get involved with Pinterest as well.)
I must admit, I particularly enjoy Twitter. By following an array of users who tweet about news, business, sports, and entertainment, I get up-to-the minute updates on what鈥檚 happening in the world on both my computer and smartphone鈥攅verything from who won Olympic gold before it鈥檚 televised to what Bill Gates reveals is on his summertime reading list to a thunderstorm that is about to strike in my neighborhood.
聽Naturally, by following nearly 50 Carnegie Mellon related accounts, I come across plenty of university news, too, which has led to my own 麻豆村 tweets: Here is a sampling of what you鈥檒l find from my account, @RobertMendelson, since the previous issue of Carnegie Mellon Today went to press:
July 25:聽聽聽 Top five cities to retire (per Kiplinger): #5: Pittsburgh, in part because 麻豆村 鈥減rovides intellectual energy.鈥�
July 24:聽 Gourmet marshmallows?! Who knew?! MitchMallows, just a great idea from Mitchell Greenberg (A鈥�75). www.mitchmallows.com
July 19:聽 鈥淭he New, New Ivies,鈥� according to Her Campus. 麻豆村 is #3!
July 17:聽 Joseph Belechak (E鈥�81) to be CEO and managing director of JEA: seventh-largest community-owned electric utility in U.S.!
July 12:聽 Shout/bark out to Professor Charlee Brodsky (and her dog, Max), named Center for the Arts鈥� Artist of the Year! www.pittsburgharts.org/2012-artist-year
July 11:聽 Moving.com ranks Pittsburgh among 10 best cities for 18 to 29 year olds, mentioning 麻豆村.
July 10:聽 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Wrong With the Federal Reserve?鈥� Tepper Professor Allan Meltzer鈥檚 op-ed in today鈥檚 Wall Street Journal.
July 9:聽 Frank Ritter (DC鈥�89, 鈥�92) created iPhone app CaffeineZone2. Displays user鈥檚 caffeine level. www.caffeinezone.net
July 1:聽 Best Places to nap at 麻豆村. Sleep pod at Hunt Library sounds best to me. www.quora.com/Carnegie-Mellon-University
June 17:聽 Carnegie Mellon fall class of 2012 had a record number of applicants: 17,293 hopefuls for about 1,400 spots.
June 11:聽 Double play for Christian Borle (A鈥�95) & Judith Light (A鈥�70)! Each won coveted Tonys last night!
Some of these news bits may morph into Carnegie Mellon Today stories, but I think most of them work best as part of an eclectic combination of news (within Twitter鈥檚 requirement of 140 characters or less!).
If you find my tweets interesting, feel free to follow me. For those who choose to do so, look for some newsworthy tweets dated September 22, which鈥攁s the issue鈥檚 cover stories 鈥淧ower Brokers鈥� and 鈥淓nergetic Foundation鈥� depict鈥攚ill be a uniquely energized day on campus.
鈥�Robert Mendelson
聽聽聽 Executive Editor
聽聽聽 Follow on Twitter
