RotorBlog.com » Social Networks

11 Facebook Apps that Let You Make Voice Calls and More

Arnold Zafra — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:13:04 +0000

Want to connect with your friends and contacts on Facebook? These apps will help you make those calls for free. Some of them allows you to update your Facebook profiles by simply calling in your profile updates.

Call Me with Google Voice

This app lets you display your Google Voice widget in tab, profile and box. It allows you to make phone blasts to your Facebook News feed, create widget link that you can append to events and customize flash load image.

Call-My-W&ll

This is a simple with one simple and yet useful purpose – it lets you call in your Facebook status updates and then leave a voice status.

Reach Me On My Mobile

A pretty useful Facebook app that allows your friend to contact you through call, chat, text and voice messaging from your Facebook profile. It also prompts you to get online and log-in to your Facebook account for new file sent by your friends.

Telephone

Talk and send instant messages to your Facebook friends for free. You can also leave a voice message to your friends.

Party Line

This is an easy-to-use and useful app that lets you make instant conference call with your Facebook friends.
Jottby Jott, Inc.

Jott

A voice-to-text service app that allows you to capture thoughts, send emails and text messages as well as connect to popular web services through a simple phone call.

GuerrillaTel – Call for FREE

If you’re in the US or Canada, this app lets you make free phone-to-phone calls via your Facebook profile. You simply click on a friend’s picture to connect via phone patch for free.

Talkster Phone Party

This app lets you call a friend or a group of up to 5 friends at once for free. It allows you to use any mobile or landline phone, internationally.

Calliflower- FREE Conference Calls

Another app that lets you start a conference call for free. It allows you to call from home, mobile, Skype or any VOIP service.

Calls & SMS worldwide

Lets you make calls as well as send SMS from your Facebook account directly to your friends. It also lets you friens call you or leave a voicemail to you directly from your Facebook profile.

Share through SpinVox

This app lets you update your Facebook status as well as you Twitter and Jaiku accounts through a simple phone call. It also sends your messages into SMS.

Have you used any of these applications in your Facebook account? Share with us your experiences by leaving a comment below.

10 Mobile Apps That Promote Safety

Andrew G.R. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:10:12 +0000

Recently Rotorblog posted about Social Media Tools that Save Lives.

Because cell phones have become equipped to do so much more than simply call or text, we’re exploring some of the various ways cell phone users can maximize the potential of their phones. An often overlooked category is safety because vigilance tends to happen *after* an event, so take a moment and look into these 10 apps and find new ways to use your phone…

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
The Life360 Google Android app was born from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and is an emergency preparedness tool for families that “in less than five minutes, families can have access to a tool that does everything from family GPS tracking, to document warehousing, disaster planning, and emergency messaging.”

Rave Alert calls themselves the “next generation alerting system” for mass emergencies and is employed in places like colleges or apartment communities to alert a large group at one time via text messaging, email, PA system, Facebook and even via Twitter. It is being adopted most quickly by colleges and high schools in this post-Virginia Tech era.

DRIVING
Cell phone app MotoRiety monitors driver distractions from text messages to phone calls and reports all phone activity, even tweeting about driver behavior while driving. Aggressive acceleration, miles and idle time is logged and provided in periodic email reports making this tool perfect for parents of teen drivers.

Playsafe is an iPhone app that makes scrolling for music safer and less distracting. The app turns the iPhone into a large button so users don’t have to scroll through small icons while driving and tapping the screen will play or pause music while swiping to the left or right will change the track.

SAFETY ALERTS
Safety Button is a simple iPhone app that allows users to start the program, push the big red button and it begins tracing the user’s step and reporting to a server. If the red button is pressed again (in case of distress), the server will send your emergency contact person a panic message containing your position.

Android application SafetyNet is activated when the phone is shaken and can function in panic mode or medical mode even if the app isn’t running which will immediately alert everyone in your “SafetyNet” sending them your position and a distress call. SafetyNet is ideal for people with medical issues or lone joggers.

FIRST AID
iPhone offers two applications for your iPhone- First Aid for Infants and First Aid for Children, both containing easy to read instructions on topics from protection to blocked airways to CPR and other emergencies. This app is ideal for parent, babysitters, teachers and more.

MEDICINAL USES
AT&T developed app, MedNet allows heart patients to send data from their heart monitors to Bluetooth enabled phones (on AT&T) and then on to their cardiologist making heart care more interactive. Heart monitor data interactivity is a great preventative measure.

Although not available on the market yet, we wanted to share a glimpse of the future with you. U.C. Berkeley is developing and testing a program called Cellscope which is a microscope connected to a cell phone for diagnostics (think doctors in remote areas like a desert, mountaintop or even space). It can be used “for bright field microscopy, which uses simple white light–such as from a bulb or sunlight–to illuminate samples. The latest development adds to the repertoire fluorescent microscopy, in which a special dye emits a specific fluorescent wavelength to tag a target–such as a parasite, bacteria or cell–in the sample.” It’s powerful enough to detect malaria, tuberculosis or even sickle cells. Wow.

Are you currently using any mobile apps that promote safety? Which of these work with your phone and will you be downloading any of the above? Let us know in comments!

Social Media Tools that Save Lives

Arnold Zafra — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:47:00 +0000

You’ve probably heard or read about the tragic typhoon incident that happened in the Philippines’ capital last weekend. The typhoon caused heavy rainfall sending floods all over Manila and leaving almost 500,000 families homeless and at least around 150 people dead. The fatality could have been more if not for the barrage of information, call for help and communication brigade done by Filipinos through the help of social media tools.Five prominent social media tools were heavily used during the height of the event either to call for rescue, situation advisory, donations and simply to update on what has been going on, especially since electricity was immediately cut-off. Take not of these social media tools, as they are proven to be useful not just for playing online games and meeting people but also for saving lives during times of tragedy.

Twitter

Twitter tops the list of the online social tools used widely by many Filipinos to disseminate information during the tragic event. Flood victims trapped on top of their roofs or second floor of their houses call their friends and loved ones not affected by the floods to rescue them or at least tell them that the y are safe. Those who got a text message or call from their friends and family who could not watch TV start spreading information via Twitter. The Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro continously checked his Twitter account to check updates on the situation. One prominent news and public affairs TV program (ANC) setup a Twitter account (@ANCAlerts) to receive Tweet Alerts from those affected or from other Filipinos who got distress call from their loved ones.

When everything has stopped and relief and rescue operations started, Twitter was still used to spread words on who to rescue, where to drop donations, what relief items were needed and all those sort of things. There was a downpour of volunteers and relief supplies, thanks to the barrage of Tweets that spread across the nation and to those Filipinos in other countries who wanted to help. Even celebrity Twitters pledge their help via their Twitter accounts.

Facebook

Aside from Twitter, Facebook is also one of the most used social network by many Filipinos. There are around 1.5 million of Filipinos in Facebook. And that day, if you happen to have Filipino friends on Facebook you might have seen the slew of status updates from these Filipinos pertaining to the incident. Filipinos on Facebook exchanged information, relayed valuable updates and called for help and donation through their Facebook status updates. Some even called out to Filipinos to stop playing Mafia Wars and Farmville and to clear out their Facebook Walls and Statuses of silly things and instead were asked to post updates on what’s happening around the flooded areas.

Google Maps

To help in locating their loved ones who were still trapped in their flooded homes, several Google Maps of the affected areas were immediately created using Google Maps. TV Networks and News Media used this Google Map heavily to locate trapped victims. Typhoon Ondoy Situation Map for Metro Manila

Google Docs Spreadsheet

To help Filipinos overseas as well as other individuals in how to donate and helped out financially with the relied and rescue operations, this Google Docs Spreadsheets on “How/Where to Hep Out Ondoy Victims’ was pretty useful.

Other social media and online tools that helped Filipinos during the Ondoy Typhoon incident include:

Plurk - Plurk is very popular among students aside from Twitter. And it was also used by many Filipinos to spread information and news updates regarding the different places that were affected by the typhoon and floods.

YouTube

Those who are on higher grounds took videos of how quickly floods rose up, how cars were swept away among other things. These people quickly uploaded the videos on YouTube and Facebook.

For more videos, just search “Ondoy” in YouTube.

Blogs, blogs – Of course, if you’ve been following blogs owned and maintained by Filipinos, you must have read so many posts about the tragic event since Saturday and even until now.

These are just some of the social media tools heavily used by Filipinos and other individuals during the height of the tragic flooding in Metro Manila the past could of days. They are the new media in the Philippines and perhaps in other countries as well. These social media have surpassed the usefullness of TV and Radio when it comes to bringing up to date information and news during a time of crisis.

The Ultimate 10 Twitter Clients

Andrew G.R. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:48:13 +0000

Twittering from Twitter.com is effective for some users, but now that Twitter has been around long enough for even baby boomers’ parents to pick it up, it’s time for you to check out new ways to Twitter, so let’s take a look at the ultimate Twitter clients below:

Tweetdeck- currently, the industry favorite is Tweetdeck not only because it syncs with an iPhone, but because it has grouping functions for people and search terms, all colors are customizable, and Tweetdeck is integrated with Facebook, yFrog, and even MySpace. New updates allow users to drag photos into the update bar without any download steps, URLs are automatically shortened, and language translation options are now built in. It is by far the most robust option on the market.

Seesmic- supports multiple Twitter accounts on the same screen and has amazing Facebook integration that lets you comment and “like” without having to visit Facebook. Seesmic allows groups of people and searches and offers unlimited saved searches. Seesmic is interesting because like Tweetdeck, it is constantly adding upgrades and improvements.

Destroy Twitter- this is a single account client that allows grouping for people or search words and is a simple, streamlined way to Twitter from your desktop and there are even themes available to download to customize your experience.

PeopleBrowsr- is a unique take on Twitter in that it offers the ability to export, get stats on groups, and even allows you to sort columns of users by number of followers or by their Twitter name. PeopleBrowsr integrates across multiple social networks allowing you to update many places by updating in one spot.

Tweetie for Mac- is a clean and simple, no fluff client that shows threaded conversations, lets users flip between multiple accounts, multiple services and allows for saved searches. Tweetie for Mac lets users post videos to yFrog and takes up very few resources on your computer.

Mac Lounge- like Tweetdeck, this client syncs with your iPhone. Mac Lounge is a simple, single column interface that allows saved searches and offers unique drag and drop categories to reorder.

Twhirl- although Seesmic Desktop has taken Twhirl’s place and it is no longer being innovated, it is a simple single column interface which color codes DMs, @ messages and user sent tweets, making it easy to understand for a beginner. Twhirl supports multiple accounts and integrates with FriendFeed, Seesmic and Identica and even allows users to save searches.

Twibble- is a single column interface that pulls multiple accounts into a single location so no toggling is necessary. It can be tricky, but hovering over a tweet gives users the options available, including which account to respond from. What’s interesting about Twibble is that your tweets can be filtered for keywords and the dgrag and drop photo upload feature is a timesaver.

Digsby- windows supported, Digsby pulls Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn updates of all of your friends together in one place so users see in one glance what is happening in all of their social networks simultaneously without visiting each site. What many people don’t know however is that Digsby features email and IM integration, making it a standout client.

Eventbox- supported by Mac, EventBox is innovative in that it pulls Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Google Reader, Reddit and Digg together in one place allowing information junkies to not only follow their social network contacts but to see in real time updates from across the blogosphere.

What tools do you use when you Twitter and which do you think is the best Twitter client?

14 Twitter Desktop Clients for Mac

Arnold Zafra — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:32:13 +0000

So aside from the essential apps that you should download and install for your new Mac, you must be looking for the best Twitter desktop client right now. The good news is, there’s not too many options available right now. So, we’ve gathered 14 of these Twitter desktop clients to help you choose which one to install on your machine. Take note, these are Twitter desktop clients for Mac only.

Twitterific – This is paid Twitter client for Mac and it could also be the best. Why? Get a load of these features – clean, concise interface small desktop footprint, multiple Twitter account support, auto refresh, inline display of replies and DMs, quick delete of tweets, auto show/hide, single click access to user profile pages, keyboard shortcuts, AppleScript support, audio notification, hotkeys.

Nambu - This Twitter client for Mac also supports multiple Twitter accounts and multi-column view that lets you specify what stream to display. It also features groups and search filters.

Tweetie – Equally popular with Twitterific, Tweetie is also a paid Twitter desktop client but you can download the free version supported by ads for as long as you want. It’s a full-featured client that supports search trends, threaded DMs, torn off search, bookmarklets and other great features.

Ada – A clean and compact Twitter desktop client that gets rid of usual Twitter clutter and bling blings.

Twittia – A lightweight Twitter client with integrated growl notifications and lets you view public timeline, DMs and replies in their own tabs. It also lets you specify refresh intervals, Twittia features a clean interface and supports Twitpic as well.

Twitter Studio – Like the other Twitter clients, this one also has an integrated growl notification and auto-updates. It lets you customize notifications, Twitter API settings and refresh rate.

Airmailr – This is a full-featured Twitter client available only for the Mac OS X Dashboard. It lets you view different timelines including DMs, @replies and friends. It also lets you post tweets, as well as reply to retweets and DMs. This client also allows you to search for specific tweets. Other features of this client include URL shortening, full growl integration and automatic updates.

Blogo – Not really a sole Twitter desktop client for Mac but also a blogging software. But for its Twitter function it allows you to set automatic updates to Twitter.

Tototl – A fast and lightweight Twitter client that uses SSL for encryption and supports 3 languages – English, Japanese, and Spanish. It rivals in Ada in terms of speed and features. This client would be ideal if you don’t have too many followers.

Mac Lounge – Featuring a nice interface, this Twitter client supports multiple Twitter accounts and Twitter search options. It also allows you to view replies, DMs and public timeline as well as search filters.

NatsuLion – Another nice Twitter client for Mac, NatsuLion features a nice interface, growl notifications, highlighting of tweets using different colors to filter remaining tweets. This client is also available as an iPhone app.

Chirp – This desktop client for Twitter supports multiple Twitter timelines including replies, DMs and public timeline. It features 6 different themes and updates automatically. Chirp also support Jaiku, FriendFeed and Identi.ca.

Syrinx - Features selective bookmarking of tweets and integrated search, this client also supports growl notifications and a clean interface. It also has several keyboard shortcuts that could make your Twittering activities easier. Also features color customization and sound alerts.

Twidget – Another lightweight Twitter client which is also ideal if you don’t have that many followers. It features auto-updates, new tweet alerts, alerts for new version.

8 Things To Consider While Building a Quality Network

Ching Ya — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:30:17 +0000

Do you believe in the power of social networking?

Social media is not just a fad but a vessel to reach a wider audience. A site without readers is powerless, which is why bloggers and internet marketers are advised to build quality network to ensure quality traffic. Quality connections assure your well-written posts be heard and spread – a vital rule for a site to grow and be known.

8 Things To Consider While Building a Quality Network

1. Determined and Clear About Your Goals

- One has to be clear about the purpose of the network. There’s a huge crowd in every social media site: some joining it for fun, some as an outlet while some are looking for business ventures. Be clear of your objectives before reaching out so you’ll have a clear idea on the ample time and effort spent in network building.

2. Research on The Power Users

- Do you know how power users utilize social networks in their area of expertise? How they started? What social media they’re using to reach the desired crowd? You don’t have to be a copycat but by learning how they did it, you’ll have a lead where to start and modify your strategy from there. Same trick may not give you the same result, so always be prepared for trials and initiate a better one to fit your needs.

3. Identify Your Potential Audiences

- A simple question: Now why do we see promoters loitering around the mall capturing potential customers? Apart from traffic, it’s the place where consumers most likely to spend on something. You don’t see shopaholic hanging out in the clinic, do you? Identify your potential audiences within a social network, whether it’s a forum or a particular chatroom. Gain access and start contributing in frequency and quality.

4. Be Distinctive & Noticeable

- The idea of being you, and no one else! Representing your own, unique brand and your site, be outspoken but with respect; share an experience or an insightful comment on a post you just came across. Initiate a conversation or ask a question if you’re not sure about the answer. Don’t be quiet in a network unless you wish to be buried and never be found.

5. Patience & Forget About Number’s Game

Taking part in all of the social media sites might not give you the results you hope for. Here’s why:

A) 10 social media sites (1 hour/day) = 6 minutes per site

A quick drop of ‘visit my blog’, ‘I’m updating my post’ or ‘Just got back from work’ won’t excite people. Not to mention sometimes you tend to spend longer at a site and lost track of time. What if it affects your work quality, or causes procrastinations?

B) 3 social media sites (1 hour/day) = 20 minutes per site

Have in depth conversations with your peers. Do you know a person better by following their updates and respond accordingly? Definitely.

No network can be built without even willing to spend time and listen to someone. Unless you’re super connective and humorous to grab people’s attention. In that case, it’s a gift, use it wisely.

Spend ample time and care about others, only then people will care about what you’re sharing. Be patient as quality network takes time. Forget about ‘number’s game’ and focusing on quality network building.

6. Be Helpful & Sincere

We all love kind and sincere individuals. When I was just a new blogger, I remembered clearly who helped me and encouraged me along the way. Their names are vivid in my mind even till today. To help someone is a great experience. While you get to make some new friends, you can learn something in return. Do not expect repayments but be sincere. I never see prestigious bloggers urging people to thank them or hold a grudge at someone for unwilling to promote their products. Humility is a wonderful virtue and shall be prolonged in any social networks.

7. Quality Posts & Return Favors

If you’re a blogger, writing killer blog posts is the best way to grab attention. Learn to be the authority within your niche. Providing quality presentations while active in replying comments. Continue the blog networking elsewhere by repaying visits or supporting your commentators on other social networks. A healthy network is all about mutual support and encouragement, but not until someone uses it to manipulate the intention of this good will. For example, don’t reward link droppers or spammers with your favors.

8. Enjoy the Process

Most of all, enjoy the process and have fun with it. In my experience, quality network building is what ensures the satisfaction and friendships I have today, which I valued more than just a popular post. The supports are on-going and mutual trusts are built from within. There’s no popular contest on the run here so take your time! Unless you’re looking for fast traffic, then I’m afraid it’s the quantity game you’re aftering.

It’s Your Turn
What do you value most in a social network? Do you have anything else to add besides what mentioned above? Kindly share it in the comments.

Guest post:

Ching Ya is a social media addict & freelance writer/designer. She’s the author of Social @ Blogging Tracker where she talks about ideas & apps related to social networking. You can reach her at @wchingya (Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.

5 Image Bookmarking Sites To Never Loose Cool Pictures Found On The Web Again

Maris Dagis — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:27:08 +0000

Image bookmarking sites are great way to never loose interesting photos or images you see browsing around the web. Most of us are very used to link bookmarking sites like Delicious, but when it comes to pictures, often, we don’t know how to left some notes for ourselves and bookmark them. That’s why you may want to browse across some of the most popular image bookmarking sites listed below.

Vi.sualize.us

Vi.sualize.us is amazing site with great community where you can see coolest pictures people consider valuable. It is very easy to browse across pictures you are interested in because image tags are always accessible. Check out Firefox extension which will make image bookmarking even easier.

Imagefave

Imagefave is very simple and clean, I think many will like the site just because of it’s ascetic look -images should grab all attention right? I like the related images next to the picture you are currently viewing – users can discover many interesting stuff there.

FFFFOUND!

Ffffound is probably the oldest site from these five we listed in this article. Large community that will always surprise with most amazing pictures laying somewhere deep in the sea of Internet. They have pretty nice iPhone app for quick access to the latest images.

WeHeartIt

WeHeartIt isn’t meant for images only, you can bookmark videos too. It also have related images next to the picture you are currently viewing which allows you do discover something new. Very simple made image bookmarking just with couple clicks.

Photoree

Photoree have a great concept – image bookmarking and recommendation engine, that let’s you sit back and enjoy images you wish to see. It is a great site for inspiration and enjoying good quality images.

Hope this will help you to find your favorite service to bookmark images. To receive more tips and service reviews remember to subscribe to our feed.

Free Virtual (Social Networking) Business Cards

Andrew G.R. — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:45:07 +0000

Whether you’re tossing them in the trash, using them to pick poppy seeds from between your teeth, or collecting them in a desk drawer somewhere, odds are you have come across your fair share of business cards. In today’s Digital Age, these 19th century relics have managed to hold on…but for how much longer? These free tools below all act as free virtual business cards. No trees were harmed in the writing of this blog post.

Card.ly

Perhaps the most Web 2.0-looking virtual business card on our list, Card.ly gives you a single page to display all of the assets of your online presence. Register for free, validate your email address, and begin adding social networks from a dropdown menu. Simply add your user name for each Website.

Sprinkle in the personal details you want to share, a thumbnail image and any additional links/feeds and you are on your way.

A series of skins give you a chance to stand out from the crowd.

Your Card.ly can be embedded on your Website, giving visitors easy access to a slick looking group of icons that link to all of your social network activity. You may also place a snippet of code that tells visitors of your vCard.

A premium account ($25 a year or $3 a month) gives you more skin options, zero ads, the ability to use your own domain name, unlimited RSS feeds on a page and a stat counter.

VIEW MY CARD.LY

Google Profile

Sharing the same full name as tens of thousands of other people
is both a blessing and a curse in the online world. It’s great if you’re looking to remain anonymous. But if you WANT to be found, you can easily be lost in the crowd.

If the latter applies to you, we recommend setting up a free Google Profile. Where a search of my name in Google previously turn up results on the 20th page, I have now secured a Page One result!

Much like an online business card, a Google profile is very simple. It includes an optional thumbnail image, a brief bio and links of your choosing. A nice feature is that people can contact you via e-mail without your email address being revealed.

Create a page using your existing Google Account.

VIEW MY GOOGLE PROFILE

Retaggr

Create an attractive Profile Card containing all of your online endeavors. With more than 180 social networks and online services to pull from, Retaggr is an impressive calling card.

Visitors choose how they would like to interact with you (i.e. – social network, email, bookmark profile). They can peruse your blogs, view your personal information, check out your blogs or explore assorted widgets.

Retaggr is a useful site, but not very visually stimulating (it’s text heavy). However, depending on your audience, simple can fit the bill.

An awesome feature is Retaggr’s ability to double as an email signature. You can embed the information from your page and list your Web presence on every email you send.

As of this blog post, Retaggr is offering their premium version for free. The upgrade gives you more fields, greater control over the look and an optional larger profile image.

VIEW MY RETAGGR PROFILE

DropCard

If you’re looking to send your contact details to any email via a brief Short Message Service (SMS) message, look no further than DropCard. The free service lets you create multiple contact profiles and then send your data to any new contact.

Pay plans, which are several dollars a month, give you access to multiple profiles and higher “drop” limits.

One plus here is that the system will let you know who opened your Drop Card and what information they viewed.

Contxts

Simple and sweet. That’s the best way to describe Contxtxs, a free service that lets people access your contact information via text message.

Enter the information you want to share (you are limited to 140 characters) and include links to the major social networks you are part of, and people you invite can retrieve the info via SMS.

For example, to access my information, text Jobacle to 50500.

You receive a text message when your information is requested. The phone number of the person requesting your info can be viewed on Contxts.com.

iPhone Honorable Mention:

rmbrME
bump

And the winner is? Buying your own domain name. Despite the plethora of tools out there designed to put all of your Web warez in one place, nothing gives you control and customization options like owning your own domain. With dirt cheap hosting prices and simple Web building tools, there’s really no excuse not to spend a few bucks a year to represent yourself in the best light possible.

7 Useful Firefox Addons for Twitter

Maris Dagis — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:31:14 +0000

There was a point when my Firefox was full of different addons – I had an addon for almost every purpose you can imagine. It was so annoying to just browse that I decided to uninstall almost all of them and left only few. But you know, my old bad habits is chasing me again! Just look at these amazing Twitter addons – how can you resist not to press that “Add to Firefox” button?

Tweecious

This addon is great for those users who also use Delicious to organize their bookmarks. Tweecious will look for resources you shared on twitter and automatically add them to your Delicious bookmarks.

TwitThat

Very helpful plugin to share stuff you are browsing to twitter. Sharing interesting page is just one click away.

Twitter Toolbar

Firefox toolbar that include all necessary links to main twitter functions like search, direct messages, replays and more. You can also type your tweet and hit enter to publish it without leaving page you browse.

Tweet Reveal

Simple but very useful addon that will display Twitter button in address bar if on the current page will be mentioned some Twitter account. It helps you discover great Twitter users to follow and communicate.

Twitty Tunes

This addon may be interesting for music lovers – you can easily share current playing song to twitter, but that’s not all – you can share also videos and anything else your friends will appreciate.

Tw-autocomplete

Helpful little addon that will auto-complete twitter usernames when you want to replay or mention some users when tweeting.

Twitzer

I bet you have thought that it would be cool to post longer tweets – sometimes 140 symbols isn’t enough. Twitzer offers solution – it will crop your text if it is longer and your followers will be able to read everything you got for them via the URL.

BTW, if you are thinking how to stay updated on our latest posts – feel free to follow us on Twitter!

Get In Style With StyleCaster

Andrew G.R. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:44:14 +0000

Are you concerned with what the ‘new black’ is? If your answer is yes, you need to know about Stylecaster, a Website launched earlier this year that helps you stand out from the crowd. Or, at the very least, look like you’re part of the ‘in crowd.’

Coupling style-based content with a shopping community creates an experience that is unique to each user. Based on your preferences and history, you are presented with items (clothes, accessories, beauty products) that the system has selected for you. These can be purchased online 24/7.

As you browse the style network, if you see someone who has a style you are fond of, you can select them so that they begin to influence the things you see on the site…and eventually wear.

“My Forecast” is a 7 day outlook that includes weather and events, allowing you to select the right fashion for the coming week.

The “15 Minutes of Fame” section can get your fashion prowess featured on the Website.

Videos, fashion news, and tons of images and deals round out StyleCaster.

The site is currently in beta and you can register using your Facebook credentials.

The social network helps personalize and enhance your shopping experience. Give it a try!

Alice Helps You Shop, Save Money

Andrew G.R. — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:44:36 +0000

Don’t you hate it when you make a hamburger only to find out you’re out of ketchup!? Or worse yet. You pay a visit to the ceramic throne, only to discover that you are out of toilet paper?

I recently professed my love for CC Betty. Now it looks like I have another hottie on my hands with Alice…she even makes sure I’ll never run out of ketchup or toilet paper again!

The free service has you search and add your favorite products to virtual shelves. When the system thinks you’re getting close to running out of an item, you will receive a reminder. Alice will also share relevant coupons and discounts with you. Shipping directly to your front door is free, meaning no need to roll around a wobbly cart as you dodge seniors.

Here’s an example as how it works. Let’s say I’m shopping for GUM. Alice reveals that she currently carries 56 varieties and has 7 coupons available. When I locate the product I want (Orbitz Peppermint) I label it and select how many I want. I then tell the system when to remind me to order more.

Products can be sorted by brand, price, coupon availability, bargains and even if they are “green.”

There is a social networking element to the site too. In the “neighborhood” you can chat, make friends and share information about your favorite products.

The homepage will monitor how much money you have saved with coupons, how many products are in your cart, the average amount of money spent, your total # of shipments and the # of products Alice thinks it’s time for you to reorder. There are also recommended deals which relate to your product history.

If you have any doubt that Alice will help you pinch those pennies, just click on the site’s “Budgeting” tab. Here you will see a chart that compares average purchases with those made by the Alice community.

Find Activity Partners With Activity8

Andrew G.R. — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:25:26 +0000

I love to play tennis, try new trails on my bike and – when possible – go rafting. The problem is, most of my friends and family enjoy other activities. A new Website, Activity8, aims to match you up with activity buddies – all without any shady business.

Based on your zip code you will be shown people in your area looking do to stuff. You’ll see a thumbnail photo, the distance they from you and a list of the activities they like to engage in. Your Activity8 dashboard will show people who have common interests.

All you have to do is select the activity that interests you. From hiking to tennis – yoga to rafting – paintball to darts; you can even add your own activity.

Each activity on a person’s profile lists the frequency in which they partake in the event, how long they’ve been doing it for and what their experience is. If you find someone who appears to be a good activity buddy, you click on the “Invite” link. This populates a box where you can send a message and suggest a day and time to participate in a specific activity. You can choose to share your e-mail, phone number, address, or communicate through the Activity8 Website.

You can also choose to nudge a person to get their interest. However, be warned! When I was checking out the site I accidentally hit this button and pinged a person I was not looking to speak with.

Activity8’s slogan is “activity8 is about DOING STUFF and MEETING PEOPLE! Sign up and spend less time in front of a picture box!”

The site is new so please be forgiving if you find that you receive a few errors along the way. There is a feedback button in which you can report any issues.

Cool Decision-Making Tool; Like Looking Into a Web 2.0 Mirror

Andrew G.R. — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:59:24 +0000

I have a hunch you’re going to like this next Website. It’s one that promises to make difficult decisions a little easier with help from the wisdom of the crowd.

To get started you teach Hunch about the things you like so that the engine can help you answer questions you’re dying to know the answers to.

The queries to help build your profile range from which celeb you find hot to what kind of French fries you prefer to how you like your sandwich cut (horizontally or diagonally).

Even the seemingly serious questions are written and presented in a light and fluffy fashion, encouraging the user to answer. After all, the more questions you answer, the better the future results. Maybe that’s why I finally pulled myself away after answering 126 questions.

I’m not sure if Hunch uses the collected data to target ads your way, but they sure could draw some seriously bankable conclusions.

After Hunch learns about you (a minimum of 10 answered questions) you are ready to get the answers to the questions on your mind. For example, ‘Where should I go on vacation?’ or “What cell phone should I buy?’ or ‘Which Lord of the Rings character am I?’ Each core question is followed by several sub-questions that will help the system choose an answer.

Now God as my witness…when I went to find an answer to ‘Where should I go on vacation?’ – the system generated an answer that was EXACTLY where I was looking to book a trip earlier in the day. Perhaps it was a fluke, but color me impressed!

Hunch is sort of like Yahoo Answers without all of the idiots. The site was actually co-founded by one of the brains behind Flickr and the aforementioned Yahoo Answers!,

This site has some serious potential. And that’s a question we don’t even need to ask!
Here’s my profile.

Su.pr Links Come to StumbleUpon

Andrew G.R. — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:39:24 +0000

When I see a large spike in traffic on several of my blogs, I don’t even have to check the logs to know that there’s a good chance it’s folks coming via StumbleUpon (SU).

SU discovers Web sites based on your interests and keeps track of the pages you like in order to deliver similar content. While the ’stickiness’ of the traffic sent by SU is definitely questionable, most Web site owners are happy for the extra traffic.

What good would a recommendation engine be in mid-2009 with being Twitter-friendly? A step in the right direction for SU is Su.pr, a URL-shortening service that the site will help bolster its popularity. It’s currently in closed beta, so hang tight.

Like many other URL truncating tools, there is a metric dashboard in the background, tracking how many times your link is clicked and which social networks it has been shared across. One of the cool features is that URLs can be scheduled, giving you more control over when you share these links.

You might be wondering why the world needs another shortening service. Fair question. But the one clear benefit is that SU comes along with a built-in audience, giving users the opportunity for additional distribution. It a link catches fire amongst the SU community, you could be looking at a traffic avalanche.

Right now Su.pr is utilizing a frame rather than redirecting folks directly to the underlying page. However, once the tool opens to the public, users will have an option of how to display the link.

StumbleUpon has move into a post-eBay-ownership world, and quite honestly, I’m surprised it took them this long to roll out this feature. It is, however, a natural fit with their overall product, and we wish them success.

Visual DNA Helps You Meet People Just Like You

Andrew G.R. — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:48:03 +0000

DNA, the blueprint of all known living organisms. What if you could harness the power of your innate personality and apply it to your social networking activity online? Youniverse wants to help you establish your Visual DNA.

Visual DNA is determined after you complete a fun and easy quiz. Fear not! Failure is not an option. Among the questions you’ll tackle: identify art, share how you like to enjoy music, and share ‘what makes you feel free?’

The survey is light and breezy, partly because all of the choices are represented by images.

Upon completion you must register with the site or log into Facebook to save and view your results. A list of potential contacts is generated, each with a % of how related their answers were to yours.

You can also compare yourself with other groups – such as other men – or see how you stack up against the rest of the Youniverse

Your results can also be displayed as a widget, so you can show the world what you’re made out of and potentially attract more friends for your social networking endeavors.

Now you’re probably wondering how accurate the results are. Good question! According to the folks behind Visual DNA:

“Youniverse has worked with a leading occupational psychologist to develop a highly complex advanced love test which covers six key life areas, including: emotions, intellect, dynamism, skills, optimism and context.

When each of these key areas come together in the form of Visual DNA, they offer comprehensive, highly tailored feedback, with suggestions for career development and strives to help Youniverse users make more informed choices in their everyday lives.

VisualDNA is a highly social concept as it is designed to offer a means for individuals to better understand themselves and others with a view to facilitating both relevant, new friendships and also to strengthen existing relationships through a heightened understanding of shared attitudes, emotions and values.”

Another product the company offers are VisualDNA shops. These allow bloggers to make money blogging by including a referral widget on their sites, earning them affiliate money.

Twitter Gets Its Own Currency

Andrew G.R. — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:15:14 +0000

There’s something funny about the verbs social networking sites spawn. You can get winked on Match.com, poked on Facebook, dugg on Digg and of course you can tweet on Twitter.

But how would you like to make a few Twollars?

The brainchild of two Twitter users, Twollars creates an appreciation currency on the micro-blogging platform – and then turns that invisible thank you into real-life cash.

So let’s say you loved a post you read here at Rotorblog. So much so that you decided a simple comment or e-mail wouldn’t do your appreciation justice. You can take it a step further by sending us Twollars.

Just head on over to Twollars.com, input your Twitter name and start spending the 50 Twollars you are given off the bat. Send an @ message and the # of Twollars you would like to send.

The site will keep track of your “generosity balance” and keep track of your giving tweets.

When you send Twollars no money exchanges hands…unless you want it to. After you spend your initial 50 Twollars, you may buy additional ones at a rate of 10 Twollars per U.S. dollar.

Seems like a neat way raise awareness of both charities and lesser-known Twitter addicts.

As with all new currencies, it will be interesting to see if this one sticks, or if it goes the way of the Reichsmark.

The Pope Wants to Be Your Facebook Friend

Arnold Zafra — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:42:02 +0000

After launching a YouTube channel, Pope Benedict XVI is now on Facebook via the Pope2You app. The Pope2You Facebook app description says that the app lets you share the most wonderful pictures of Benedict XVI with your friends on Facebook along with his words of hope and peace.In addition, the Pope2You app also lets you

send postcards from the Pope to your friends
download and read the Pope’s Message for the 43th World Communications Day
spread friendship with the Pope and become a witness of Christ in the world through the web

It’s a good thing that whoever is in-charge of the Pope’s online publicity program decided to create a Facebook app rather than a Facebook profile for the Pope. At least, Facebook users would not expect to really communicate with the Pope since Pop2You is just an application rather than a Facebook profile.

If you need more social media applications relating to Pope Benedict XVI and his activities you may also want to check out the Pope’s YouTube Channel, as well as an iPhone app which was just released recently.

I wonder when will the Pope have his Twitter account?

Social Network for Collectors – CollectValue

Andrew G.R. — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:22:14 +0000

Baseball cards. Portable Nintendo games. Swatch watches.

It’s fair to say I’ve had my fair share of collections. Wouldn’t it be great if I had a social network to discuss my favorite topics, find the missing pieces to my collection puzzle and find out the value of rare items?

Well now I do.

CollectValue is a community for global collectors. Learn about your assets that make up your collection – or find out about items you never thought you’d be interested in collecting.

From stamps to jewelry – cameras to toys – the site has a section for just about everything. After registering you can set up an “exhibition” and show your stuff off to the world.
Create a wish list of the items you want or become an expert and help guide folks on a topic you are passionate about.

Photos of collectibles can be rated and shared on Facebook. There’s twitter functionality as well, allowing you to seek out fellow collectors and follow their updates.

The site is available in several languages and is open to anyone over the age of 16.

Learn More About Social Media’s Impact

Andrew G.R. — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:50:36 +0000

One office buzzword that simply won’t die is Webinar. A term for a “seminar” that is held online, these interactive meetings can often be packed with useful information.

Next week there is a free Webinar that YOU – as a socail media maven – are invited to attend.

Vocus, the press release people, are sponsoring “Analyzing the Impact of Social Media: From Twitter to Facebook.”

Save the date: Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 2:00 pm ET.

To register, click here.

The Webinar is being run by Sarah Evans who has been a guest writer for our pals over at Mashable.

Up for discussion is how to effectively implement and measure the impact of social media programs on PR campaigns.

Also speaking is Elizabeth Friedland, an account executive at TrendyMinds, who will offer case studies on how she has used social media to create a strong buzz for her clients.

Both educational and informational, the Webinar should serve as a resource for organizations looking to gain insight into the best practices for public relations and practical techniques that can be applied to their everyday communications campaigns.

Busy that day? Fear not! A replay of the webinar will be available free of charge following the event by clicking here. (Look under ‘Events”)

If your organization has been sitting on the sidelines while the competition is leveraging social media, this could be your chance to convince the bossman.

Tweetlister is Twitter for Real Estate Ads

Arnold Zafra — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:42:49 +0000

Nevermind if there is an ongoing fuzz in the “Twittersphere” due to the recent decision of Twitter to turn off the forwarding of @replies from people you don’t follow. That wouldn’t stop a new Twitter app from launching recently, and it’s called Tweetlister. Putting it simply, TweetLister is Twitter for real estate listings.If you’re a real estate broker or owner, TweetLister is a great service for you. It lets you create, post and manage all of your Twitter real estate listings in one account. The service allows you to track clicks on your listings as well as collect leads.

And you don’t even have to visit the Twitter site from time to time. The moment you login to Tweetlister using your Twitter credentials, you can stop visiting Twitter from then on. But that is of course if you use Twitter for the sole purpose of advertising your real estate holdings.

But what exactly does TweetLister does that Twitter is not doing? For one, TweetLister is definitely less noisy than Twitter. But basically it turns your listing information into Tweets, ready for posting. When those Tweets are posted depends on the schedule you set. Once your listings are already running, TweetLister tracks clicks and collect leads and allows you to even export the report in Excel format.

Best of all, TweetLister is a free service. It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional real estate agent or a simple real estate owner looking to find prospective buyers for your properties, you can use TweetLister.