The Accordance

During the second day of the Tweet My Life project, I had a meeting in the evening with alekbabel at The Boiler Room, so I needed to pick a ride to get there.

The Question:

I have to meet up with @alekbabel tonight and need to reserve a @zipcar. Which one should I get?

The Decision:

Eunice, a Ford Escape is probably one of the most luxarious SUVs I've ever driven.

The popular choice was the Mini Cooper, but unfortunately the last available one was taken by time I went to reserve it, so I moved down the list to the second most agreed upon choice, the Ford Escape.  I used to own an SUV prior to the insane price hikes in gasoline in 2008, so it was nice to get back behind the wheels of a large vehicle again.

The Shoutouts:

TheTonyHam, RookiePhenom, BlueDepth

Ah, September 1, where has the year gone?  Im taking the opportunity this month to not only run Tweet My Life, but also a couple other personal challenges myself, including removing soda from my daily diet.

The Question:

I gave up Soda for the month of September, what drink would you recommend I consume in its place?

The Decision:

The label unfortunatly didn't survive the trip back to the office

After receiving an amazing volume of responses from my followers, the most popular result was also the most simple: water.  With the decision in hand, I proceeded to pick up a bottle of water while in the cafe for lunch, which I drank throughout the afternoon.  Unfortunately, the label did not survive the trip back to the office, but who needs a label when you’ve got H20?  Bobby Boucher would have been proud of Twitter Nation’s choice.

The Shoutouts:

Rookiephenom, TheTonyHam, Observacious, GoatKING, JBarrett13, ErnestWilkins, Alekbabel, LV04, JoePiehl, Leyla_a, Stephaniecaron, Jimmydoestea, MrSeventyTwo, Bluedepth

Ever been curious how different your life might be if you made a different decision?  During the month of September, I will be running a social experiment based off of a similar concept by JBarret13 earlier this summer.  Each day, I will post a question to the Nation of Twitter relating to a decision I have to make that day, seeking input from the community.  I will then review and count the responses, and the most agreed upon response will be the decision I pursue.

While I probably don’t need to state the obvious, I do reserve the right to veto responses if that option violates the law, endangers myself or others, is unrealistic to accomplish, etc.

Each day I will write a quick blog post regarding the previous day’s question, the responses, and the final result.

Well – if you stumbled your way onto this site your probably curious as to what’s going on here. Pardon the dust as I finish making changes and begin loading back content.

In the mean time, feel free to follow me on twitter.

techsavvyed (Technology / Education) – Ben Rimes is an educator who empowers young minds with his passion for technology.  Rimes  is constantly posting tweet updates about technology or its application in academia.
BillyDec (Business Owner) – If I had to name one person who quite literally is living the dream, it would have to be Billy Dec.  He is a man of many talents, all of which he seems to excel at.  As CEO of Rockit Ranch Productions, Billy owns three of the top restaurant/entertainment venues in the city, Rockit Bar & Grill, Sunda New Asian, and The Underground.  Dec also serves the Chicago community by working with various committees and boards for non-profit organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and the 2016 Chicago Olympic committee.  A strong presence on Twitter, Dec regularly participates in conversations and even offered up information about an internship opportunity for a friend of mine.
Crushgear (Journalism / Social Media) –The Red Eye not only serves as the daily free paper in Chicago, but also as one of Chicago’s biggest social media mashups; one which Stephanie Yiu is at the center of.  Yiu has done a great job of leveraging social media mediums in conjunction with traditional media to engage a large audience with quality.
THOTCON (Convention) – Last week I attended THOTCON, a new hacking convention in Chicago. The convention covered many topics related to hacking and improving security, from viral writing to social engineering. If you have interests in Securities/Hacking, or are just a Technology enthusiast, THOTCON is a good idea to keep on your Twitter radar.
Iceman_10 (fraternity brother) – Chris Bradley has been my best friend for quite some time now, and I chose him for this month’s follow five to celebrate the completion of his undergraduate studies. Welcome to the big leagues brother.

Posthumous Follow:
Krepta (roommate) – Patrick Robinson was not only one of my best friends and roommate, but also one of the most influental sources that shaped me professionally. His unexpected passing on April 23, 2008 after starting his professional career in Denver shocked everyone who knew Robinson; a tragic ending to a life which held great potential. Each year on the anniversary of his death, those of us who were in Robinson’s inner circle honor his memory in the form of a toast, as he would have wanted us to rememer him. Rest in peace friend.

Is it really that time already?  March may have came in like a lion and is on it’s way out like a lamb, but we still have five twitter users to highlight!

Here are your Lucky Follow Fives for the Month of March:

@FaithAndWhiskey (Bar / Night Life) – This place has quickly worked it’s way up on my lists of favorite bars in Chicago. Just down from DePaul University on Fullerton, Faith And Whiskey is a perfect place to go out with your friends on a Friday or Saturday night if your in the college or young professional crowds. F&W constantly posts tweets of it’s happenings to keep the Twitter-faithful in the loop, and is really good at interacting with its fan base.

@DesignFollow (Website) – I stumbled upon Design Follow while I was doing research on in preparation for the relaunch, and I can say that I’m very thankful I did. The article links have been very useful from a blogging perspective and have shaved time off of other parts of the relaunch. If your a blogger, self-hosted or not, I highly recommend the follow.

@ShowPatrol (Television Reviews) – Kurt Wagner and myself share an appreciation for SciFi shows (particularly those from the BSG and SG families) but his expertise extends beyond the genre regarding television. Between his reviews, interviews, and announcements of local interactions, Wagner is an excellent follow for couch potatoes and a must have for Chicago residents.

@ConanOBrien (Comedian) – NBC may have sided with Leno in the late night comics war, but Conan came out of it the People’s champion. Seeing the momentum generated to support him through social Networking, Conan has picked up the 140 character addiction while we await news of his return to the late night ticket.

@MrSeventyTwo (Friend) – Ryan Lasure and I have been fraternity brothers for nearly three years and share many things in common, one of them being an addiction to Twitter. His tweets are rich in content and range in topics revolving around his everyday life. In addition, Lasure also has a strong following of users who he interacts with on a regular basis. I’ve actually had people follow him through me because of our interactions, thinking he resided in Chicago as well. If you looking for a quality twitter user not only follow, but interact with, Lasure is one of the best out there.

Last Friday Chicago’s daily free paper the Red Eye held the first of a series of tweet-ups leading up to their big party in September at Faith and Whiskey (1365 W. Fullerton, Chicago). The event, hosted by blogger Ana Fernatt drew dozens of fellow readers, some which I’ve met before, as well as many many others who I had an opportunity to introduce myself to.  With the DJ spinning some (no-so) impressive mixes and the drinks flowing from the bar, conversations ran free and mingling was the name of the game.  I felt like ADHD was in full swing as I would get cut off mid sentence and pulled over to another conversation.  At some point in during the evening I also developed an Arch Rivalry with the Red Eye’s Elliot Serrano, one of which I compared to Xavier-Magneto, but he opted instead for Tom-Jerry.

One of the highlights of the evening was meeting Curt Wagner, writer of the Red Eye’s column Show Patrol. Curt was wearing a What The Frak shirt (Battlestar Galactica), which led to a conversation about two of my favorite shows on the SyFy Channel, Caprica and Stargate Universe. Wagner had informed me that as part of his job he also interviews actors, and had recently sat down with Caprica’s Alessandra Torresani (Zoe Greystone) and Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama). Wagner was giving away prizes at the Tweetup by answering trivia questions and was excited to find a Stargate fan to test, as he had SGU 1.0 on BluRay to give away. Me being a SG junkie, answered the question with ease and received my prize only to realize, I have no BluRay player.

If you are around the Chicago area I suggest keeping an eye on the Red Eye both online and on Twitter for information about the next tweet-up, it’s a great opportunity to meet good people and further develop networking.

Finally, I wanted to just drop a shout out to those who I remember in attendance last Friday: FaithAndWhiskey, BunnyAboutTown, ErnestWilkins, CachaeLopez, TheTonyHam, WorkOutTips, RudyChicago, Sharkorama, Fabgeekling, HenJealy, CisForConnie, JamFish728

That’s right. The Accordance is back, tell your friends.

After a three year hiatus (thanks in part to getting in bed with Yahoo) I’ve successfully reacquired the domain name and currently in the process of relaunching the site in it’s entirety. I’ve assembled a talented team to help shape The Accordance; from the graphics and layout to the content and quality. Does it take a village to build The Accordance? Some may say yes, I say why stumble along the way if we can work together towards a goal.

If your one of the few to grace this site over the coming days and weeks, you’ll notice a progressive change of the site as I apply elements to compliment my mission and the content posted on this site.

As part as my relaunch, I wanted to find something that I could routinely do that readers may find useful and entertaining.  Every week, Twitter enthusiasts participate in Follow Friday, where users recommend users they follow out to their own audience.  So, as a spin off from Follow Friday, I’m introducing Follow Five, a monthly post in which I will share five Twitter accounts of varying topics.

Your February Followers are:

@TeamTurboTax (Product) – I stumbled across the guys from turbo tax out of a joke tweet I made regarding a tax deduction.  You know how they responded?  With a personalized YouTube video.  With tax season right around the corner, feel free to ask these guys any questions as you prepare your tax returns.

@CoachCubit (Sports) – Bill Cubit is the head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos, a NCAA Division FBS team.  I had the opportunity to work with Cubit for three seasons which included two bowl appearences.  If your familiar with the Mid American Conference, Cubit makes a great follow during both in-season and off-season highlights.

@DavidBlue (Celebrity) – David Blue recent role as Eli Wallace in Stargate Universe earned him a spot on my follow list, and his postings keep me intrigued and entertained.  If you are a Stargate fan, Blue will keep you entertained.

@8OClockCoffee (Brand) – When my good friend Evan introduced me to Eight O’Clock Coffee last year, my eyes opened; I had finally found the flavor of coffee that I absolutely enjoyed.  After I found out they were on twitter, they were instantly added.  If you enjoy Arabica beans, then not only do I recommend the coffee, but also the follow.

@G3Kiefer (Friend) – George Kiefer and I go back to my freshman days at Western Michigan University, and since then Kiefer has moved west to California and is living the dream, West Coast Style.  Kiefer also will interact with your tweets, enriching the conversation.

So there you have it, your Follow Five for the 2010 year.  Follow Five will occur on the last Friday of every month, so check back in March to see who’s selected next.