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Life Before Twitter

Without the Internet, Email Alerts, E-Readers and Twitter, We Would Just Be Lost

By Katherine Bonfante, Managing Editor, Digital Media

Who could have predicted that news today would be delivered through an electronic Twitter alert? I wasn't born when the news was metal-plate printed, sung from town to town by the mailman or delivered by mailmen on horses; yet the efficiency and delivery rate by which news travels today can't be beat, at least not yet.

For me, living without my Twitter feed is just unimaginable, and many of you, Machine Builder Nation members, feel the same way that I do. Without the Internet, email alerts, e-readers and Twitter, we would just be lost.

If you think the Web is just a portal for entertainment and not much good comes out of it, you are wrong. Implementing social media and experimenting with social communities such as Twitter can lead you to great discoveries. It has led me to news articles, groups, companies, events and Web places I didn't know existed.

Yes, many Twitter users post messages about what they did during the day, but many others, myself included, work hard telling followers about real-world news.

For example, if it wasn't for self-described high-tech computer/hardware nerd Nabin Shrestha, better known on Twitter as @nshrestha, I would not have known about some green engineering careers that are available. Shrestha posted, "Step-By-Step Green Engineer Careers | Jupdi Blogs http://bit.ly/9ZK9yF," and his message prompted me to follow his link, where I learned more about green careers.

Another of ControlDesign's Twitter friends is @sensorstuff. One of that person's tweets took me to an interesting video about different sensor capabilities incorporated in today's smart touch phones. The tweet read, "Pressure sensors (google): Video: Hands-On with Synaptics Fuse - IntoMobile (blog) http://bit.ly/aQngse Full http://bit.ly/cW7REC."

There are also many young, undiscovered, talented engineers, and social media groups help put a spotlight on bright minds that otherwise could have remained unnoticed. Just the other day @Ind_Des, a group of industrial designers, shone light on a group of mechanical engineer students from Yale University. The tweet read, "Yale MechEng students build bike with hubless wheel http://ow.ly/16Citj." This is a short, illustrative article, so follow the link and find out for yourself what these students are up to.

I know that many times we are hesitant about adopting technology and sometimes we are intimidated by it, but you never know what you can discover from new things until you try them. If it wasn't for inventions such as Twitter, we wouldn't be as informed as we are today.

The Web is filled with links, articles, video, news and much more that our eyes and minds can't grasp all at once. Take the time to invest in new media, follow some links, make Web friends and be surprised at what you can learn from your Web peers.

If you haven't found us on Twitter, follow us now at www.twitter.com/Control_Design. Stay informed with our tweets and those from our Twitter friends. I bet you will love Twitter and its news advantages as much as I do.

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