Blippy Makes Credit Social

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

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Oh No! Your Parents Just Joined Facebook?

The other day I heard a few talk show hosts insinuating that Facebook has “Jumped The Shark“. I then saw on Doug Craver’s TechBytes and on a few Twitter feeds the website My Parents Joined Facebook referenced. The website insinuates that youth can no longer post everything happening in their lives on Facebook because now their parents will find out about it.

For example, a college student kept asking her father for money to pay for rising book fees. However after dad joined Facebook, became friends with their kid and started reading about her excessive partying, the money was cut off. Then the student “Unfriended” their dad so he couldn’t read her updates any longer. The reality is this trend is rising everyday and this new website, My Parents Joined Facebook says, “this is your chance to get back at them for taking away your public privacy.” The idea is to share the embarrassing messages parents are writing on your Facebook wall in order to fight back.

The reality is everyone should realize that whatever you write as your status, on your wall, or any picture you upload is permanent record online. Even if you delete your account or remove the information later, a search engine, the site hosting the material or another user will be retaining your information. Be careful out there in Internet land!

http://myparentsjoinedfacebook.com/

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MySpace Jobs

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/

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Commentary: Stop Over-sized Ghosted TV Promos?

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?

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Milo Sees If Items Are Stocked

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.

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Where’s Your Twicsy At?

Have you used Twitpic yet? If not, now you have the opportunity to search through the thousands of images users are uploading to their Twitter accounts by using Twicsy. The best part of the website is the fact that you can now see all the images uploaded in the last hour. Above is an example of just the bizarre cornucopia of images that end up on Twitter via Twitpic. Now Twicsy gathers all those images in once place.

http://twicsy.com/


Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the find.

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Monitor Your Sites Up Time

Last year Leading Hands introduced you to a web application where you can manually verify if your site is down; Down For Everyone Or Is It Just Me identifies if the connection is just bad on your end or bad for the rest of the world. Now a service called “Hows The” takes this concept to the next level by monitoring your site and sending you automated emails or text messages when it’s down.

I’ve tried “How’s The” out for a over a week now and the service has alerted me a few times across the multiple websites that I personally manage. This free is a perfect tool for small to large business owners who are curious how often their website is really down. Think about that moment your customer is ready to make a big purchase and your domain is down; you just lost a sale and you didn’t even know it. Why stay in the dark and think everything is just Jim Dandy?

Use “How’s The” and regularly monitor your website’s up time.
http://howsthe.com

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Trazzler, Tell Us Where To Go?

The other day Leading Hands gave you Hunch, a website that recommends books, movies, etc… based upon filling out a few questions. Now another service called Trazzler, recommends trips based on your location and travel personality; it seems that recommendation featured websites are all of a sudden becoming popular even though Amazon has been doing it for over ten years.

Your travel personality is created as you save trips in your wishlist and places you’ve been. Then Trazzler learns about the kind of trips you like and creates more trip choices. If you have a Facebook account, Trazzler will connect to your account, share wishlists, recommendations, and soon will suggest new friends based on travel compatibility. As you continue to use it, more travel suggestions will occur.

Note: All your travel descriptions and choices are public information.
http://www.trazzler.com/

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Must Text & Drive? Try This.

We here at Leading Hands do not condone texting while driving, however if you must text, try this combination. First purchase a Bluetooth headset and second get Dial2do.

A low end model Bluetooth headset can cost you as little as $40 and high end model can cost as much as $150. Dial2Do is a free service that will translate your voice to text. The program does a rather accurate job translating your voice; it also does a great job reading back your email too.

Before you get pulled over because you’ve got your head down texting, try the alternative and keep your head up and your voice forward by using this combination. This suggestion will keep you hands-free for your steering wheel and looking straight. I think the question we need to answer is, “What constitutes failure to control your vehicle?” Will this headset plus voice translation service still cause an accident while driving? Is anything other than driving your car a distraction?

Learn more about Dial2Do

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Make’em Web Wise Kids

Leading Hands is continually trying to make your aware of the best organizations and products available to keep your kids safe online. Discover Web Wise Kids, an organization about empowering today’s youth to make wise choices online. They have created computer games (based on real-life scenarios) to teach kids about Internet Safety. They give tips to tweens, teens and parents to create safer, friendlier experience online.

http://www.webwisekids.org/

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