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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MySpace Still Number 3

MySpace is the third most popular social networking website. They recently rolled-out an updated homepage, but is it too late? The site has gathered the reputation that it’s littered with too many ads and thousands of people are flocking from MySpace to Facebook every day. I conducted a poll and five out of seven people said they haven’t visited their MySpace page in two years. It seems as though the website has turned into a mecca for musicians and that may the saving grace for MySpace.

Can these recent improvements save the slipping social networking platform?

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Twitter Lists

What is all the noise about Twitter Lists? Recently Twitter launched the ability for you to better organize follows with “Lists”.

After you load up your Twitter account, you will see to the right of “Following” and “Followers” a column called “Listed”. If you click on this link, you will see a column that shows you who has “listed” your tweets on their account. You can think of lists as a way for users to bookmark another Twitter account.

How do create your own lists? Under the search panel on your homepage there is a link to create a new list. You have the option of creating a public and private list. After you name a list, search for people to add to your list. Once your list is created people can follow your lists, just like they can follow you.

I believe Twitter created “Lists” in response to Facebook giving the ability for their users to group their friends into categories. Now Twitter gives the same power of the same organization in a different form. What do you think of Twitter lists?

http://twitter.com/

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How Do You Comparison Shop?

At the conference today, we reviewed e-commerce systems and it got me thinking about websites that compare products. In the past, Leading Hands has reviewed many comparison sites and today I finally heard about Price Grabber.

If you are not familiar with Price Grabber your missing out on a comprehensive comparative rater. Search thousands of products, review user ratings and see products side-by-side. Ultimately, the site aids you to make a clear shopping decision.

http://pricegrabber.com

What sites do you use to make comparative shopping?

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Online Users More Status Friendly

I remember years ago seeing an ad for a 1950s cough medicine ad that read, “Try It, You’ll Like It!” This tagline always made me laugh because it says so much in only a few words. The only way you’ll know you like something is unless you try it. However it’s generally over time, you discover if you like it at all. My family would always say that hot sauce is an acquired taste and finally after years of disliking it, there are a few sauces I enjoy. Now the same can be said with Internet users updating their daily status; the fact is more users are now comfortable telling us consistently how they feel online.

In a recent Pew study, 19% of internet users say they use Twitter or another service to share updates. This is up from 11% from the same poll taken in December 2008. Are you more comfortable now telling the world how you’re feeling today? Are status updates an acquired taste?

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/21/pew-study-reports-that-internet-users-are-becoming-more-status-update-friendly/

Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the tip.

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Have You Done A Twit Poll?

Twit Poll is a quick way to conduct polls via you’re Twitter Account. I saw this tool used successfully by a colleague for research, however there a couple quirks with the system. The way its setup it leads you to believe that your poll was Tweeted to your account, however it was not. There is also no way to delete a poll after you’ve created one, what if you make a mistake? All in all the free tool that generates quick results, Twit Poll gets the job done.

Use TwitPoll
http://twtpoll.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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Zamzar Online File Converter

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/

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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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