Twitter and Pownce bring co-worker camaraderie to the self-employed hermit.

It’s no secret that this social butterfly has had a difficult time adjusting to the absolute silence and anti-social nature of her new work environment. I have been working from home since Feb 1st, so over 2 months now. Every day I write articles, build websites almost from the ground up (with graphics and troubleshooting assistance when needed), run reports, test and manage ad space, and participate in every social networking fad I can muster, all for the greater good. I’ve learned how to clobber through HTML, PHP, CSS, MySql, and a handful of other web design languages, and learned an entirely new field that I have never worked in before. And I’d like to think I’ve gotten pretty damned good at it too. It’s fun, somewhat easy, creative, and rewarding in its’ own way.
But I do it alone, or at least that’s how it feels most days. As a self-employed content optimizer / SEO Apprentice / jack of all internet trades I felt lost in the massive sea of web traffic. This is probably my biggest pet peeve of the moment. I’m finding that being an entrepreneur in a business that trades only “intellectual property” is quite possibly the most unnoticeable, invisible, unrecognizable accomplishment I’ve ever achieved. I’m aiming to build a name for myself as a top-level content optimizer and master of affiliate revenue programs but everything I do is behind the curtain. I have no coworkers to cheer me on. No audience to applaud me. No customers to complain or compliment. I have no gauge of whether I’m breaking new ground, setting a bar, or just spinning my wheels.

Then along comes my testing on Twitter and Pownce. I had seen the internet buzz surrounding these social applications but never signed up, thinking it was a gadget for teens or just an opportunity to get spammed. However, in my testing I found salvation for my lonely soul. I built a network of local users who are also in the web marketing field as well as a few creative folks, and existing friends. I tried the standalone social applications, tested all the features, and managed to find something completely unexpected. Co-workers. People just like me out there on their own just rockin’ the internet world. People who understood buzzwords in my posts, and taught me a few of their own. People who pointed me in the right direction when I got hung up on a problem. People who gave me feedback on the ideas I mulled over. In the race for user loyalty Pownce is slowly winning my vote, but was an extremely close run.

For a more in depth comparison of the social networking tools that brought me out of the darkside, take a look at my full Twitter VS Pownce comparison post over at bUmp Interactive. And by all means, feel free to add me

WhiskeyChick on Pownce

WhiskeyChick on Twitter