Leading Hands Through Technology

How far can social networking go, how about into your wallet? Blippy makes credit card transactions social. I was reading a recent article about Blippy and I was floored by this next level of social networking.

The website asks, “What are your friends buying?” Register for an account, enter your credit card info (which is not kept on record) and share with the world what you are buying. Your Blippy account is updated with what you just bought. Other Blippy users can comment on your purchase. You can tell Blippy what types of transactions you don’t want to go public. It also has a connection with Facebook and Twitter.

As a by-stander, I think this website is cool. Now I can see what other people are buying and if I see something nice, I might buy the same thing. All I can say is that a recent poll stated 70% of lawyers are using social networking in case proceedings. Use this service at your own risk.

Do you think Blippy is too much information?
http://www.blippy.com

The internet is truly powerful and if used the right way, you can produce powerful results. Remember that line from Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Exhibit A is a recent find called Zamzar which is an online file converter that works great.

Do you have a video in mpg format you need convert to avi? Do you have a word document you need converted to a PDF? Whatever file format you need to covert from audio, video, doc or image, Zamzar can do it! The free account does the basic conversion, if you want to store all your files online, rename, increase maximum size limits or establish a secure connection, then you’ll need to upgrade to a paid account.

Free Zamzar account:

• Up to 100 mega-bytes (mb)
• No contract
• No sign-up
• File conversion of image, doc, video and audio

http://www.zamzar.com/

Recently I got an email from MySpace that they’ve added new features to their website. The trend recently is that MySpace has been on the downturn because other social networking platforms like Facebook are gaining popularity. Thus, I wasn’t surprised when I heard that MySpace was trying to stay relevant. So why not add a job board to your website when the economy is down?

The MySpace job portal in my analysis seems to be nothing more than one big refined Google search. The page layout and the actual results for same key terms are similar in Google and MySpace Jobs. The site does however feature a few videos that are strong in helping you land a new job. It also has a tab if you are looking to go back to school, you can search for a higher degree.

MySpace has added a new “Job” feature to their website, but it’s really just repositioning technology from Google. The bottom-line is that as long it’s a benefit for the users, it’s a benefit to the site.

http://jobs.myspace.com/

Since I am a social network addict, I don’t watch that much TV anymore, but when I do, I have started to track a trend. Have you noticed the size of the ghosted TV logos? These promos are either getting larger or they are animating out of control. In the past they used to just be a small little logo of the station in the bottom right corner of the screen, now they have become something else.

If you look above, here is an example from TBS of Bill Engvall walking out over the show I am currently watching to promote his show. It always happens right after you return from a commercial break. I am sometimes unsure if this ghosted actor on my screen is part of the scene I am watching or a promo until they magically fade away. Some other examples of these TV promos besides walk-outs are countdowns to the premiere of a big event happening in less than 24 hours.

Are these interruptions getting out of control? Are these other shows that are being promoted much more important then the one I am watching? Can we pay extra to get these logos removed from our TV shows?

Do you need to see if an item is in stock at the store down the street? Instead of calling your local store, asking the clerk if a item is on the shelf and then waiting five minutes to hear it’s available, use Milo.

Milo is a new web service that connects you with local retailers to give up to the minute inventory on the products you need. The term “brick and mortar” is often used to describe ordering your purchase online and then picking it up at a local store. Milo fills this void by connecting many popular genres of products such as electronics, clothing, and cooking and bringing them together in once place so you can see if its in stock. In the insurance world, Insurance.com brings together many of the top auto insurance companies so you can choose and purchase the best policy for you. Milo does the same when it comes to consumer goods.

After reviewing the website, everything that I looked at in my area didn’t seem to be in stock. However after looking at other states, I did see items were in stock. Thus, this indicates that Milo’s network is still growing and the accuracy depends on the location.

http://milo.com/

Thanks again to Mike Kimmel for find.

According to the New York Times General Motors will start selling brand new cars on eBay tomorrow, August 11th. As part of a test group of California auto dealers, the beta program will allow eBay users to bid on new GM cars, but customers must choose the “Buy It Now” option.

The eBay motors concept has been running for years but now GM is taking this concept of online auto bidding to the next level, however this time, it’s out of necessity. Will this direct option of purchasing cars and avoiding seeing the stereotypical plaid dressed car salesman save the auto giant? How does this option of directly buying a new car straight from the manufacturer make you feel? I personally would purchase a car direct, however I still would stop into the dealership for a test drive and get consultation.

Would you buy a brand new car off of eBay at the “Buy It Now” price?
http://gm.ebay.com/

Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the info.