Join in the weekly #CardChat

Social media has changed the way many of us collect. Twitter and Facebook have become outlets for trading and talking about our hobby.

Every Monday on Twitter, I hold a chat called … #CardChat (it’s clever!)

Topics have ranged from pictures on cards, high-end cards, memorabilia, autographs, the National, and so much more. We have probably had about 20 or so Card Chats this year.

The chat takes place every Monday at 3 p.m. ET. It’s been a lot of fun and there are lively discussions.

One of the neat things about #CardChat is seeing the differences in opinions between the collectors. Not everyone collects or wants the same things. When I did the #CardChat on set collecting, some liked short-prints while others did not. Some wanted huge 700-card offerings and others wanted just the best of the best in the set.

So join in #CardChat every Monday on Twitter. It helps if you follow me on there to see the questions @yanxchick.

Below I included highlights from last week’s sessions where we talked about high-end cards.

Topps blog: State of the Hobby Roundtable

With Topps' new found love of social media, they are really reaching out to its customers and getting feedback. Topps has been very active on Twitter and for those who have not used the site, should really consider starting.

Topps is doing a daily giveaway where you can win an auto, game-used or otherwise special card.

Today's giveaway is a Joe Mauer on-card autograph. A 2002 Bowman Heritage autograph, which goes for a decent price on eBay.

Mike Mader, the social media guy at Topps, reached out to collectors on Twitter and asked if they would like to be part of a roundtable, which many jumped at including myself (Sooz).

Here is Part 1 of the roundtable. Parts 2 and 3 will be up later and I will post to them as well.

Card Bloggers (and other notables) on Twitter

Here's the post I am going to compile to put all of the Twitter accounts out there. If you're not on here and want to be, please let me know and let me know who you are too.

After our own blog and names, I've put the rest in alphabetical order because there was too many to track.

Sooz: @ACPressSusan_L
Marie: @BaseballZoch
A Cardboard Problem blog: @CardBandits
30-Year-Old Cardboard: @30YOC
#5 Type Collection: @Number5TypeCard ; personal @MatthewGlidden
Artmaus  Collectibles: @artmaus 
Balk Four: @BalkFour ; personal account: @anicolausk
Baseball Cardpedia: @baseballcardped 
bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog: @bdj610 
Beckett (Chris Olds): @chrisolds2009
Behind These Hazel Eyes: @TwitchWasHere
Blow Out Cards: @blowoutcards
Cam Hartman/Collectable Cards Blog: @camhartman
Card Corner Club: @CardCornerClub
Cardboard Icons: @cardboardicons
Cardboard Junkie: @cardjunk
Check Out My Cards: @CheckOutMyCards 
Community Gum: @CommunityGum
coocoo for Cardboard: @has7150
Dinged Corners: @Dinged_Corners
Dr. Wax Battle: @DoctorWaxBattle
Dropped 3rd Strike: @pcaprara 
Emerald City Diamond Gems: @LarryLittman
Field Level View: @FieldLevelView
Freedom Card Board: @FCBsportscards
Grand Cards: @grandcards
Heart Break Cards: @heartbreakcards
Hobby Kings: @HobbyKings
I am Joe Collector: @iamjoecollector 
Lake Effect Baseball Cards: @grogg 
Long Fly Ball to Because ... @longflyball 
My 2008 Topps Set: @unclemoe
My Card Box (Austria): @mycardbox
New Card Smell: @NCSJeff  
Night Owl: @nightlite77
Opening Day Cards: @openingdaycards
Paul's Random Stuff: @PaulsRandomStuf
The Priceless Pursuit: @priceless_cards
Project 1962: @project1962
Punk Rock Paint: @punkrockpaint
RGB Cards: @JonathanRGB
SCD Magazine: @SCDmagazine 
Sports Card Info: @sportscardinfo
Sports Card Radio: @SportsCardRadio
Sports Card Uncensored: @SCUncensored
Sports Locker: @JamesRyanJ
Stale Gum: @stalegum
Todd Uncommon: @ToddUncommon
Topps: @toppscards 
Trader Cracks: @tradercracks
Upper Deck Blog: @upperdeckblog
Upper Deck Sports: @UpperDeckSports
Voice of the Collector: @votc
Wax Heaven: @Wax_Heaven
Wax Wombat: @waxwombat 
White Sox Cards: @whitesoxcards
The Writer's Journey: @REALjtCarter

Collectors only (no blog)
@fbcards 
@lisu2010
@MattnotDonovan 
@StevenLJudd - former writer of The Sports Card File

Sunday Question: Do you Tweet?

I would like to compile a list of Twitter accounts for card bloggers out there. I know everyone isn't into Twitter, but there are plenty of us out there who are and I think we get pretty interesting dialogue going on the card industry.

But, I feel at times I am missing people.

So, if you use Twitter, let me know. I am going to compile a list and put that on the sidebar. For everyone to check out.

Here's a start:
Sooz (work account where I talk about things I am covering. There's a lot of baseball talk, but not much card talk) @ACPressSusan_L
Marie: @baseballzoch
Blog: @CardBandits

Cards and Tweets

I have been a bit under the weather the last day or two and my brain has been in space wondering about random things. One of those things was if the card companies joining Twitter and supposedly talking to the collectors is going to make any difference in the products or are they just doing it to keep people who already buy cards regardless buying them.

Personally, I feel like someone at Topps was given assigned to the tweeting and maybe they know about cards, but maybe this is just part of their job since they work there. Could it be just a secretary or some dude who does the budget there tweeting to all of us to make us feel like they care about us?

The funny thing about it is that there are people kissing their asses (Topps and UD) on Twitter thinking that this is going to be their "in" for whatever. I'm all for being polite and trying to get sponsored or whatever, but really, you don't even know who is on the other end of that computer.

Another thing about this, they don't seem to be asking for any feedback on what we think of their products and when you give it to whoever it is, they just say thanks or sorry. Wow, you make a crappy product or don't put the correct relic/auto in a box and the resolution is "sorry" and maybe a crappy unrelated replacement?

I think if these companies want to be "interactive" with the collectors maybe they should listen to the things we all blog about and tweet to them and make a note. We are the people buying the cards regardless of the target demographic for any of these cards. I'd be willing to bet that any kid I walk up to and ask how many Topps Attax cards they have would say, "what are those?" as they throw down a pile of WoW cards or Yu-Gi-Oh, or whatever.

If I lost you by this point, sorry. I just felt like seeing if anyone else was thinking about this or had some sort of opinion. I'm going to go back to reading my cardiac notes now and try to make sense of that and see what you guys think of this.

2010 Topps Allen and Ginter Sneak Peek

Topps is throwing up photos of 2010 Allen and Ginter on its Twitter feed.

I'll keep posting the pics as more become available.

Prolems with Twitter: The Fakers

I saw this story yesterday and forgot to post it, but St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing Twitter over a fake account. Someone was impersonating LaRussa and, well, he wasn't going to take it anymore.

There are sports stars out there that use Twitter. While most of the time the content isn't very enlightening, it's exciting to their fans to have a way to communicate in a way that never existed before. These fake accounts make the usefulness of Twitter difficult and take away from the bit of credability that it actually has.

La Russa isn't the only one who deals with these types of issues.

Apparently, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Chase Utley begain tweeting and swore he was Utley. The Real Utley.

One day he tweeted that he was bored at home and headed to the park. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the Phillies dugout watching Utley field ground balls. I contacted the Phillies PR about the account and they have refuted it saying it's not Utley.

Even then, the account swore it was Utley and said the Phillies PR was wrong.

So it begs the question: What the hell is wrong with these people?

Why do people want to pretend to be someone else?

Tweet tweet...

I decided to make myself a twitter account, aside from trying to update the Card Bandits one. You can follow that one by clicking on the link to the left.

You can follow me by clicking here. If you have any user name suggestions for me, I am open to hear them. If anyone comes up with something funny that I end up using, I will send you something sweet for helping me "tweet".

Also, if you aren't following Sooz already, get on that. She has posted some pics from games that are cool.

Follow us, we think we're funny.