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Luis Sandoval is a Media Strategist and Founder of Advantj Media based out of San Antonio, Texas. He writes on topics related to media and technology for a variety of sites around the web and publications.
Back in the early 90’s there was this song, “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…”. It’s this song that I sadly have to reference when mentioning the Twitter Peek. Unlike the song that had some redeeming qualities this doorstopper is the clunkiest piece of technology I’ve seen yet (a disclaimer, I do not own one).
This product is made by Peek. The same company brought you the horrors that were the Pronto Peek and the Meet Peek. I’m not sure why I would want any of these devices since my smartphone does it all, and when I’m not at my mobile, I’m at my desk.
Perhaps therein lies the truth. It’s not geared towards me, the tech savvy geek, but rather the Twitter uninitiated.Despite the millions of users, there are still many demographics who have not embraced it. What a simple bridge to get them to join.
Clever plan or failure upward? Too early to tell, but one thing is for sure, based on their past successes, the Twitter Peek might make a small splash.
The Twitter Peek can be purchased on their website or via Amazon.
Heard of Twitter? Sure the whole world has by now. Lone tribes on far islands have heard about Twitter. This massively immersive and widely used micro-blogging network has become a staple for both our personal and professional lives. The world seems to still be feeling the “Twitter effect” as industries adapt their existing messages to fit the fast paced world of this social network.
But do you ever feel like you’re being left behind? Perhaps not enough time to get the right message in a timely fashion? Now there’s a solution to that.
Twuffer presents itself as the buffer between you and your timed messages. By using the web application, you are able to preset messages on a timed schedule to be released on your network at the times you think most important. The possibilities of this type of functionality are as endless as your creativity.
The web app is easy to use and can serve you to better time your announcements, set reminders for yourself or others, engage in timed online activities, or, as the site suggests, make it appear as if you never sleep. The practicality of this app seems pretty straightforward.
The application is currently in beta, but your able to explore what it has to offer pretty seamlessly. I suggest you give it a try to announce regular days when your podcast or blog post will go live, or perhaps some other similar campaign to see if Twuffer is right for you!
Today finding the music you want, when you want it has been channeled to using sites like the Amazon store or iTunes. Sometimes, when looming for an obscure song that is not mainstream, you’d be lucky to find it. This frustrating experience paired with the perceived greedines of corporate music labels has forced many of us to find our music on peer to peer networks or bitorrent sites such the Pirate Bay.
Songbeat360.com is an amazingly innovative way of integrating a music player with a music search. Now you can listen to your favorite songs while searching for more. You are essentially still building your own station, much like Pandora or Last.fm, but on this music player you have the ability to download your music immediately.
Bypassing the need to go to the likes of Amazon or iTunes may please some, but does the pricing compare? Based on the site, the application is an Adobe Air app, and comes with 25 free credits. Credits are used when a search is done, and searches are supposedly capable of returning up to 500 results, ensuring you will fond what you need. For further credits, those can be purchased via a stored credit card. For $15 you receive 1000 credits for more music, which breaks down to a whole lot less than $.99 per song on the iTunes store. This is of course assuming you find what you want in one search.
Is the next revolution to your music search? I’d say know, but it’s definitely interesting. The pricing alone is attractive, and if the quality is the same, I can see this web app becoming extremely successful.
Social networks as they exist depend on the number of friends you start off with and thus you expand your network based on your existing network and grow from there. For many, not having an online presence makes it heard to start a social network when there is no online network to utilize to start. For many this can be frustrating and for many becomes the reason why they do not adopt the social scene. What if there was simply a network that didn’t rely on existing friendships and paired you with new people based on your profile to participate in unique shared experiences?
6Rounds is the answer and the unique network is sure to make a splash in the world of social engagement.
The network itself is designed to be a fully interactive experience incorporating the best of micro-messaging and video networks. There’s now a space for those not interested in hosting entire video shows, or who lack friends to build on a social profile on
Facebook or
Twitter.
6Rounds functions as a completely unique and diverse network that no user will get the same experience from their engagement. The network allows users to come together in a “live” setting where they will be challenged with “using a combination of webcams, real-time games, social activities and media engagements, we present a wide range of opportunities: from watching videos, playing real-time games, listening to music, Facebooking and Youtubing, to shopping together and beyond,” says the site.This sound a little like speed dating with the entertainment provided, and none of the relationship awkwardness attached. I can see how this would be appealing to both veteran and new entry supporters of social engagement.
The network is free and looks to combine the best of social networking, instant messaging, and video content to create an ever changing user experience.
Screenjelly is perhaps the easiest screen recorder you'll ever use.
There are a lot of applications that claim to be the leader in capturing and recording your screen. Well I’m not making that claim with Screenjelly, but I will say it’s the easiest I’ve ever used.
Why?
Well unlike most other free screen capture applications, you don’t need to create a profile or sign up for an account. You also don’t need to download anything or log-in for access, you simply go to the site and start the process. The ease of use is a welcomed approach for new users who are not familiar with existing screen recording applications. There is little barrier into the service and users do not get mired down with having to check their emails to authorize emails and other such necessities when creating a new account.
Screenjelly also has a close relationship with Twitter, where you can easily share your recordings directly with your followers, and instantly get feedback. It’s pretty tempting if you’re looking at doing something quick. There are no screen share capabilities to pass it on to someone else, there’s not meeting function for chat function to share with other users, this is just purely setup to record what’s on your screen and the audio being sent via your microphone.
screenshot for Cute as Hell, social network for pets
Are you one of those people that gets sick of people who dress up their animals? Perhaps you are brought to tears of pain by friends who go on and on about how cute their pets are? If this describes you, this is not a social network you need to join.
On the other hand, if you’re a die hard pet lover, then this new social network is one you can’t miss. Cute As Hell is a pet lovers dream where owners share information, photos, videos, and can connect with other pet lovers from around the world. Think “Thunderdome” is just for post apocalytpic meat heads looking for destroy one another? Well go beyond your image of “Thunderdome” and consider it a pet vs pet arena where owners put their pets to the cute test as voters decide who they think is dominant.
Get your pets ready, get those photos and videos ready and put your pet to the test on this network. Lots of awesome prizes are up for grabs. Perhaps now is the time your pet actually did something for you.
Ready. Set. FIGHT!
Recently there’s been a wave of news regarding brands that have been misrepresented on various social networks for
the purpose of deceiving and sharing misinformation. It has become frustrating for users to determine if a brand is honestly being represented online or managed by someone impersonating said brand. These problems can now be overcome with Verified Pages, which focuses on sharing which brands are online and where their social profiles are.
This site has been a long time coming, and users can now safely connect with the brand of their choice, having comfort that they are not communicating with an impersonator. Brands that have connected with Verified Pages understand the importance of their brands reputation.
If you’re looking to provide end users with the comfort of knowing they are connecting with the real deal, then I highly encourage you to register your brand. If you are someone looking for a specific entity to contact, search the site and find out where you can find them.
I’ve just recently started running for fitness and I had my eye on the Nike+ system to pair with my iTouch. Running is something a lot of us fear, perhaps some of you out there MIGHT enjoy it, but far more prefer other methods of exercise. Still, the Nike+ system is the device that is supposed to have revolutionized running as a sport and as a frequent user of this device, I have to say it’s upped my game, and helped me train harder.
This small device, running $30USD for the sensor, and approx. $75USD for the USB bracelet, sends information to your iPod and tracks your progress monitoring information like pace, distance, time, and calories burned. All the while you are able to run to your own music track and when you’re feeling run down, activate your own power song to push you those extra miles.
To add even more functionality to the device you are able to connect your device to your computer (both MAC and PC compatible) and upload your data to the Nike+ website, adding you to the mix of already thousands upon thousands of runners out there at all levels. You can monitor your progress, join challenges, track milestones, and join in a social network of sorts with other runners out there. It’s useful on so many levels, and allows you to buy Nike specific music tracks that they’ve put together for you, training modules that go further than what comes pre-loaded, accessories and gear, and even create a Nike+ animated character for a badge that can be placed on your own site or your Facebook account.
All in all, I highly recommend this device if you’ve not gotten it yet, and you’re running. Even if you don’t like running with music, that’s fine, leave it off, but keep the stats, once you calibrate it, it’s priceless.
The world over there is a common word that we all understand when it comes to virtual messages…spam! That same concept can be related to the countless pieces of junk mail we receive in our snail mail boxes. In an attempt to curb physical mail, Zumbox was created as a way to save paper and go greener.
Zumbox is a virtual mailbox that is accessible from anywhere in the world, and all your mail can be directed to this. No major warehouses needed with hundreds of scanners, it simply takes your mail from teh database that your mail is created in and sends the file directly to your account. You can browse your mail just like you would browse it in your home after checking your mailbox.
It’s a great idea, and I’m completely behind it, but the one drawback is immersion. This concept would have to be fully accepted for Zumbox to saturate the market and reduce 100% of all physical mail. Still it’s a great start and I encourage you to at least input your address. The service is free, it’s easy, accessible, and leaves less of an imprint on the planet then all the junkmail you receive. With special filters, reduced junk mail, checking your “mail” may actually be fun again…save for the bills.
Entrepreneurs and start-ups alike are prime candidates for branding opportunities. Existing companies looking at changing their appearance, their direction, or product/service may also be looking for a way to change their existing branding, and what’s quicker than instant?
Nothing.
BrandStack is the quickest way to get your new logo and start building your brand. The depository has hundreds of designs, but along with the logos, you also get domain names pre-registered for you along with other additions that will get your business off the ground instantly.
Previously known as Incspring, Brandstack is literally stacking the layers of possibilities to make your endeavors as profitable and successful as possible. Founder Wes Wilson is always looking for designers who want to upload their extra logos to the site and further expand what it has to offer. A definite most for those looking to purchase and build, and designers looking to sell their extra or new designed logos.
Give BrandStack a try and take the stress of the creative process off your shoulders and start with the real details that will help build your company for your customers.
…perhaps not entirely true, we’re on our way to making this a reality thanks to the mobile app Trapster. From time to time many of us find ourselves hurrying from one place to another. Crenk does not support breaking the law, but if you find yourself going over the speed limit, knowing where the speed traps are can really save you some dollars and grief.
Naturally all of the speed traps must be reported by other users. With a click of a button or a phone call to the number given, everyone’s app can be updated within a matter of minutes all will be notified of where the speed trap is and avoid or adjust speed if necessary.
I’d really love to hear if this app has saved you from getting a ticket, or what your thoughts are if you have used it. Be sure to let us know!
We at Crenk scour the net for stories, apps, humor pieces, and useful additions for your productivity and websites. Here’s a quick something that a lot of us on Twitter have been looking for, a classy badge.
Lots of sites out there offer Twitter badges that you install and more often than not they can take up valuable real estate on your site, so here’s a nice SITE that can help you instantly create a very unobtrusive “Follow” badge for your site that users can click on, while saving space on your site.
It’s not an issue for everyone, but I thought it would be useful for some.
