Tretakoff Musings
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Melodic Birdsong
Twitter continues to impress me. Not the service, per se, but the ways it is used, how it's connected, and so on. For instance:
- Want to track a package? Sure, you can use the web, and "pull" from a page to find out the status of your package. But what if you could get a Twitter message (a "tweet") at every step of the package's journey? You'd know if you need to be home to accept a package the next day, without having to remember to visit a webpage in advance. Just send a Direct Message to TrackThis with the tracking number (any carrier) and a name you want to refer to the package by, and you'll get updates on every movement of the package.
- The Bay Area is famous for the weather phenomena of microclimates. Up in San Rafael, for instance, I can get an update every 30 minutes on the weather.
- Twitter is actually useful for discovering new people, as well. For instance, MistyKhan saw I was struggling with some Microsoft Outlook issues, and offered her help, unsolicited, along with pointing me to a fabulous resource for more, her own site.
- Courtesy of tweets from the same MistyKhan, check out TwitterLocal. Type in your ZIP code, choose a radius, and see all the people nearby twittering. Fun to see how common the ailments are from folks as the heat warms us all up!
- Ever wished there was a direct connection to a resource at an airline who you could reach out to and ask for help, or get information on possible delays or specials as they come up? JetBlue has embraced Twitter with a passion for just that.
- And, of course, what better way to know the hottest daily online deal than by having Woot let you know via Twitter.
All this, and free? Tweet, tweet!
- Want to track a package? Sure, you can use the web, and "pull" from a page to find out the status of your package. But what if you could get a Twitter message (a "tweet") at every step of the package's journey? You'd know if you need to be home to accept a package the next day, without having to remember to visit a webpage in advance. Just send a Direct Message to TrackThis with the tracking number (any carrier) and a name you want to refer to the package by, and you'll get updates on every movement of the package.
- The Bay Area is famous for the weather phenomena of microclimates. Up in San Rafael, for instance, I can get an update every 30 minutes on the weather.
- Twitter is actually useful for discovering new people, as well. For instance, MistyKhan saw I was struggling with some Microsoft Outlook issues, and offered her help, unsolicited, along with pointing me to a fabulous resource for more, her own site.
- Courtesy of tweets from the same MistyKhan, check out TwitterLocal. Type in your ZIP code, choose a radius, and see all the people nearby twittering. Fun to see how common the ailments are from folks as the heat warms us all up!
- Ever wished there was a direct connection to a resource at an airline who you could reach out to and ask for help, or get information on possible delays or specials as they come up? JetBlue has embraced Twitter with a passion for just that.
- And, of course, what better way to know the hottest daily online deal than by having Woot let you know via Twitter.
All this, and free? Tweet, tweet!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Mobile TripIt...Just In Time
Great news, just in time for my upcoming trip: instead of the innovative, but practically dubious, previous "mobile" TripIt access, TripIt itineraries are now truly mobile. Great news, following right on the heels of my installation of Remote Calendars, allowing me to sync any iCal feed to Outlook; I was using it to sync my TripIt itineraries.
If you are a TripIt user, head on over to m.tripit.com and see for yourself.
Great news, just in time for my upcoming trip: instead of the innovative, but practically dubious, previous "mobile" TripIt access, TripIt itineraries are now truly mobile. Great news, following right on the heels of my installation of Remote Calendars, allowing me to sync any iCal feed to Outlook; I was using it to sync my TripIt itineraries. If you are a TripIt user, head on over to m.tripit.com and see for yourself.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
One Site To Rule Them All
All right, I'll admit it: I'm confused. In this last week, I have watch the "new media" bubble uncontrollably about two things:
- Sites that can monitor you and your friends' activities on all of the "cool" sites, like Flickr, Twitter, etc., and publish them in a feed.
- Google Calendar sync with Outlook.
In all of the mentions, barely a word was spoken about Plaxo. Why? Plaxo has been doing both of these things for quite some time, and has an important advantage over Netvibes, Spokeo, etc.: it already integrates with your address book, and gives users ancillary benefits of keeping their address books up to date.
Maybe it's the desperate air of "for sale" that was the reason; maybe it's Plaxo's old "bac'n" problem, but whatever it is, it's unreal. Why would you want to set up all of these additional sites, then convince your contacts to join them, then convince them to sync their online social life, when you can offer them one membership, with Google Calendar sync, and so much more?
Man, I hope whomever pumped the $ into Plaxo can see the goldmine they have.
All right, I'll admit it: I'm confused. In this last week, I have watch the "new media" bubble uncontrollably about two things:- Sites that can monitor you and your friends' activities on all of the "cool" sites, like Flickr, Twitter, etc., and publish them in a feed.
- Google Calendar sync with Outlook.
In all of the mentions, barely a word was spoken about Plaxo. Why? Plaxo has been doing both of these things for quite some time, and has an important advantage over Netvibes, Spokeo, etc.: it already integrates with your address book, and gives users ancillary benefits of keeping their address books up to date.
Maybe it's the desperate air of "for sale" that was the reason; maybe it's Plaxo's old "bac'n" problem, but whatever it is, it's unreal. Why would you want to set up all of these additional sites, then convince your contacts to join them, then convince them to sync their online social life, when you can offer them one membership, with Google Calendar sync, and so much more?
Man, I hope whomever pumped the $ into Plaxo can see the goldmine they have.
Labels: Plaxo, social networks, Twitter, Web 2.0
Monday, March 03, 2008
Tretakoff.com, iPhone Style
Oooh...I've written about MoFuse before, and the seamless free way you can create a mobile version of your own website/Blog. Looks like they took it up a notch, now offering a free iPhone ready version of the same, automatically available:
Saturday, January 26, 2008
iPhone Favicons
Remember Favicons? Or did you ever wonder why some websites have a little icon in the address bar? Those are favicons. Firefox lets you drag them to your bookmarks bar, and it keeps the favicon. If you like a lot of bookmarks, you can edit the bookmark to lose th text, and just keep the favicon. After all, you know that miniature eBay icon is not a symbol of their diminished earnings in the wake of overpaying for Skype or Meg Whitman's retirement: it's the eBay logo.
Now, fast forward to the iPhone. With the latest firmware release, you can create "web clips," which are just Apple's way of saying bookmarks, right on the Home screen. Easy to do: visit a website on your iPhone, click the "+" button, and it prompts you if you want to save it as a bookmark or Web Clip. Problem? The icon of the Web Clip is often a mini snapshot of the page. Some sites, like Plaxo Mobile, are smart enough to pass along the magic icon resource, so the Web Clip is the Plaxo logo, rather than a snapshot of the login page. But what to do about the other sites?
Enter Clipalizer. You can create your own 57 x 57 PNG images, and tell Clipalizer what URL they are for. Clipalizer then gives you a special URL to visit on your iPhone. Visit it, and you are prompted to add the page as a Web Clip. Voila, your icon, with a direct link to the site you specified. The image on the left is my quick and dirty TripIt icon, thanks to Picnik letting me edit it down.
Oh, did I mention it's free?
Now, fast forward to the iPhone. With the latest firmware release, you can create "web clips," which are just Apple's way of saying bookmarks, right on the Home screen. Easy to do: visit a website on your iPhone, click the "+" button, and it prompts you if you want to save it as a bookmark or Web Clip. Problem? The icon of the Web Clip is often a mini snapshot of the page. Some sites, like Plaxo Mobile, are smart enough to pass along the magic icon resource, so the Web Clip is the Plaxo logo, rather than a snapshot of the login page. But what to do about the other sites?
Enter Clipalizer. You can create your own 57 x 57 PNG images, and tell Clipalizer what URL they are for. Clipalizer then gives you a special URL to visit on your iPhone. Visit it, and you are prompted to add the page as a Web Clip. Voila, your icon, with a direct link to the site you specified. The image on the left is my quick and dirty TripIt icon, thanks to Picnik letting me edit it down.Oh, did I mention it's free?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Spokeo: Pulse, without Plaxo
As you may have noticed, I've been become more and more fascinated with the evolution of Web 2.0 to harness the "cloud" of the Web to make the online world more relevant. In other words, using the web to enhance the social nature of interactions. This hearkens back to my early days as a BBS sysop, and actually has the potential to make the web ubiquitous. I've been quite congratulatory towards Plaxo for recognizing one of the key tenets of this, the ability to automatically discover interactions, and display and classify them, in the form of Plaxo's Pulse, which gives you a "news feed" of what your connections are doing, all over the web. I've also mentioned that Plaxo sometimes, rightly or wrongly, gets a bad rap as being a Facebook imitator or worse, but I have to tell you, the Pulse is addictive: like all good "push" applications, it keeps you up to date on everything. But what if you could have Pulse, without Plaxo?
Enter Spokeo, which does exactly that. Enter your GMail, Yahoo, or other major mail service credentials, and it will scan your online address book, pull it down, and create a news feed of all of your contacts actions on the popular networks. Your college roommate posts some images to Flickr? Bam, there they are. Your old girlfriend Twitters on her canceled flight? Now you share her pain. That guy you went to high school with creates a new mix to listen to on Pandora? Tune in, and hear how Travis Tritt has invaded his taste. And so on.
Before you go all George Orwell, hang on: Spokeo only finds publicly accessible info on your friends. If your friend doesn't publicly publish their Twitter feed, for instance (ahem...Carlos???), you will have to authenticate before it can appear in your feed. If your Flickr account is inactive, for instance, it will denote as such. It uses a slick interface that neatly arranges your list of friends on the left, divided into those that have active and inactive accounts, and on the right is the latest activity from them all. You can drill down to the individual or service you want to see. The image to the right here is from my feed, today.
I've played around with it for a couple of days, and here's some observations:
- It's free.
- It's slow. They got slammed with a Techcrunch story that is pegging their servers, but hey, it's free.
- They seem to have a 1001 limit of friends, and it goes alphabetically by first name. For folks with over 8000+ contacts like me, that's a drag, since I get as far as friends with first names starting with "C," and that's it (sorry, Vasska; guess I'll just pick you up on Pulse). Pulse has that completely beat, with up to 10K.
- Their "spidering" of your Yahoo contacts seems flawed: it loses the first name of the contact, giving your contacts a fabulouso Hollywood "Madonna" one word name. ;-)
- Did I mention it's slow? Took almost 15 minutes to handle 1001 contacts, and pegged my CPU while it did it.
- It has one killer feature Pulse is missing: the ability to manually add any RSS feed to any contact. For instance, I could add the RSS feed for my corporate blog to my contact, and see new posts in that blog associated with me.
Overall, Spokeo, like Pulse, offers a glimpse into an entirely new way of perceiving the web: a personal feed. In many ways, this is a rudimentary first step to what my fellow high school alumnus, Nova Spivack, calls the "semantic web:" the ability to perceive not just data, but meaningful data. Overall, I still very much prefer Pulse, but if you are turned off by Plaxo for some strange reason, I encourage you to try Spokeo, and get hooked on what your friends are up to.
Enter Spokeo, which does exactly that. Enter your GMail, Yahoo, or other major mail service credentials, and it will scan your online address book, pull it down, and create a news feed of all of your contacts actions on the popular networks. Your college roommate posts some images to Flickr? Bam, there they are. Your old girlfriend Twitters on her canceled flight? Now you share her pain. That guy you went to high school with creates a new mix to listen to on Pandora? Tune in, and hear how Travis Tritt has invaded his taste. And so on.
Before you go all George Orwell, hang on: Spokeo only finds publicly accessible info on your friends. If your friend doesn't publicly publish their Twitter feed, for instance (ahem...Carlos???), you will have to authenticate before it can appear in your feed. If your Flickr account is inactive, for instance, it will denote as such. It uses a slick interface that neatly arranges your list of friends on the left, divided into those that have active and inactive accounts, and on the right is the latest activity from them all. You can drill down to the individual or service you want to see. The image to the right here is from my feed, today.I've played around with it for a couple of days, and here's some observations:
- It's free.
- It's slow. They got slammed with a Techcrunch story that is pegging their servers, but hey, it's free.
- They seem to have a 1001 limit of friends, and it goes alphabetically by first name. For folks with over 8000+ contacts like me, that's a drag, since I get as far as friends with first names starting with "C," and that's it (sorry, Vasska; guess I'll just pick you up on Pulse). Pulse has that completely beat, with up to 10K.
- Their "spidering" of your Yahoo contacts seems flawed: it loses the first name of the contact, giving your contacts a fabulouso Hollywood "Madonna" one word name. ;-)
- Did I mention it's slow? Took almost 15 minutes to handle 1001 contacts, and pegged my CPU while it did it.
- It has one killer feature Pulse is missing: the ability to manually add any RSS feed to any contact. For instance, I could add the RSS feed for my corporate blog to my contact, and see new posts in that blog associated with me.
Overall, Spokeo, like Pulse, offers a glimpse into an entirely new way of perceiving the web: a personal feed. In many ways, this is a rudimentary first step to what my fellow high school alumnus, Nova Spivack, calls the "semantic web:" the ability to perceive not just data, but meaningful data. Overall, I still very much prefer Pulse, but if you are turned off by Plaxo for some strange reason, I encourage you to try Spokeo, and get hooked on what your friends are up to.
Labels: beta, lifehacks, Plaxo, reviews, social networks, Twitter, Web 2.0
Friday, December 07, 2007
Dog emails dog
Brian, as they say, be careful what you wish for.
Who is Brian? Brian is an intern at Box.net. Not familiar with them? They are an online storage company: a virtual drive, if you will. My Netvibes membership introduced them to me. I rarely use them, but thought they were generally fine for a free storage service.
Then Brian contacted me.
See, Brian noticed I was blogging about Picnik, a great photo editing tool for free online. Brian, out of the goodness of his heart, thought I might like to know about Box.net's service to do the same; he even took the time to email my Gmail account to tell me.
Gosh, that Brian. Such a nice, helpful guy. Yep, I might have fallen for this "aw, shucks" approach...had he not included the URL I boldfaced above. See, it's clear from the appending of "picnik" on the URL that Box.net is trolling for Picnik users to switch, and Box.net is using this as a crude viral campaign to go after a competitor.
As it is, Brian, I'll thank you for the helpful hint, and suggest that you switch to a less crude approach in the future, perhaps tagging links with a URL tracker that you build, for instance, or an affiliate network? Brian, you may be a very nice guy, and, as you claim to be just an intern, maybe you didn't know that this approach might be interpreted as ham-handed, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and I'll suggest that you let your bosses know that they probably need to be a bit more subtle in their efforts to build awareness for a new product.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Brian, as they say, be careful what you wish for.Who is Brian? Brian is an intern at Box.net. Not familiar with them? They are an online storage company: a virtual drive, if you will. My Netvibes membership introduced them to me. I rarely use them, but thought they were generally fine for a free storage service.
Then Brian contacted me.
See, Brian noticed I was blogging about Picnik, a great photo editing tool for free online. Brian, out of the goodness of his heart, thought I might like to know about Box.net's service to do the same; he even took the time to email my Gmail account to tell me.
Hello,
My name is Brian, I'm an intern working at Box.net. I saw your post about editing photos online and I wanted to write to you in case you would be interested in knowing Box.net now lets users edit photos online as well.
Using our OpenBox platform, users can now right-click on any image and edit it instantly, for free. OpenBox is a platform which lets developers write software that can be installed directly on the Box.net website.
If you decide you would like to post something about this on your blog, please let me know if you or your readers have any suggestions for the service.
For some more information:
http://www.box.net/services/picnik
Sincerely,
Brian
Box.net
Gosh, that Brian. Such a nice, helpful guy. Yep, I might have fallen for this "aw, shucks" approach...had he not included the URL I boldfaced above. See, it's clear from the appending of "picnik" on the URL that Box.net is trolling for Picnik users to switch, and Box.net is using this as a crude viral campaign to go after a competitor.
As it is, Brian, I'll thank you for the helpful hint, and suggest that you switch to a less crude approach in the future, perhaps tagging links with a URL tracker that you build, for instance, or an affiliate network? Brian, you may be a very nice guy, and, as you claim to be just an intern, maybe you didn't know that this approach might be interpreted as ham-handed, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and I'll suggest that you let your bosses know that they probably need to be a bit more subtle in their efforts to build awareness for a new product.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Netiquette 2.0
Back in the pre-Web 2.0, pre-Web 1.0, pre-World Wide Web, and even pre-AOL, there were Bulletin Board Systems (BBS): isolated archipelagos of folks who shared their interests in forums and chat rooms to the point of obsessiveness. Like any isolated culture, each BBS evolves its own feel, with folks naturally gravitating to a certain form of behavior. And all was good in the world.
In the late 80's/early 90's, BBS operators started to connect their BBS'. Suddenly, you had an influx of new users participating in forums, violating unspoken rules and taboos, and the first "flame wars" erupted. Longtime BBS users were turned off: their vibrant forums were descending into annoyance, and their primary goals of connecting with like-minded folks were being thwarted. BBS participation started to drop. What to do?
BBS system operators ("Sysops") saw the threat to their nascent network, precursors of today's Web, and decided to take action. They drafted a set of guidelines for participation, to help new users ("newbies"), as well as establishing a clear set of rules that sysops could enforce. This BBS etiquette, or "netiquette," usually governed personal contact or posting rules, and sysops warned and booted repeated violators. And all was well in the world...at least until that pesky Web sprung up and crushed those BBS' out of existence. ;-)
Fast forward to today's hottest Web properties, social networks, and you can see the exact same issues developing. Each of the major social networks evolved to address a particular niche:
- MySpace for music lovers and young teens
- Facebook for alumni and shared interest groups
- LinkedIn for business networking
- Plaxo Pulse for people you actually know
Each of these networks has seen their growth skyrocket when they open the service up and it drives hordes of new users to join. As those new users eclipse the old-timers, the unwritten rules get trampled. Facebook becomes a site for people to prospect for jobs. LinkedIn becomes a haven for recruiters. Plaxo becomes a bac'n generator (some would argue it already was). At this rate, folks will get turned off and stop using the system. Less usage=less eyeballs=less ad revenue, which leads to the end of the network, and the bubble bursts.
The other day, I received invites to connect from one person on Plaxo, Facebook, and LinkedIn, in a 24 hour period. I did not know this person, nor did I seem to have any affiliation with her. I made the error of accepting her Plaxo request. In looking at her Pulse, I saw she was connecting with dozens of people an hour, all unrelated. Because her background was excellent, and seemed a pro, I emailed her, to tell her the negative effect she was having on me, in case others felt the same. She replied with offense and hostility, and, in a huff, told me she wouldn't want to connect to me anyway. I responded back, with a short comment, explaining again that I respected her background, and simply wanted her to understand the potential detrimental effect she was having for employment prospects. Mollified, she explained that my "old school" attitude was simply out of date, and I could simply decline her invite. And you know what? She was right: my unwritten understanding was not the same as hers, and the social networks do very little to enforce it.
Another example: I have been using Twitter for some time now for communicating my status. Because of the rise of the popularity of Facebook, with it's status updates, I decided to consolidate my updates: start at Facebook, and have them automatically syndicate to Twitter. About a month later, I received a note from a coworker who is also on Facebook, suggesting I should tone down the frequency of my status updates, since there were so many business contacts on Facebook who might be overwhelmed. Sure, I could have pointed out that they could simply turn off the status updates, but he's right: again, my "old school" understanding of the purpose of Facebook belies what it may have evolved into. The direct result? I participate far less on Facebook than before, keeping to Twitter, and relying on Plaxo to pick up and syndicate my info to people I actually want to communicate with. Less Facebook visits means less ads, less eyeballs...
It's time for Netiquette 2.0. Each network needs to clearly outline the goals and objectives for the participants, and start to police the adherence of the members. Stalkers on MySpace? Terminate with extreme prejudice. Recruiters on Facebook? You're fired. Unknowns on Plaxo? Exiled. You get the idea. The key is that Sysops need to be recruited and unleashed to identify, and then let the population decide the fate.
When the Wall St. Journal advocates mining Facebook for employment, we know the network is at risk. Let's use history to help save it.
In the late 80's/early 90's, BBS operators started to connect their BBS'. Suddenly, you had an influx of new users participating in forums, violating unspoken rules and taboos, and the first "flame wars" erupted. Longtime BBS users were turned off: their vibrant forums were descending into annoyance, and their primary goals of connecting with like-minded folks were being thwarted. BBS participation started to drop. What to do?
BBS system operators ("Sysops") saw the threat to their nascent network, precursors of today's Web, and decided to take action. They drafted a set of guidelines for participation, to help new users ("newbies"), as well as establishing a clear set of rules that sysops could enforce. This BBS etiquette, or "netiquette," usually governed personal contact or posting rules, and sysops warned and booted repeated violators. And all was well in the world...at least until that pesky Web sprung up and crushed those BBS' out of existence. ;-)Fast forward to today's hottest Web properties, social networks, and you can see the exact same issues developing. Each of the major social networks evolved to address a particular niche:
- MySpace for music lovers and young teens
- Facebook for alumni and shared interest groups
- LinkedIn for business networking
- Plaxo Pulse for people you actually know
Each of these networks has seen their growth skyrocket when they open the service up and it drives hordes of new users to join. As those new users eclipse the old-timers, the unwritten rules get trampled. Facebook becomes a site for people to prospect for jobs. LinkedIn becomes a haven for recruiters. Plaxo becomes a bac'n generator (some would argue it already was). At this rate, folks will get turned off and stop using the system. Less usage=less eyeballs=less ad revenue, which leads to the end of the network, and the bubble bursts.
The other day, I received invites to connect from one person on Plaxo, Facebook, and LinkedIn, in a 24 hour period. I did not know this person, nor did I seem to have any affiliation with her. I made the error of accepting her Plaxo request. In looking at her Pulse, I saw she was connecting with dozens of people an hour, all unrelated. Because her background was excellent, and seemed a pro, I emailed her, to tell her the negative effect she was having on me, in case others felt the same. She replied with offense and hostility, and, in a huff, told me she wouldn't want to connect to me anyway. I responded back, with a short comment, explaining again that I respected her background, and simply wanted her to understand the potential detrimental effect she was having for employment prospects. Mollified, she explained that my "old school" attitude was simply out of date, and I could simply decline her invite. And you know what? She was right: my unwritten understanding was not the same as hers, and the social networks do very little to enforce it.
Another example: I have been using Twitter for some time now for communicating my status. Because of the rise of the popularity of Facebook, with it's status updates, I decided to consolidate my updates: start at Facebook, and have them automatically syndicate to Twitter. About a month later, I received a note from a coworker who is also on Facebook, suggesting I should tone down the frequency of my status updates, since there were so many business contacts on Facebook who might be overwhelmed. Sure, I could have pointed out that they could simply turn off the status updates, but he's right: again, my "old school" understanding of the purpose of Facebook belies what it may have evolved into. The direct result? I participate far less on Facebook than before, keeping to Twitter, and relying on Plaxo to pick up and syndicate my info to people I actually want to communicate with. Less Facebook visits means less ads, less eyeballs...
It's time for Netiquette 2.0. Each network needs to clearly outline the goals and objectives for the participants, and start to police the adherence of the members. Stalkers on MySpace? Terminate with extreme prejudice. Recruiters on Facebook? You're fired. Unknowns on Plaxo? Exiled. You get the idea. The key is that Sysops need to be recruited and unleashed to identify, and then let the population decide the fate.
When the Wall St. Journal advocates mining Facebook for employment, we know the network is at risk. Let's use history to help save it.
Labels: Facebook, Plaxo, social networks, Web 2.0
Saturday, November 10, 2007
ConnectQuakes
It starts with an innocuous blog post about a social network doing something cool. Then, it's followed by a namedrop in the office of the latest cool new social network. Your email inbox starts to waft the familiar aroma of bac'n. Curiosity piqued, you follow the link, and sign up, and before you know it...you've triggered a ConnectQuake(TM).
What is a ConnectQuake? I'm coining the term, so here's my definition: it's the explosion of connections on a social network that causes your network to grow exponentially. You sign up, invite a few friends. One of those friends signs up, and connects with other folks. You see the connections they've made, and you connect to the connections, and before you know it, the Richter scale needle is jerking like a Blackberry power user who's got no cell signal.
Take Plaxo Pulse, for instance. I continue to maintain that they are the one social network that will become the standard, primarily because of their embracing of the already-proliferating feeds and publishable components from the sites you already use. When Pulse first launched, a couple of months ago, I got a lot of "Oh no, not another social network Facebook-wannabe" responses from the invites I sent. I linked those naysayers to my blog post on why Plaxo is better than Facebook, and a few of them changed their minds. A selected few embraced it, and I saw they connected with dozens more. Now, I see almost a hundred updates of people connecting to each other in my network, and their extended network, as I connect to their connections. A full-on ConnectQuake.
Some of these ConnectQuakes have aftershocks: connections of connections come on, and one person gets REALLY into it, adding dozens of new connections. Some of them are like the typical Bay Area quakes: sharp jolts that quickly stop, after the initial connections (think Tom on MySpace, or Kevin Smith on Facebook). Some are downright exasperating (like this guy Jacques Pats-Nouguès on Plaxo). But most ConnectQuakes are undulating waves, with your connections adding about 10 or so people, with a few more over the next week, and a subsequent few degrees of separation connecting. They're fun to see happen, and amazing to watch the needle move.
So, don't fear the quake. Connect with it.
It starts with an innocuous blog post about a social network doing something cool. Then, it's followed by a namedrop in the office of the latest cool new social network. Your email inbox starts to waft the familiar aroma of bac'n. Curiosity piqued, you follow the link, and sign up, and before you know it...you've triggered a ConnectQuake(TM).What is a ConnectQuake? I'm coining the term, so here's my definition: it's the explosion of connections on a social network that causes your network to grow exponentially. You sign up, invite a few friends. One of those friends signs up, and connects with other folks. You see the connections they've made, and you connect to the connections, and before you know it, the Richter scale needle is jerking like a Blackberry power user who's got no cell signal.
Take Plaxo Pulse, for instance. I continue to maintain that they are the one social network that will become the standard, primarily because of their embracing of the already-proliferating feeds and publishable components from the sites you already use. When Pulse first launched, a couple of months ago, I got a lot of "Oh no, not another social network Facebook-wannabe" responses from the invites I sent. I linked those naysayers to my blog post on why Plaxo is better than Facebook, and a few of them changed their minds. A selected few embraced it, and I saw they connected with dozens more. Now, I see almost a hundred updates of people connecting to each other in my network, and their extended network, as I connect to their connections. A full-on ConnectQuake.
Some of these ConnectQuakes have aftershocks: connections of connections come on, and one person gets REALLY into it, adding dozens of new connections. Some of them are like the typical Bay Area quakes: sharp jolts that quickly stop, after the initial connections (think Tom on MySpace, or Kevin Smith on Facebook). Some are downright exasperating (like this guy Jacques Pats-Nouguès on Plaxo). But most ConnectQuakes are undulating waves, with your connections adding about 10 or so people, with a few more over the next week, and a subsequent few degrees of separation connecting. They're fun to see happen, and amazing to watch the needle move.
So, don't fear the quake. Connect with it.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Your Blog/Page, Mobile
Ever wanted to have a version of a page or site that you could browse on a mobile screen, but you weren't into the complex programming it requires for it? Welcome to Mobile for Dummies, courtesy of MoFuse. As Download Squad puts it:
And man, does it work. In just seconds, I created a mobile version of this blog! Check it out here on your mobile device.
I love it when technology gets reduced to brain-dead simple. If Linux was like this, we'd be Windows-free already.
Ever wanted to have a version of a page or site that you could browse on a mobile screen, but you weren't into the complex programming it requires for it? Welcome to Mobile for Dummies, courtesy of MoFuse. As Download Squad puts it:MoFuse lets you make a mobile version of pretty much any site. The entire process basically boils down to:
1. Create an account
2. Name your site
3. Enter the RSS feed
4. Tweak if you like
And man, does it work. In just seconds, I created a mobile version of this blog! Check it out here on your mobile device.
I love it when technology gets reduced to brain-dead simple. If Linux was like this, we'd be Windows-free already.
Labels: cell phones, free, iPhone, Web 2.0
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Screw Photoshop! Hello, Picnik!
Flickr managed to seduce me from keeping my photos on my website, but Picnik takes me all the way. See, normally I upload my raw pictures to the PC, fire up Photoshop to do my crops, color balances, and edits, and then painstakingly save each photo, finally uploading the finished product to Flickr for the world to see. However, Photoshop is a HUGE program, and, as the last version I purchased is several years old, I am always loathe to get in there with the monstrous kludginess.
This year, after taking some photos in San Antonio and capturing the Blue Angels from Angel Island, I decided another approach was in order. I uploaded the raw images to Flickr, then fired up Picnik.com, a site that claims to be a free online Web 2.0 photo editor. In literally seconds, I was pulling in my Flickr images, and editing, faster and better than Photoshop ever let me do. Cropping? Definitely. Color and contract balancing? Count on it. Best of all, an "auto-fix" feature that corrects my horrific raw photos to sensational pieces.
For instance, here's a raw photo:
Now, check it out after Picnik does it's work:
Gotta say, I'm very impressed. Oh, yes, did I mention...FREE? :-)
Flickr managed to seduce me from keeping my photos on my website, but Picnik takes me all the way. See, normally I upload my raw pictures to the PC, fire up Photoshop to do my crops, color balances, and edits, and then painstakingly save each photo, finally uploading the finished product to Flickr for the world to see. However, Photoshop is a HUGE program, and, as the last version I purchased is several years old, I am always loathe to get in there with the monstrous kludginess.This year, after taking some photos in San Antonio and capturing the Blue Angels from Angel Island, I decided another approach was in order. I uploaded the raw images to Flickr, then fired up Picnik.com, a site that claims to be a free online Web 2.0 photo editor. In literally seconds, I was pulling in my Flickr images, and editing, faster and better than Photoshop ever let me do. Cropping? Definitely. Color and contract balancing? Count on it. Best of all, an "auto-fix" feature that corrects my horrific raw photos to sensational pieces.
For instance, here's a raw photo:
Now, check it out after Picnik does it's work:
Gotta say, I'm very impressed. Oh, yes, did I mention...FREE? :-)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Twitter, meet Facebook
A short while ago, I blogged about the overwhelming and, in my opinion, unjustified hype about Facebook. My opinion still remains the same: Facebook is still way too much of a closed network to take advantage of many of the obviously better properties of Web 2.0. It does have one effective by product, however: all that hype is driving critical mass. That means more people will use Facebook than other, more elegant solutions. It also means they don't have to embrace open standards: they can command a large enough audience to force other sites to create Facebook "applications" and include them in their buried infrastructure, as that's where the eyeballs are.
Take status updates, for example. Twitter seems to be waning in popularity, as Facebook is waxing. Sure, Facebook status updates are there, but they lack the sheer usability of Twitter. Can I get SMS updates of my friends' status messages? Who knows: on Facebook, you might be able to, but it's infinitely harder than Twitter. Still, that's where the eyeballs are. Do I have to update both??
Maybe not. Like Twitter, I can update my status in Facebook through SMS, albeit a bit kludgier. In a typical Facebook move, you can get an RSS feed of your status updates, though locating it takes at least 3 levels deep. With the addition of a free service called Twitterfeed and some pretty convoluted configuration, you can theoretically have your Facebook status periodically update your Twittering.
This type of hack is reminiscent of other similar techniques employed in the past by frustrated users of closed network systems, chafing at the bit. Remember Prodigy? AOL? CompuServe? The one thing we have learned is that, to survive and thrive, no community can be an island. Sure, Facebook is the belle of the moment, but they had better sell soon, before the rising critical mass deserts them for the next big thing. The most frustrating part is that they should know this: MySpace was so closed network that even the fickle teens cast it aside for Facebook, once they opened membership.
So, I'll keep using Facebook, as that's where the people are, while finding every crack I can to make it open and hope for the rise of Plaxo's Pulse. Enjoy this Facebook hack, hopefully the first of many.
Take status updates, for example. Twitter seems to be waning in popularity, as Facebook is waxing. Sure, Facebook status updates are there, but they lack the sheer usability of Twitter. Can I get SMS updates of my friends' status messages? Who knows: on Facebook, you might be able to, but it's infinitely harder than Twitter. Still, that's where the eyeballs are. Do I have to update both??Maybe not. Like Twitter, I can update my status in Facebook through SMS, albeit a bit kludgier. In a typical Facebook move, you can get an RSS feed of your status updates, though locating it takes at least 3 levels deep. With the addition of a free service called Twitterfeed and some pretty convoluted configuration, you can theoretically have your Facebook status periodically update your Twittering.This type of hack is reminiscent of other similar techniques employed in the past by frustrated users of closed network systems, chafing at the bit. Remember Prodigy? AOL? CompuServe? The one thing we have learned is that, to survive and thrive, no community can be an island. Sure, Facebook is the belle of the moment, but they had better sell soon, before the rising critical mass deserts them for the next big thing. The most frustrating part is that they should know this: MySpace was so closed network that even the fickle teens cast it aside for Facebook, once they opened membership.
So, I'll keep using Facebook, as that's where the people are, while finding every crack I can to make it open and hope for the rise of Plaxo's Pulse. Enjoy this Facebook hack, hopefully the first of many.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Closed is NOT the new Open
Seth Goldstein is a man who's views on Web 2.0 I tend to value. His blog recently proclaimed that "closed is the new open." In essence, that closed networks, like Facebook and MySpace, done right, are better than the random collection of open network tools, like Flickr and Twitter. Apologies to Seth, but I most vociferously have to disagree. Case in point: today's launch of Plaxo's Pulse network.
I'm a big fan of Plaxo, as it solves one of the most frustrating problems of people like myself with large contact lists: it creates the ability for someone to update their information in one place, and Plaxo subscribers immediately have their address books updated with the new information. Although my 7000+ contacts seem to frequently cause performance issues with it, I have stuck with them, and even upgraded to some of their premium services. For instance, the ability to immediately be reminded of an upcoming birthday, and send an e-card, personalized. Fantastic stuff for someone who never has enough time to be as thoughtful as I aspire to be.
Plaxo has gone one step further. They have created their own social network, Pulse, so you can get updated whenever your Pulse friends update anything. And I mean, anything. Want to get notified when a friend adds to their Amazon wishlist? Got it covered. Read the latest post from their blog? Gotcha. Post some pictures to Picasa or Flickr? Check. See what they are digging on Digg? Yup. I mean, this is what's been needed: a single network, to pull together the content from these purpose driven sites, and syndicate them. I want to know when Charles adds a new DVD to his wishlist. I want to see some new pictures from a faraway family member or friend. I love the push of a blog entry. Man, this is what it's all about: push me the content I want, for the people I want, saving me from 100 different "pulls". Timesaving, elegant, and superb. I would GLADLY pay for this service, and will, as soon as their tech support people figure out how I can use Plaxo Premium without destroying the performance of my already bloated Outlook account.
I mean, check out the range of services they pull in. Add in Facebook and LinkedIn, and sayonara any other service. Open is flexible, extensible, and always with the times. My NetVibes page does the same with my homepage (so does Pageflakes, and even the new MyYahoo), so this is just a natural extension. With this architecture, Plaxo can add new feeds for the new properties. So, yesterday's MySpace fades away, and gives rise to Facebook. Google Video gives it up for YouTube. Who knows what comes next? One thing's for sure: Plaxo will be the source to find it.
Seth Goldstein is a man who's views on Web 2.0 I tend to value. His blog recently proclaimed that "closed is the new open." In essence, that closed networks, like Facebook and MySpace, done right, are better than the random collection of open network tools, like Flickr and Twitter. Apologies to Seth, but I most vociferously have to disagree. Case in point: today's launch of Plaxo's Pulse network.I'm a big fan of Plaxo, as it solves one of the most frustrating problems of people like myself with large contact lists: it creates the ability for someone to update their information in one place, and Plaxo subscribers immediately have their address books updated with the new information. Although my 7000+ contacts seem to frequently cause performance issues with it, I have stuck with them, and even upgraded to some of their premium services. For instance, the ability to immediately be reminded of an upcoming birthday, and send an e-card, personalized. Fantastic stuff for someone who never has enough time to be as thoughtful as I aspire to be.
Plaxo has gone one step further. They have created their own social network, Pulse, so you can get updated whenever your Pulse friends update anything. And I mean, anything. Want to get notified when a friend adds to their Amazon wishlist? Got it covered. Read the latest post from their blog? Gotcha. Post some pictures to Picasa or Flickr? Check. See what they are digging on Digg? Yup. I mean, this is what's been needed: a single network, to pull together the content from these purpose driven sites, and syndicate them. I want to know when Charles adds a new DVD to his wishlist. I want to see some new pictures from a faraway family member or friend. I love the push of a blog entry. Man, this is what it's all about: push me the content I want, for the people I want, saving me from 100 different "pulls". Timesaving, elegant, and superb. I would GLADLY pay for this service, and will, as soon as their tech support people figure out how I can use Plaxo Premium without destroying the performance of my already bloated Outlook account.
I mean, check out the range of services they pull in. Add in Facebook and LinkedIn, and sayonara any other service. Open is flexible, extensible, and always with the times. My NetVibes page does the same with my homepage (so does Pageflakes, and even the new MyYahoo), so this is just a natural extension. With this architecture, Plaxo can add new feeds for the new properties. So, yesterday's MySpace fades away, and gives rise to Facebook. Google Video gives it up for YouTube. Who knows what comes next? One thing's for sure: Plaxo will be the source to find it.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Dude, I'm So Tripping
I travel a lot for work and fun. I tend to book trips on the individual airline's websites (after I use Farecast and SideStep to find the best deals), so I get the mileage bonuses. The pain of that is that you get all of these different confirmations, emails, and tracking numbers, so it's not easy to consolidate them down to my schedule. I use TravelTracker for the Treo to type it all in, but it's time consuming, and annoying.
Enter TripIt. That email confirmation you got? Forward it to plans@tripit.com. In under a minute, you head over to TripIt, and you get this:
Want to add more to the trip, like a car rental? Just forward it on, and TripIt adds it to it. Want to track some activities you want to do while on the trip? Use the TripClipper to bookmark it to your trip.
I like the service a lot: they focus on ease of use and solving a problem. There is definitely room to improve here, though: syncing with Outlook or Google Calendar, for instance. Consolidating Frequent Flyer accounts is another area they can help with. But for sheer, purpose-driven Web 2.0 approaching a difficult problem with a cool effortless solution. it works.
I have 5 invites I can give out if you're interested in trying it; let me know.
I travel a lot for work and fun. I tend to book trips on the individual airline's websites (after I use Farecast and SideStep to find the best deals), so I get the mileage bonuses. The pain of that is that you get all of these different confirmations, emails, and tracking numbers, so it's not easy to consolidate them down to my schedule. I use TravelTracker for the Treo to type it all in, but it's time consuming, and annoying.Enter TripIt. That email confirmation you got? Forward it to plans@tripit.com. In under a minute, you head over to TripIt, and you get this:
Want to add more to the trip, like a car rental? Just forward it on, and TripIt adds it to it. Want to track some activities you want to do while on the trip? Use the TripClipper to bookmark it to your trip.
I like the service a lot: they focus on ease of use and solving a problem. There is definitely room to improve here, though: syncing with Outlook or Google Calendar, for instance. Consolidating Frequent Flyer accounts is another area they can help with. But for sheer, purpose-driven Web 2.0 approaching a difficult problem with a cool effortless solution. it works.
I have 5 invites I can give out if you're interested in trying it; let me know.
Labels: beta, free, Google Maps, Software, travel, weather, Web 2.0
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Adventures of an Anal Retentive Comic Geek
As Charles says, "What are bros for?" He chortles, as he sends me an URL that is guaranteed to cater to my not so recently supressed past, as well as the vein of obsessive compulsion that runs through me, causing me to quake and realize that its time to come clean about my deepest, darkest secret...
Hello, my name is Josh, and I am a comic book collector.
Well, "collector" implies a bit of present tense, so it's not entirely true. With the exception of the signed Kevin Smith original Daredevils and Green Arrows I picked up in the last couple of years, my collection is firmly rooted in what I consider comics' heyday, the 1980's. Like all of my ilk of that time, the X-Men and their spinoffs dominate my collection. but that is also the time of Frank Miller's Dark Knight series, which changed comics (and movies) forever. It's the time of Alan Moore, who brought V for Vendetta to a public who clearly had no idea what to do with it. And it's the time for the rise of the alternate universe, where anything is possible.
Like all collectors of the time, most of my comics are polybagged and boxed (though not boarded, to my chagrin). I occasionally consider selling them off, as the collection is good; I tried to, some years ago, but the cataloging required lots of spreadsheets and value estimates. Thus, I held on.
Now, the Web threatens to take my obsession and make it go full blown again, Phoenix-like. Comic Collector Live allows you to catalog your comic collection, with all of the key indicators, in classic Web 2.0 free style. I can see many hours spent, transferring my Google spreadsheet to this, and identifying the holes in my collection. Instead of selling, I could be coerced into...gasp...buying!
Hello, my name is Josh, and I am a comic book collector.
Well, "collector" implies a bit of present tense, so it's not entirely true. With the exception of the signed Kevin Smith original Daredevils and Green Arrows I picked up in the last couple of years, my collection is firmly rooted in what I consider comics' heyday, the 1980's. Like all of my ilk of that time, the X-Men and their spinoffs dominate my collection. but that is also the time of Frank Miller's Dark Knight series, which changed comics (and movies) forever. It's the time of Alan Moore, who brought V for Vendetta to a public who clearly had no idea what to do with it. And it's the time for the rise of the alternate universe, where anything is possible.
Like all collectors of the time, most of my comics are polybagged and boxed (though not boarded, to my chagrin). I occasionally consider selling them off, as the collection is good; I tried to, some years ago, but the cataloging required lots of spreadsheets and value estimates. Thus, I held on.
Now, the Web threatens to take my obsession and make it go full blown again, Phoenix-like. Comic Collector Live allows you to catalog your comic collection, with all of the key indicators, in classic Web 2.0 free style. I can see many hours spent, transferring my Google spreadsheet to this, and identifying the holes in my collection. Instead of selling, I could be coerced into...gasp...buying!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
What's so great about Facebook?
At some of my co-workers urgings, I recently added Facebook to my litany of online networking tools; you can check out my page, if you are so inclined. I gotta say...what's the big deal? It's like a (slightly) more grown up version of MySpace, but lacking in many of the amazingly powerful tools of LinkedIn or Plaxo; with those tools, you get the business, as well as very slick automatically linking and updating tools, without the "oh, look at me" factors. In essence, what a business pro needs.
And yet, the news is going crazy with stories of how they will (or have) surpassed MySpace as the premier online destination, and more. Remember, Rupert Murdoch's $400 Million purchase of MySpace was considered unreal at the time, yet Facebook is already rumored to be in the $750 million range, and considering going IPO. Hell, they say they'll make $100 million this year.
For such a juggernaut, I can't help but wonder why the site is so ungainly. For instance, instead of having to post "my notes" (their version of blogging), why can I not just easily publish my RSS feed of this blog on that page, like I can in LinkedIn or Yahoo 360? Maybe a filtered Loyalty Dogs RSS feed? We live in the Web 2.0 age, and we are still forced to use these antique networks that think all are islands unto themselves? And what about the "photos?" Any reason my Flickr feed can't show up there, like it does in Plaxo? Look, maybe all of those things and more are possible, but I'm a dedicated Widget guy, and I can't find a single way to easily do this; with the other services I've mentioned here, I can do all of that in seconds.
So, I ask again: why is Facebook a (potentially) $1 billion company, when they don't even have the best horse in the race? Someone? Anyone?
At some of my co-workers urgings, I recently added Facebook to my litany of online networking tools; you can check out my page, if you are so inclined. I gotta say...what's the big deal? It's like a (slightly) more grown up version of MySpace, but lacking in many of the amazingly powerful tools of LinkedIn or Plaxo; with those tools, you get the business, as well as very slick automatically linking and updating tools, without the "oh, look at me" factors. In essence, what a business pro needs.And yet, the news is going crazy with stories of how they will (or have) surpassed MySpace as the premier online destination, and more. Remember, Rupert Murdoch's $400 Million purchase of MySpace was considered unreal at the time, yet Facebook is already rumored to be in the $750 million range, and considering going IPO. Hell, they say they'll make $100 million this year.
For such a juggernaut, I can't help but wonder why the site is so ungainly. For instance, instead of having to post "my notes" (their version of blogging), why can I not just easily publish my RSS feed of this blog on that page, like I can in LinkedIn or Yahoo 360? Maybe a filtered Loyalty Dogs RSS feed? We live in the Web 2.0 age, and we are still forced to use these antique networks that think all are islands unto themselves? And what about the "photos?" Any reason my Flickr feed can't show up there, like it does in Plaxo? Look, maybe all of those things and more are possible, but I'm a dedicated Widget guy, and I can't find a single way to easily do this; with the other services I've mentioned here, I can do all of that in seconds.
So, I ask again: why is Facebook a (potentially) $1 billion company, when they don't even have the best horse in the race? Someone? Anyone?
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Gentlemen, place your BluBets
Like so many of the "sins," this country has its collective head up its ass when it comes to the natural inclinations of its inhabitants. We are the most open nation on the planet, in terms of individual freedoms and founding principles to protect them, and yet we are constantly hobbled by our Puritanical beginnings. Sex, drugs, controversial music or movies: we litigate against them and yet celebrate them in popular culture at the same time. But nothing shows the US of A's utter hypocrisy more evidently than gambling. It's illegal, yet in over half of the states in this country, you can legally gamble in casinos. And let's not even get started about the lottery: the worst cruel trick you can play on the most helpless people, and yet the state makes its revenues from it.
We love to gamble. We love to believe that we are imbued with that special power that will help us see something that the other people do not. We love to compete, and gambling lets us compete with the mind and imagination. How many times have you started a sentence with "I bet..." Really? Do you? Prove it.
Enter BluBet. Part Digg, part social phenomenon, and utterly unique. Sign up, and start placing your bets. On anything. And I mean, anything. Want to see if the Governator will pardon Paris Hilton? Will the Cubs finally win the World Series? How about if MUNI will kill more than 1 pedestrian this week in San Francisco? Or will W veto the upcoming Iraq spending measure out of buffoonish ignorance again? The choices are endless.
Very Web 2.0, and very clever, BluBet has all the hallmarks of the next great social property. Tags, liberal use of Flash interfaces, and lots of syndication blend the UI of Digg with YouTube. The only downside I see is the betting currency can only be ever used as a scorecard. What they really need to do is find a way for you to spend those BluBucks: it would have to be on something that has no real-world value (thanks to those twisted Puritans), like the ability to add an avatar and pimp it out, for instance. Differing levels of access: want to take BluBet mobile, spend a few BluBucks.
For now, I'm laying down the gauntlet on my first bet. $1500 BluBucks are on the line: come take my money:
We love to gamble. We love to believe that we are imbued with that special power that will help us see something that the other people do not. We love to compete, and gambling lets us compete with the mind and imagination. How many times have you started a sentence with "I bet..." Really? Do you? Prove it.
Enter BluBet. Part Digg, part social phenomenon, and utterly unique. Sign up, and start placing your bets. On anything. And I mean, anything. Want to see if the Governator will pardon Paris Hilton? Will the Cubs finally win the World Series? How about if MUNI will kill more than 1 pedestrian this week in San Francisco? Or will W veto the upcoming Iraq spending measure out of buffoonish ignorance again? The choices are endless.Very Web 2.0, and very clever, BluBet has all the hallmarks of the next great social property. Tags, liberal use of Flash interfaces, and lots of syndication blend the UI of Digg with YouTube. The only downside I see is the betting currency can only be ever used as a scorecard. What they really need to do is find a way for you to spend those BluBucks: it would have to be on something that has no real-world value (thanks to those twisted Puritans), like the ability to add an avatar and pimp it out, for instance. Differing levels of access: want to take BluBet mobile, spend a few BluBucks.
For now, I'm laying down the gauntlet on my first bet. $1500 BluBucks are on the line: come take my money:
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Robocop: On My Wish List
Two notes:
- I have succumbed to Twitter. I'll try it for a while, and see what it yields. My Twitter status is on the right.
- I found my best Xmas gift, thanks to Cameron. Now, I really can be Robocop, thanks to the U.S. military!
Two notes:- I have succumbed to Twitter. I'll try it for a while, and see what it yields. My Twitter status is on the right.
- I found my best Xmas gift, thanks to Cameron. Now, I really can be Robocop, thanks to the U.S. military!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
March Musings
Just a random post to share, of some great tidbits.
- I always like to use this blog to share the new and cool online applications I find. Well, today I've found a blog that does nothing but this: I bring you MakeUseOf, a directory/blog of some of the coolest sites on the web for free things to make your life interesting. Although the visual style is closer to a wiki than a blog, it definitely offers a great, constantly updating collection of some of the more interesting sites that provide useful services to the consumer. Think Original Signal without the (ahem) noise.
- Yahoo has released version 4 of Yahoo Widget Engine, promising less memory hogging, and new mini-docking, to allow your widgets to be displayed in an intuitive collection, for neatness. It also introduces a drag and drop upload widget for Flickr, as well as support for just about all old widgets. Seems like a worthy download, and is definitely sucking less of my precious resources.
- Speaking of Flickr, they migrated everyone to a required Yahoo account this month. I have no objections to this, but the tool they have to merge an existing Yahoo account with your Flickr account definitely needs work: it kept getting confused. C'mon, guys...QA this stuff if you are going to require it's use.
- Looking for some new ringtones or audio clips? Check out Entertonement for a HUGE collection of freebies. Best of all, they have search and browse, and some really cool ones, such as the ticking clock for 24, or various TOS Star Trek clips. Movies, music, TV, commercials, sports, video games...they have them all.
- Need a logo, or a great stylized text image? Check out the venerable CoolText for the ability to create like a pro, for free.
- Yes, the Jawbone arrived, and is as good as advertised. Controls are a bit cryptic, but it completely eliminates background noise to the people you call. Got a convertible, or like to drive with the windows open? This is your headset. Style is ultra cool, noise reduction is simply the best, volume is just OK. Bonus: charger is USB based, so you can always get a charge from your laptop: no need to lug that AC adaptor around on your trips.
More as I think to write...
- I always like to use this blog to share the new and cool online applications I find. Well, today I've found a blog that does nothing but this: I bring you MakeUseOf, a directory/blog of some of the coolest sites on the web for free things to make your life interesting. Although the visual style is closer to a wiki than a blog, it definitely offers a great, constantly updating collection of some of the more interesting sites that provide useful services to the consumer. Think Original Signal without the (ahem) noise.- Yahoo has released version 4 of Yahoo Widget Engine, promising less memory hogging, and new mini-docking, to allow your widgets to be displayed in an intuitive collection, for neatness. It also introduces a drag and drop upload widget for Flickr, as well as support for just about all old widgets. Seems like a worthy download, and is definitely sucking less of my precious resources.- Speaking of Flickr, they migrated everyone to a required Yahoo account this month. I have no objections to this, but the tool they have to merge an existing Yahoo account with your Flickr account definitely needs work: it kept getting confused. C'mon, guys...QA this stuff if you are going to require it's use.
- Looking for some new ringtones or audio clips? Check out Entertonement for a HUGE collection of freebies. Best of all, they have search and browse, and some really cool ones, such as the ticking clock for 24, or various TOS Star Trek clips. Movies, music, TV, commercials, sports, video games...they have them all.- Need a logo, or a great stylized text image? Check out the venerable CoolText for the ability to create like a pro, for free.
- Yes, the Jawbone arrived, and is as good as advertised. Controls are a bit cryptic, but it completely eliminates background noise to the people you call. Got a convertible, or like to drive with the windows open? This is your headset. Style is ultra cool, noise reduction is simply the best, volume is just OK. Bonus: charger is USB based, so you can always get a charge from your laptop: no need to lug that AC adaptor around on your trips.
More as I think to write...
Labels: blogs, cell phones, commercials, free, fun, gadgets, Software, Star Trek, TV, Video Games, Web 2.0, widgets, Yahoo
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Shared To Do Lists
We're in the process of moving, which means it's time to make lots of to do lists. Utilities to transfer, subscriptions to update, things to buy...all the property of the standard to do list. Yet we have different jobs, different schedules, so syncing two different lists to make sure we don't overlap is a pain. Surely, I asked, the web has a better way?
Yup. From 37signals, the folks who make free to inexpensive purpose-based solutions for project management and scheduling, comes Backpack. Simple: create your to do list, using multiple categories, and the easiest Web 2.0 controls, and share with another Backpack user. One of you thinks of something to add? Log in to your Backpack page, and with a few clicks, done. Check one off the list? Done. Add some details to a previous to do? Easy to edit.
37 Signals focuses on delivering simple, purpose driven applications, and for this, it's ideal. With a paid account, you can add calendar links, images, and more, but for dealing with moving tasks, it's perfect. What could they add? Syncing with other to do lists would be nice, as would RSS feeds to see when someone else checks off a task or adds one. Even better, some prebuilt templates for common uses (like moving, one might say :-)), but hey, it's free. Who can quibble?
Yup. From 37signals, the folks who make free to inexpensive purpose-based solutions for project management and scheduling, comes Backpack. Simple: create your to do list, using multiple categories, and the easiest Web 2.0 controls, and share with another Backpack user. One of you thinks of something to add? Log in to your Backpack page, and with a few clicks, done. Check one off the list? Done. Add some details to a previous to do? Easy to edit.37 Signals focuses on delivering simple, purpose driven applications, and for this, it's ideal. With a paid account, you can add calendar links, images, and more, but for dealing with moving tasks, it's perfect. What could they add? Syncing with other to do lists would be nice, as would RSS feeds to see when someone else checks off a task or adds one. Even better, some prebuilt templates for common uses (like moving, one might say :-)), but hey, it's free. Who can quibble?
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Are we REALLY that short of attention span?
"Blog" is short for weblog. Weblogs started as short online journals, for people like me to post their thoughts, and share with several people at once. But now, we have short-form weblogs: Tumblelogs, courtesy of Tumblr.
I feel like the old man I am for saying this, but has it really come down to this? No context, no setup, no storytelling: just brief excerpts of consciousness. For instance, have a look at this tumblelog. I love the formatting, and the visual treatment, but the content? It's like walking into a movie halfway through.
I pride myself on keeping up with the latest web trends, but this one might take a while.
"Blog" is short for weblog. Weblogs started as short online journals, for people like me to post their thoughts, and share with several people at once. But now, we have short-form weblogs: Tumblelogs, courtesy of Tumblr.I feel like the old man I am for saying this, but has it really come down to this? No context, no setup, no storytelling: just brief excerpts of consciousness. For instance, have a look at this tumblelog. I love the formatting, and the visual treatment, but the content? It's like walking into a movie halfway through.
I pride myself on keeping up with the latest web trends, but this one might take a while.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
I Feel The Need...The Need For Speed
Gentlemen, start your engines. As I blogged about before, if you want to know the speed of your web connection, SpeedTest has your back. But now, they have also introduced a new interface, making speed testing a downright participatory sport. Check out that interface to the left!
But wait, there's more. Compare your results to those in the same state, or region, or with the same provider. Historical charts, averages of download and upload speeds, and the ability to customize how you prefer to have the information displayed to you. When you're done, you can post your results through HTML or email. Check out mine:
Now how cool is THAT?
Gentlemen, start your engines. As I blogged about before, if you want to know the speed of your web connection, SpeedTest has your back. But now, they have also introduced a new interface, making speed testing a downright participatory sport. Check out that interface to the left!But wait, there's more. Compare your results to those in the same state, or region, or with the same provider. Historical charts, averages of download and upload speeds, and the ability to customize how you prefer to have the information displayed to you. When you're done, you can post your results through HTML or email. Check out mine:
Now how cool is THAT?
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The Killer Web 2.0 app...AutoCorrect
As I write this, I am using a Blogger form on my Firefox browser. Not a client app; a browser. Firefox is smart enough to recognize words I am typing as misspelled, by helpfully underlining them in red. Blogger helpfully includes a Spell Check function, before I post.
Can someone explain why they can't just correct me?
The one thing that has been holding me back from fleeing from the client app and embracing Web 2.0 is, quite simply, the ability to auto correct my spelling errors. It's the single biggest thing that prevents me from making GMail or Zimbra my platform of choice. It's the one killer feature that Outlook has (by way of Word integration), and keeps me tethered to the desktop.
Now, Firefox goes a long way with the proactive identification of misspelled words, but, as it has the ability to observe and identify, why not correct? But even there is not enough; what about IM clients? The closest I have found is As-U-Type, which looks at EVERYTHING you type, and learns over time, but even it is clumsy, compared to Word, and intrusive. I cannot believe that Firefox does not have an extension for this, or that there is no other option.
I know: "Just take a typing class." Well, I've taken 2. I still type with 4-6 fingers only, and about 10x as fast as anyone else I know. And yes, I still mostly look at the keys. But no matter how many times I type, I still make the same mistakes: transposing the "n" and the "g" in "transposing," for instance. I can't hit an apostrophe the first time, no matter what; that damned semicolon thinks it's the one.
The point is, Word and Outlook have become the true captors of me, because they simply learn, and do it elegantly. I find Webmail frustrating, and don't get me started on the Google suite: you'd think THEY would understand.
Developers, hear me: make a solid, OS-level spell autocorrect, with an elegant interface, and the world will beat a paht to your door. ;-)
As I write this, I am using a Blogger form on my Firefox browser. Not a client app; a browser. Firefox is smart enough to recognize words I am typing as misspelled, by helpfully underlining them in red. Blogger helpfully includes a Spell Check function, before I post. Can someone explain why they can't just correct me?
The one thing that has been holding me back from fleeing from the client app and embracing Web 2.0 is, quite simply, the ability to auto correct my spelling errors. It's the single biggest thing that prevents me from making GMail or Zimbra my platform of choice. It's the one killer feature that Outlook has (by way of Word integration), and keeps me tethered to the desktop.
Now, Firefox goes a long way with the proactive identification of misspelled words, but, as it has the ability to observe and identify, why not correct? But even there is not enough; what about IM clients? The closest I have found is As-U-Type, which looks at EVERYTHING you type, and learns over time, but even it is clumsy, compared to Word, and intrusive. I cannot believe that Firefox does not have an extension for this, or that there is no other option.
I know: "Just take a typing class." Well, I've taken 2. I still type with 4-6 fingers only, and about 10x as fast as anyone else I know. And yes, I still mostly look at the keys. But no matter how many times I type, I still make the same mistakes: transposing the "n" and the "g" in "transposing," for instance. I can't hit an apostrophe the first time, no matter what; that damned semicolon thinks it's the one.
The point is, Word and Outlook have become the true captors of me, because they simply learn, and do it elegantly. I find Webmail frustrating, and don't get me started on the Google suite: you'd think THEY would understand.
Developers, hear me: make a solid, OS-level spell autocorrect, with an elegant interface, and the world will beat a paht to your door. ;-)
Labels: Web 2.0
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Free Headache Relief
I'm one of those "flirt with danger, laugh at hard drive loss" kinda guys. However, with the amount of photos, videos, and receipts I have been accumulating, I've got that little tingle that says I am just 1 Hard Drive crash away from saying, "if only I had backed up..."
Yeah, backups. The ultimate unsexy topic. Might as well talk about actuarial tables. Why, oh why, with this age of broadband and cheap hard drive space, is there not an easy way to automatically back up your files? I'm talking, no paying attention, all security handled, personal-slave-that-does-my-bidding backup here.
Um. There is. And, oh yes...one more thing? It's free.
Yep, say it loud, say it proud: I love Web 2.0. Presenting Mozy, the online backup service, that will back up as much as 2 GB for FREE. Need more than that? How about Mozy Unlimited? $5 bucks a month, and no more concern.
Ok, here's the scoop: you download a little program, choose the files you want to backup, and whenever your computer isn't busy, it backs them up. That's it. Automatic, as high security as you can handle, and great privacy. Freaked about choosing what files to backup? No worries: the wizard will actually scan your HD and suggest files to backup: it even groups them in types. What happens if you need to restore? Download the client, and go to it. No restrictions.
What's the catch? Well, you can't share the files, just back them up. That's fair. For the free product, you agree to be emailed; also fair.
I just installed it, and we'll see how it goes, but if it works well, I'm so plunking down my monthly Lincoln for this ultimate insurance.
Yeah, backups. The ultimate unsexy topic. Might as well talk about actuarial tables. Why, oh why, with this age of broadband and cheap hard drive space, is there not an easy way to automatically back up your files? I'm talking, no paying attention, all security handled, personal-slave-that-does-my-bidding backup here.
Um. There is. And, oh yes...one more thing? It's free.
Yep, say it loud, say it proud: I love Web 2.0. Presenting Mozy, the online backup service, that will back up as much as 2 GB for FREE. Need more than that? How about Mozy Unlimited? $5 bucks a month, and no more concern.Ok, here's the scoop: you download a little program, choose the files you want to backup, and whenever your computer isn't busy, it backs them up. That's it. Automatic, as high security as you can handle, and great privacy. Freaked about choosing what files to backup? No worries: the wizard will actually scan your HD and suggest files to backup: it even groups them in types. What happens if you need to restore? Download the client, and go to it. No restrictions.
What's the catch? Well, you can't share the files, just back them up. That's fair. For the free product, you agree to be emailed; also fair.
I just installed it, and we'll see how it goes, but if it works well, I'm so plunking down my monthly Lincoln for this ultimate insurance.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Josh is SO hard to buy for...not anymore!
Ok, I've heard it a million times: "you're so hard to buy for; what do you want for {fill in the blank}?" I tried to help; I created wishlists, hints, blog posts. Still I get the question. Clearly, it's time to harness the power of the Web to help solve this astounding problem:
What I really want is a GPS unit that works with my Palm. Luckily, there are some available. However, I'm not crass enough to suggest someone should drop a couple of Benjamins on it for me. I am crass enough, however, to suggest that friends, coworkers, and anonymous contributors pool their good intentions towards that goal, and this service from ChipIn makes it possible. You contribute the funds, the progress gets updated on the blog, and when the goal is hit, voila! Disbursement, and I'm a few clicks away from that beloved gadget.
Beyond just the appreciation, this service is really cool. I opted to let them collect the funds, rather than PayPal, but they support that service, as well. And the widget creation is SO Web 2.0.
I've modified the blog to show the widget on the right, so we can all see the progress. Now, let's get that thermometer moving! :-)
Thanks in advance for putting up with my bluntness.
What I really want is a GPS unit that works with my Palm. Luckily, there are some available. However, I'm not crass enough to suggest someone should drop a couple of Benjamins on it for me. I am crass enough, however, to suggest that friends, coworkers, and anonymous contributors pool their good intentions towards that goal, and this service from ChipIn makes it possible. You contribute the funds, the progress gets updated on the blog, and when the goal is hit, voila! Disbursement, and I'm a few clicks away from that beloved gadget.
Beyond just the appreciation, this service is really cool. I opted to let them collect the funds, rather than PayPal, but they support that service, as well. And the widget creation is SO Web 2.0.
I've modified the blog to show the widget on the right, so we can all see the progress. Now, let's get that thermometer moving! :-)
Thanks in advance for putting up with my bluntness.
