On its own, EpicMix is great: professional photos, vertical feet statistics, pins, and points. But with friends, things can get even more interesting. By connecting my Facebook and Twitter accounts I'm able to do what I do best: talk smack (only half kidding).
Yes, simply by knowing I had more pins or more vertical feet today I may get a silly sense of pride. My number of days on the mountain may even come up once or twice when catching up with friends. But, what's really useful is the "passive" connectedness I can maintain with my friends. In other words, even though we didn't go up on the slopes together this weekend, I'm still aware that you earned a much more impressive pin than I did.
So, how do you connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to EpicMix? It's simple: visit EpicMix.com and log in and browse to "My Dashboard" (you may need your pass number if you've never logged in before). From there click the "EpicMix Settings" link on the side of the page. This brings you to a screen that allows you to connect/disconnect your EpicMix profile to your Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Tech nerd note: the connection that EpicMix creates is through a special authentication process that keeps your social media accounts secure: if something happens you can always go back to Twitter or Facebook to 'disconnect' an application yourself and, more importantly, EpicMix will never know your Facebook or Twitter passwords.
If you connect your Facebook account you have to have a "Public Social" profile. What does that mean? Well, there are three levels found in the "Privacy Settings": Public Social, Public Basic, and Private. In short:
Worth noting, you can also connect directly with your family members (kids, spouse) from the EpicMix site if you have their pass number handy. Also, if you connect your Facebook account, you can use your Facebook profile photo as your avatar as opposed to your season pass photo (does anyone have a good looking pass photo? yikes).
Now, if you are going "Public Social" on the world, you need to decide how much you want to automatically share with your friends, family and followers. Under "Share Settings" you can decide which actions, if any, should automatically broadcast to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Personally, I've found it serendipitous to see my friends automatically share on Facebook that they're already skiing at Breckenridge this morning. Once or twice I've decided "Hmm, if that's where he is, perhaps I'll drive over there, too." It's made my skiing experience a little more social and connected. Be careful though: if you have an epic day on the slopes some friends may not appreciate dozens of posts from you in a day (photo posted, pin earned, level up, etc.).
Connecting EpicMix with your Facebook and Twitter friends allows a more social experience both on the slopes and off.