Tips N Articles

Block Out Noisy Twitter Users and Focus on the Quiet Ones with Shuush

2011-08-13T13:11:00.001-07:00

Shuush is “a web-based Twitter reader that displays the updates of the people you follow in relation to the frequency of their tweet. It aims to amplify the people that don’t usually get heard, and scale back those with frequent updates.” It gives each user a volume level between 1 and 11 and then sizes their tweets according. In a nutshell, Shuush is a creative way to block out noisy Twitter users so that you have more time to focus on the more quiet tweeters who are often overshadowed.

Getting Started

To get started, all you have to do is click to “flick the switch.” You’ll then notice that there tweets of all different sizes in your timeline.

Timeline

As you can probably already tell, the larger sized tweets are from those users who usually get drowned out by overly chatty users. Likewise, the tweets of those users who post quite often are much smaller – some even illegible.
Also, when you scroll your mouse over the avatar picture of any user in your timeline, you’ll see their Shuush volume level. Note: You can also see your own level at the top right of the page.

Volume Level

An “11″ is the highest level you can have and it means that you’re a pretty chatty Twitter user. The closer you are to this number, the smaller your tweets will be in the timeline. A “1″ is the lowest and means that you barely tweet at all. The closer you are to this number, the larger your tweets will be in the timeline.
The volume level is calculated based on how many tweets per day a user has averaged since joining Twitter. Seeing that levels 10 and 11 are pretty much unreadable, you definitely want to strive for a level of 1-9.

Final Thoughts

Right now there isn’t anything else you can do in Shuush. Since it’s just a reader, you can’t interact with replies, DMs, or retweets.
Also, there doesn’t seem to be a way to enlarge those really small, illegible tweets. So all of those overactive tweeters suffer because you’ll miss what they’re saying, but hey at least the underdogs will get some attention now, right?

Lazyscope – Your Twitter Stream Turned into an RSS Feed

2011-08-13T13:09:00.001-07:00

Lazyscope is a desktop tool works kind of like a feed reader for your Twitter account. Along with reading tweets though, you can also use it to keep up with your favorite RSS feeds. It lets you import your Google Reader feeds and subscribe to other blogs as well. The one thing that some potential users may not like about Lazyscope is that it’s an Adobe AIR application, which many people are not very fond of. Regardless, it installs and runs pretty flawlessly; however, usage is another story.

Basic Usage

The first thing I noticed when signing into Lazyscope with my Twitter account, were the annoying pop-up notifications every 20 – 30 seconds. They’re pretty large and obtrusive especially if you’re on a laptop or netbook, so you may want to turn them off immediately in preferences.

However a feature that I did like off the bat was being able to subscribe to any blog that a link is posted from. Whenever you click on a tweet that has a link and it shows you the content, you’ll see a little subscribe button next to the source. You can then keep up with these blogs from within Lazyscope. You’ll see the blogs that you subscribe to in the sidebar underneath your Twitter username.
Lazyscope has a condensed and expanded view. When condensed, you can’t see the sidebar or link preview window. However, when you click on a link it changes to the expanded view. Selected tweets are outlined in green and have 4 rather large options underneath: reply, repost, retweet, favorite.

Lazyscope Preferences

You’ll find the “Preferences” link on the bottom left side of the application. There are not too many settings here (see image below), but you probably want to turn off notifications and the start on login option (which is checked by default).

Import from Google Reader or OPML

When you first sign up you’ll have the option to import your Google Reader account feeds or OPML file. If you choose not to do this now, don’t worry because you can get back here by clicking on the + (plus) sign next to “Home” in the app’s sidebar. For Google Reader you’ll need to enter your ID and password.

Honestly, I feel that Lazyscope lacks the proper functionality to be a dedicated feed reader. Though being able to repost items to Twitter with a preview (as you’ll read about more below), there are many other things missing. For instance, there is no way to mark items as read and when you read an item it remains in the stream. So you have to manually keep up with the items you’re read and haven’t read already.
I do like the ability to see recent posts from the blog you’re reading from below the content. Also, since Lazyscope doesn’t sync with your Google Reader account, you can unsubscribe from feeds in Lazyscope and it won’t affect your actual account. There are only 2 options for feed items: repost, favorite.

Attach Rich Preview

There is a new feature in Lazyscope that lets you add previews to your tweets and it’s definitely the best thing about the app. These previews can be viewed via the “New Twitter” timeline on Twitter.com (you know, via the little arrow on the right of tweets). All you have to do is click “Repost” to enter your tweet text and the tweet (or feed item) will be reposted with a preview.

If you’re wondering how this works, it’s simple. Lazyscope takes an actual snapshot of the item and then posts it to your Twitpic account. The image from Twitpic is then used as the preview within the timeline. So when it’s posted on Twitter, your followers will be able to see what the link contains via an image snapshot (see image below).

Connect With Your Browser

You may see a prompt to connect Lazyscope with your browser, but this is not what you may think it is. It’s not an extension, instead it’s a bookmarklet that you can add to your bookmarks bar to save pages to read or tweet later. Items that you save with the bookmarklet can be found under favorites in Lazyscope.

Final Thoughts

To me, Lazyscope feels clunky and there are many essential features missing. I especially miss conversation view and Twitter search. It is nice that it includes lists though and it’s great for keeping up with a few blogs, but a part from that I really don’t see it as a must-have.

Build Stacks of Tweets and Schedule Them for Later with StackRoll

2011-08-13T13:08:00.001-07:00

Upon first glance, you may think that StackRoll is another service that’s eligible for a hit-and-run; you know those beta services that you sign up for to try out, leave after 5 minutes, and then never think about or return again. Well, it’s definitely not that type of service. This is one that you’ll want to keep in your bookmarks for safe keeping.
StackRoll is currently in open beta and though the UI is more geared toward mobile devices (it looks great on my iPad), it’s very functional on the desktop as well. One of my favorite tools for scheduling tweets is Buffer, which I reviewed here a few months back, but StackRoll may just take its place! StackRoll is much different from Buffer because instead of adding tweets with an extension or bookmarklet, you have to manually enter them. In this way it lets you build a “stack” that you can then “roll” out to your followers at the time and interval specified by you.
Let’s take a closer look.

Create Stack

Since you can add more than one Twitter account to StackRoll, when creating a stack you’ll need to choose which account you’d like to post from. You can also enter a name for your stack or keep the default. It’s best to enter your own name here just so that you have a general idea of the type of content you have in that stack (you’ll see why later). Lastly, you’ll need to specify how many tweets you plan to have in your stack; the maximum amount you can have is 30 tweets. Also, you can always add more later if what you specify is not enough.

When you click on the “Generate Forms” button, you’ll see a number of status boxes listed on the page where you enter your tweet text. So if you chose to have 10 tweets for your stack, you’ll see 10 boxes here. There is a button at the bottom that will let you shorten your URLs all at once (though it was not working for me at the time of writing this). When you’re done, you must then click on “Create Your Stack.”

Building Stacks

I took the time to go through my Google Reader account to find links worth sharing and it took a good 30 – 45 minutes. This can actually be a huge inconvenience to those who don’t have the time or are just too lazy. On the other hand, if you take out an hour each week to do this, you can really save yourself some time for the rest of the week! Either way, there definitely needs to be a more convenient way to add tweets to your stacks – if possible.
Once you have all of your stacks together, you can choose to add more tweets (if you’re not at your maximum of 30) or go to the next step, which is scheduling. Thankfully this is less time-consuming because you don’t have to schedule each tweet individually: you simply schedule the entire stack as a whole.
To get started, first pick a date and time that you’d like to publish your stack. Then you’ll be able to choose a tweet interval (the amount of time to wait in between tweets). This ranges from 5 minutes all the way up to 1 day. If you have a stack of 30 tweets, it’s probably not smart to choose anything under an hour because you’ll end up bombarding and annoying your followers. On the other hand, if you choose something like 6 – 12 hours, you’ll have tweets for days!

View Schedule

Once you click on “Roll Your Stack” you’ll be able to see the potential publishing schedule for your tweets, complete with date and time! Depending on the interval you choose for your tweets, your stack may span over a single day or several days. I chose to do 6 hours between a stack of 15 and that gave me 4 days worth of tweets!

So this is why creating different stacks with unique names can really come in handy. You can have one stack with conversational tweets, another with links to articles and web pages within your niche, and another with quotes or words of wisdom. Each stack can then have their own schedule. Best of all, this is all free (for now anyway).

Final Thoughts

Even though adding tweets to your stacks can be time-consuming, StackRoll is a very useful tool that can help you build your following on Twitter and add more value to your timeline. It’s a known fact that users who are more active on Twitter have more followers and are considered more valuable since they are constantly sharing great content.
Be careful though, don’t think that you can just go create and schedule stacks and never visit your Twitter account again! You still should interact with your followers, retweet, and engage where you can. StackRoll is just there to assist you so that your account doesn’t sit idle for too long on days when you’re too busy and don’t have the time to tweet.
You may also want to take advantage of the free beta while you can because you never know how long it will be free. Services like this usually add paid subscriptions once they come out of beta.

Back Exercises for Strengthening Purposes

2011-08-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

The largest muscle in the back is known as the latissimus dorsi, which is simply shortened to lats when making reference to this muscle. Back exercises will most often include pull-ups and lat pull downs as they specifically aim at the lats. There are a number of other back muscles that need to be worked, along with the lats to get the back workout one needs.

Adding size and strength to your back also includes the rhomboid and trapezius muscles. To use back exercises targeting the lats only is the same as quitting a job when it is only half done. Muscles of the back work together to accomplish things like stabilizing the shoulder blades. Developing all back muscle will add mass to the upper back and rear shoulders.

Rear deltoids, rhomboids, and trapezius, are all back muscles that quite often are neglected. Working with these weak areas will pay off in a more defined physique. A number of back exercises worked into a once a week routine will reap many rewards.

One exercise that is a bit different from others in how it is worked are the pull ups and lat pull downs. Each move that you make will start with the shoulder blades allowed to slide down. This allows for a larger range of motion of the lats and also allow for greater development.

Some back exercises encompass all the muscles of your back and one of them is the dead lift. From top to bottom all the back muscles work together. The inverted row will require a test of strength when being done. For this exercise the body has to kept in position for them to be beneficial. If you find you are not positioned properly only the repetitions performed properly should be counted.

When you feel you have reached a plateau where repetitions are easily performed there are other back exercises that you may wish to move onto. These are more for the intermediate workout and should not be taken on as part of a beginner program.

The three point dumbbell can be a challenging. It is performed while holding a dumbbell in one hand and positioning the body forward with one arm placed straight against the floor and legs spread slightly apart and the feet on your toes. Mid and core back muscles are used and this exercise is meant for intermediate to advanced results.

Another advanced exercise is the three point dumbbell row using a medicine ball. Aimed at the middle back muscle it is performed similar to the two point dumbbell but legs are farter apart and the extended arm rests on an exercise ball. One back exercise that is suitable for any fitness level is the back extension with a twist. Its aim is the lower and oblique muscles.

When performing any back exercises, it is vital that we listen to our body. Any pain should be looked into. Maybe it is just a matter of overdoing it with exercises that our back has not strengthened to a point of tolerating, The idea is to make our back stronger; not to damage it.

Doing Rotator Cuff Exercises Properly Makes All the Difference!

2011-08-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

When you have injured your shoulders, or more precisely the rotator cuff muscles, during your competitions there are a few things that you will need to remember. One of the main things to remember about this is that there is a certain way that you need to go about doing rotator cuff exercises so that you do not make a bad situation even worse! The first thing to know is that the rotator cuff is not just one muscle but rather four of them together. The thing to remember is that these muscles are rather small compared to others in your body.

There are a few notable ways that you can and will end up straining and/or tearing those muscles: a Sudden Fall/Impact, Overusing the muscles, using too much weight when training and using Un-balanced workouts. It is often because of these four things that people often end up having to use rotator cuff exercises to re-train and repair those small yet very important muscles. The main reason that the rotator cuff is so important is that these small muscles are the one that keep you shoulder joint where it belongs and in good shape.

The biggest thing that you need to remember here is that smaller is better when you are doing rotator cuff exercises. The other “buzzword” here is balance! This basically means that you need to use the smaller hand-held weights – preferably a 3, 4 or 5 pound hand-held weight for the ladies and 8 up to 12 pound hand-held weights for the gentlemen. You also need to balance your movements so that you are using slow, controlled moves. This is what you need to do to avoid making the injury worse than it currently is.

When you are starting a series of rotator cuff exercises you would be wise to see your medical doctor and perhaps an exercise rehabilitation specialist for the information you need. The biggest thing that you need to remember is that safety must come first! There is absolutely no point in rushing through these exercises and/or doing them incorrectly. All this is going to do in reality is to not only make the initial injury worse, it will also add to the length of time you will have to take on the sidelines to allow the muscles to heal properly!

It is very important that you limit your range of motion when you are doing any rotator cuff exercises so that you do not make matters worse. It is also important that you remember to so some very simple stretches that are not too strenuous to make sure that you are not overdoing it. Simple warm-up stretches should not make matters any worse if they are done properly at the beginning of your workout. You also need to remember that your thoughts and mental attitude are important here too. The more relaxed you are when doing these exercises and the more you pay attention to instruction and your own body’s messages the better off you are.

Reaping the Benefits of Chest Exercises

2011-08-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

When a lifter is looking to find ways to make better use of chest exercises, most find that the entire process is relatively easy. In order to reach your goal, the main requirement is persistence, as it is with all workout routines. Chest exercises will give you a chest that is well defined and be the catalyst to make your entire upper body look great.

There are two additional things you will need along with your chest exercises. One is a weightlifting belt and the other is a training partner. A goodly amount of persistence won’t either. There are so many stories out there where lifters were met with failures. When examining their tales of woe more thoroughly, it is usually determined that the diet they followed was terrible, and their workout routines were inconsistent for muscle development. Chest exercises like all others are not implements that miracles are made of. Rather how well they will work for you depends on how you execute them.

One excellent exercise that requires no special equipment is the push up. When performed properly, this simple routine will go a long way in helping to bulk up those chest muscles. Lying face down on the floor, plant your feet slightly away from each other. Hands should be flat against the floor at your shoulders. Touch the ground with your chest allowing for no bend in the knee, and then raise yourself to the starting position.

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If you choose, you can begin your chest exercises with bench presses. They are a great aid to blood circulation in your arms and your chest and prepare you for more strenuous exercise. A bench press should not be done without a spotter. From the beginner to the more advanced trainer, accidents can happen. You could lose your grip on the bar or simply overdo it and become overtired. A large amount of weight hitting you in the chest can spell big trouble and a spotter will watch for these things and grab the bar before it has a chance to spell trouble for you.

Dumbbells are also a great additive for building chest muscle. They can be used with either a flat or inclined bench. It is the resistance of the weight that you are lifting that forces the chest wall muscle to exert itself and aid you in attaining the lift. The more resistance that is used, the quicker the chest wall will bulk up.

When thinking of chest muscle everyone immediately thinks of the pectorals. They are a very large muscle that covers different areas of the chest so in order to properly bulk the chest attention must be given to different areas. The four areas involved are the upper and lower chest as well as the inner and outer chest. The quickest results will be gained when using exercises that target each of these areas individually.

Attention also has to be given to the warming up phase of exercising. This is any exercise done with lighter weights that feeds blood to the muscle and prepares it for heavier weight. Stretching is recommended as well for the best workout routines.