Social Meteor - Latest Comments

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Troy Janisch — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:53:25 -0000

I feel the same way about Pillars/World Without End -- and Wicked too. Some books that are almost impossible to read can still be good audiobooks. :)

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Terry Golesworthy — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:52:34 -0000

Troy
Great article - I love audio books in part because they allow me to listen while I do other less interesting activities. Driving while listening to a book is a fabulous experience as is painting (a room not a canvas) and riding my bike (I know, I should not wear headphone while riding but then don't listen to radio while driving).

Not only do I now have favorite authors but have favorite narrators - I trust their judgement as most of the time they seem to choose similar authors. Just finished Pillars/ World without End/ Fall of Giants from ken Follett - about 140 hours of audio which I would never have finished in hard copy format.

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Michele Price — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:19:47 -0000

Well, who doesn't like to be told a story? I am one of those who enjoys BOTH non-fiction and fiction audio books. I have for years and I can thank my Dad for that, as he was the best story teller.

Now, this is a topic I will be talking about - the power of audio connections this week at #ASC12. Many times people do not realize the power of audio learning and our brains. It is a focused form of learning and connecting.

Great post - we missed you ;)

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Troy Janisch — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:53:24 -0000

Three words that put me on alert when it comes to audiobooks is 'read by author.' The talents of writing a book -- and reading a book -- are entirely different. I recently picked up 'Wind Through the Keyhole' by Steven King. The story was good, but Steven's voice kept putting me to sleep. It was NOT an ideal audiobook experience!

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Jen Mozen — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:52:44 -0000

Hi Troy - I've tried audiobooks a few times, but haven't had much success. They've all been non-fiction books though, so perhaps I should give fiction a try. I first tried an audiobook with Gladwell's Tipping Point on a 12 hour flight to India and it put me to sleep instantly - I kept waking up and having to rewind to a point that sounded familiar to start again. I've since had better luck if I listen while running or driving, but being a visual learner, I really don't feel like I retain much of what I'm hearing.

I'll give a fiction book a try on my next road trip!

Re: Mylife.com: A new tool for bargain-seeking stalkers

No — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:55:22 -0000

I have no idea why this site is even being run by the same people. Someone needs to run this company into the ground and fast.

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Carolyn Nicander Mohr — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:24:28 -0000

Me too, Troy. The app has great functionality, especially the sleep timer.

So, which 3 audiobooks would you recommend as your favorites? It's time for me to start a new one!

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Troy Janisch — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:43:29 -0000

Carolyn - Thanks for stopping by! I'm really enjoying audible's native iPhone app over using itunes. It allows you to download directly and begin listening as files are downloading. I find myself using the sleep feature quite a bit too.

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Carolyn Nicander Mohr — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:34:41 -0000

Hi Troy, I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and when I discovered Audible, I was sold immediately. After trying to upload audiobook CD's onto my iPod and spending more time uploading than listening to them, the easy process of Audible was a dream.

I enjoy both fiction and non- fiction on this format. After the first year of my Audible membership, I realized that I had read 42 books, 21 fiction and 21 non-fiction. I didn't try to split it that way, it just happened.

Try history and biographies as non-fiction. The words come alive with a great narrator. I, too, am a fan of the narrators you mention and your view of their impact on the books.

I am so glad that I found Audible and your blog!

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Troy Janisch — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:11:29 -0000

Dino, I haven't had a lot of success with nonfiction audio books -- so they're less "learning excursions" than I'd like. What types of nonfiction do you think work best as audiobooks? Do you use audible.com?

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Troy Janisch — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:10:16 -0000

I had the opportunity to talk to audiobook narrator Scott Brick (one of my favorites) and I asked him whether audiobooks count. He has a great answer. Stay tuned.

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Katsidhe — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:23:25 -0000

Oh my God! THIS! I was just having a discussion about this the other day because I "read" while I'm working out (I listen to audiobooks) and was told that it doesn't count! It is SO true about the narrator, too, because there are books that I could not get into while listening to them, yet I'm glad I gave them a chance the regular.

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Dino Dogan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:53:53 -0000

I love audio books. I love "regular" books as well, but I listen to audio books in my car during long drives. I call these long drives "learning excursions" :-)

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

socialmeteor — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:44:55 -0000

Jenny.. I think you've stumbled on some great graduate school research for someone mastering in communications. Timely and interesting. I might reach out to some friends at UW-Madison's School of Mass Communication. (grin)

Re: Does listening to an audio book count as “reading”? Sometimes.

Jenny F — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:59:52 -0000

I would be interested in seeing studies about whether or not there is a difference in brain function between reading the written word and hearing it spoken. There have been numerous studies done about whether or not there's a difference between writing your thoughts and typing them as to how well you recall what you've recorded (there is). Is there a difference in brain function when hearing or reading a book?

Re: The 1st Year of Fiverr.com: An interview with Micha Kaufman

Ethan Murray — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:50:42 -0000

I found Fiverr is good also... I now use TenBux.com as well... Making double the amount of money...

Re: Want to generate social media referrals or connections? Make them first.

Seth Keeler — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:19:05 -0000

Great advice, Troy.

Re: How to fix your iPhone 4s service on AT&T

Steve Yuroff — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:56:03 -0000

Do you have a direct contact # for Bridget? Would be better than calling back repeatedly until we find her, or someone else with her level of "curiosity, persistence and vigor".
And you know the "4G" thing is really questionable BS brought on by iOS 5.1 on the 4S, right? It's the same network and connection technology (HSPA+) as you had on 5.0 with a new label, it's meaning tweaked to fit AT&T's preferred definition of 4G. Your phone didn't get any faster or better, it just got an indicator that the death star thinks you'll like to see.

Re: The 1st Year of Fiverr.com: An interview with Micha Kaufman

Arjun Porwal — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:37:11 -0000

awesome interview by micha sir..
i am seller there, conveying thanks to him for delivering happiness to our homes in form of daily life d=stability and extra income of good money..

Re: Takin’ Care of Business (Cards) on your iPhone

Tj — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 07:18:18 -0000

Thanks for recommending CardMunch. It looks like a great free tool for LinkedIn users! I like that you can program automatic email follow up messages that are sent to contacts you scan. And, that you can send LinkedIn invitations with the press of a button. It's got some mojo!

Re: Takin’ Care of Business (Cards) on your iPhone

Cynthia Seymour — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:15:46 -0000

My Favorite iPhone app for business cards is CardMunch which was bought by LinkedIn. Thanks for the tips!

Re: Get the feel of Facebook’s new timeline

Lerone Clarke-Oliver — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:32:17 -0000

Hi Troy, we're The Conversation Group. We've created a video "What is Facebook Graph Rank" that your readers may find useful as a supplement to this article http://bit.ly/AcGU68

Re: Do-it-Yourself: Simple Home Security Solutions

Tj — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:16:07 -0000

An update from my AmFam agent -- the SimpliSafe system is only eligible for a 3 percent premium discount because it doesn't include fire monitoring. I'm hoping that fire sensors will be available soon -- without boosting my monthly monitoring premium significantly. Ideally, the monthly monitoring cost of a system should be offset by the savings.

Re: Do-it-Yourself: Simple Home Security Solutions

Kevin Raposo — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:55:49 -0000

Hey Troy! Great post, We at SimpliSafe are glad to hear that you are enjoying the system and that it was a easy install. We love to hear stories like this!

One thing I wanted to point out: All of the sensors actually communicate via radio frequencies to the base station. So if you don't have Wi-Fi in your home, it's not a problem.

This article is excellent! You nailed everything pretty much on the head. Let us know how it goes and if there is anything that we can do to help!

Best,

Kevin
SimpliSafe

Re: Tea Review and Kombucha Recipe: Davidson’s Green Chai w/Orange Peel

Troy Janisch — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:43:15 -0000

I have up soda last year and added probiotics to my diet. Kombucha is a great supplier of probiotics -- and I enjoy the carbonation, but its too expensive to make a habit of it unless you can make it yourself. Now that I'm making it, I've got a continuous supply.