Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Tech Nerd Alert!

Today I attended a class at work on 60 new sites/apps to check out. We went through 60 in 60 minutes. It was fast-paced but I thought you might enjoy browsing through some of the new start-ups and social media sites out there. Several are geared toward news/journalism and some are just silly (NoseDial) but if you've got some time it's worth clicking around.

About.me: Create your personal splash page. Quickly build a personal and dynamic splash page that points visitors to your content from around the web. Measure metrics too!

GetGlue: Now that you’ve mastered the art of checking-into hip spots, start spreading the news to your network vis a vis the shows & movies your watching, books reading, music listening and even the great wine your enjoying.

Miso: Like GetGlue… only not quite the same buzz. Hmmm… Could this be the Gowalla of Ent-based check-in’s?

Jumo: From Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, this new philanthropic start-up works to match do-gooders with appropriate causes. Think FB minus the flashy advertisements and need to impress the opposite sex!

Untappd: Checking into locations is soooo last year! Even checking into entertainment choices has its limits. With this app you can get back to what beer drinking was meant to be about… social! New meaning to buzzworthy!

Path: Photo and video sharing network, also sees itself as an enhancement to Facebook; users can log in to Facebook to find Path users to share with. But Path limits the sharing to 50 friends at most, rather than with everyone you know.

Insta.gram: My newest addiction! It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Only avail for iPhone at moment.

PicPlz: Very much like Insta.gram and Path, PP allows users to snap photos and add fun effects like "Russian Toy Camera," "The 70s," and "Instant Film." Connect with Facebook and Twitter to the service.

DailyBooth: Your life in one big conversation… only through pictures. And unlike the other social photo sites, this is real-time shots. Sounds weird, but the kids say it’s cool. Trust.

Quora: Crowdsourcing redux. Let’s face it, we now live in a ‘browse-answer-notification’ world! A continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. Bigger than Twitter? Chuck Norris?

Tumblr: Very popular microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog.

Diigo: If Delicious is really going away, better start looking for alternatives! Diigo goes beyond simple social bookmarking by providing a wealth of features, including collaboration and web page commenting tools. It includes a Delicious import tool and client apps are available for iPad and Android. The service is free and is advertising-supported.

Mashable: The holy grail for social media and emerging tech news and trends. Period.

TechCrunch: AOL bought TechCrunch four months ago. Many feared the web/gadget/social media blog might become diluted but it continues to be an industry leader.

Engadget: Beautiful tech trends website. Can’t go wrong here!

SlashDot: The site bills itself as ‘News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters’ and it doesn’t disappoint. Not as pretty with little photos and video, but with all the info-muscle!

Read, Write, Web: Excellent source for news on Web Apps, Web Trends, Social Media and Consumer Behaviors. Overall my #1 site for tech trends + news media info! Super rich info with the most forward-facing stories in the web space.

CNET: Best site for gadget/gear/hardware reviews. Period.

GigaOm: Great for technology news, analysis and trends. Can be a bit highbrow… but the content is consistently ahead of curve.

Gizmodo: Heavy provider of outstanding technology news… have proven bigger than one-trick pony after scoring iPhone 4 scoop. Worth a bookmark. Do it!

FastCompany: My favorite magazine (print or digital). Always on top of latest trends in Tech, Business, Design and Leadership. Full articles are always insightful/inspiring but also do a good job with daily blurb updates early and often on site.

Social Fresh: A social media education site with heavy focus on marketing trends. Great for niche stories on intersection of SM and consumer behaviors.

Mobile Marketer: Wanna keep up with latest trends for all things Mobile? Look no further!

Silicon Alley Insider: Bookmark for the firm handle on all things SV news. Great scoops!

ValleyWag: Gawker Media blog with gossip and news about Silicon Valley personalities.

Techmeme: Bookmark ‘em all in one shot… let Woz sort ‘em out!

10000 Words: Amazing blog that combines very best of Innovation + Journalism. Founded by New Media Journalist Mark Luckie, site was sold to Mediabistro recently but Mark still blogs and contributes fabulous content.

Neiman Lab: Awesome site focusing on future of Journalism trends, breakthroughs and discussion. It’s run by smart peeps from Harvard… what else do you need?

LostRemote: The first and only source dedicated to social TV coverage. Readers are primarily TV execs, producers and social technology companies helping reinvent the future of television.

NewsFlashr: Use what I do each morning to sift through dozens of blogs and papers in minutes instead of hours. And best of all sorted by topic and feed.

Bump: Go green and stop ordering biz cards now that you can exchange contact info with your smartphone-packing acquaintance.

Boxcar: If my life were managed entirely by push notifications, I’d be way more productive! Instant push notifications for emails, social nets, RSS feeds and more. iPhone only.

Qwitter: Can your ego stand the bruising? Service provides email updates of Twitter followers who – gasp – pull the plug.

JustUnfollow: Payback’s a… well… you know. Unfollow Twitter users who do not follow you.

Klout: The standard for influence. Look up your Klout Report to find your influence level, user style, and content. I’m good for a score of 61 – you got me beat? J

Groupon: Three words Collective – Buying Power. Has blown up to 2600+ employees and valuation upwards of north of $15 billion in few short years.

ScoutMob: Another ‘digital coupon’ service but not nearly as massive as Groupon. Started by couple guys from Atlanta, the free service is currently avail in ATL, NY and SF with promises to expand to about a dozen other U.S. cities this year.

Living Social: Boasts up to 90% off the best of your city. Sheesh… what will you do with all this extra dough?

Flavors.me: Very similar to About.me with a few more bells and whistles and freemium option ($20 yr for ad-free)

RockMelt: Your browser. Reimagined. Rockmelt is a social web browser built off of Chromium and boasts deep integration with both Facebook and Twitter with it’s “Edges” which are filled with friends that are online and feeds that you follow complete with update badges. Facebook freaks will dig this fun.

Google Cloud Print: The future looks good on paper! Wouldn’t it be nice if you could print a file from your iPhone or Android straight to a networked computer printer? Wait no more.

Storify: Platform for incorporating social media into stories you are working on; tweets, flickr images and YouTube videos. Service is in private alpha but accepting invitations.

Storyful: Not to be confused… founded by former CNN journalist David Clinch, Storyful curates the real-time web. In other words, separate the useful news from the river of noise flowing through channels like Twitter and YouTube.

Nosedial: No more taking off your gloves and freezing! Now you can dial with your schnauz! $.99 from the Apple app store.

Addictomatic: Inhale the web! Instantly create a custom web page for the hottest buzz on any given topic. It’s super easy. Don’t believe me?? Try it.. dare ya!

Duck Duck Go!: Described as a “hybrid search engine”, DDG has been around for a few years but remains small and relatively unknown. But it’s growing as users become appreciative of the reliable and diverse search results which rely heavily on crowdsourced data such as Wikipedia. Also note: no spam or privacy concerns… shhh!

Know Em: Secure your brand or online identity on Social Media. Hurry… run!!!

AudioBoo: Why stop at simply sharing text, photos and video when you can now swap audio too!? What’s next… smell-based social net?

Apartm.net: Why wouldn’t you want to unlock your front door with a mere @Foursquare check-in!? Muaaahahah (sinister laugh)!

WordLens: Instant translator – for now only English-Spanish and only for iPhone but only a matter of time before foreign language teachers go the way of dinosaurs!?

Increible: Groundbreaking translation app from Google Translate. Only avail for Google Android. Set to arrive with next app update.

Tango: Sick of hearing how cool Apple Facetime feature is for iPhone 4 users? It’s payback time! Works 3G/4G and between Android and iPhone devices.

Betali.st: Great site for keeping up with newest up and coming startups on the block. Discovery is fun!

FlipBoard: Didn’t earn Apple’s 2010 iPad app of year and TIME 50 greatest innovation kudos for nothing. A game changer app that interfaces all of your SM feeds into one user-friendly stream.

iPad2 Rumor Guide: Mashable helps take some of the guess from the guesswork on the long wait for what’s up with iPad 2. Especiialy dig the percentages attached to each feature on liklihood if it happening.

Memo.lane: Puts together a digital scrapbook (or timeline) from your updates on social networks!

Roku: Thinking about cutting the cord? Roku earns high praise for its affordability, ease of use and varied programming selection.

Diversity.Journalists: Growing database for minority journalists with a particular focus on Digital Media.

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