roundup

Social networks for the jock in your life

Facebook and MySpace get most of the mainstream attention, but social networks focused on various niches can help you connect with people more effectively. One of those niches is sports.

Although sports-centric social networks aren't nearly as popular as general social networks, their uniqueness garners a loyal, passionate following. If you're a sports fan, joining at least one of these social networks can be rewarding.

Sports social networks

ArmchairGM ArmchairGM gives you the opportunity to support your favorite sports teams and talk about them with others on the site. Using collaborative wiki technology, it lets you write articles about topics that interest you, comment on others' articles, and go to the "Locker Room" to discuss sports topics with other fans.

Unfortunately, ArmchairGM's design isn't very compelling, and its community is smaller than that of some of its competitors. But it's still a good way to connect with rabid sports fans.

FanNation FanNation is a community for sports lovers to get up-to-date information on their favorite teams and players while discussing their love of sports with others. And for the most part, it delivers.

After you finish registering with FanNation, you can start joining groups on the site. Those groups range from communities specific to a particular team to general sport topics. For the most part, those communities are quite active.

FanNation lets you write up blog posts on topics that interest you. You can also comment on other users' blog posts. FanNation is designed well, and the information provided by other users is interesting. But having the ability to communicate more effectively with other FanNation users would be nice. Right now, comments on blog posts are about all that one can do, to that end.

Golf Finder Golf Finder is a simple service that provides some real value. The site allows you to sign up, adding where you live and when you'd like to play golf, and then it matches you up with some of the best golf courses in your area. You can also input your handicap and age, so you can find the right course to match your skill level. It's a great way to discover new courses and at the same time find others on the site with whom to play.… Read more

10 worthy apps for the MySpace user

MySpace is in some trouble. The social network announced on Tuesday that it has been forced to reduce its workforce by 30 percent amid a decline in advertising revenue and outside pressure from competitors. It's a problem, but MySpace does have at least a few things going for it.

Those include some cool applications. Apps developed for Facebook tend to get more attention in the social-networking space, but these 10, ranging from music- to game-centric, are all worth trying out.

10 MySpace apps

Causes: Like its Facebook counterpart, Causes is one of the best apps in this roundup for one reason: it helps you help others.

After you sign up, the app lets you pick a "cause" about which you care. From animal rights to protecting children, you can join any cause and try to increase its awareness. You can donate to the cause and post bulletins on MySpace, so all your friends know what you're supporting. It's a really great app.

Family Guy Picture Hunt: The Family Guy Picture Hunt might not be as useful as some of the other apps in this roundup, but it's extremely fun. Simply look at a picture from one of your favorite scenes from the television show Family Guy, and try to find the different areas on the picture that match the blocks to the right of the image. At first glance, it seems like a simple game, but you'll quickly realize that it's difficult and fun. The game is timed, so you can play with friends and see who is the superior searcher.

Family Tree: Like its Facebook counterpart, Family Tree is a really great app. When you access it, the app lists all your MySpace friends and asks you to find family members. It then sends confirmation requests to make sure that they're really family members.

Once complete, you can input your relationship to those people, and the app will create a family tree. The app's best feature is the option to see which people might be in your family. It does that by analyzing your friends list to see if there are any matches you might have missed. The app even has a family news feed, so you can be kept abreast of what's going on in each other's lives.

… Read more

Inventive online resources for inventors

Last week, I received an e-mail asking if I had ever taken a look at sites and services for inventors. I hadn't. And judging by the size of those sites' communities, I'm guessing that most other folks haven't, either. Below are some of the neatest resources, both on the Web and on your iPhone, designed specifically for inventors.

Web sites

Incuby Incuby is an online community designed for inventors who want to get the word out about their inventions. Once you sign up, the site asks you to input information about yourself. After that, it asks for pertinent information about your invention. You can give it a title, describe it, choose a category, and let the community know if your invention is patented yet.

You can then start searching for other inventions. The site's listings include some good information on the creations, including product photos, videos, and prices. Soon, Incuby will enable users to buy those products on the site. Incuby is designed well, and its community, while small, is quite active. It's worth joining.

InventBay InventBay enables inventors to list their products to target investors who might want to bring those products to store shelves. InventBay itself even does some investing.

When you sign up for InventBay and list your product, the company requires a seven-day period to review your invention before it's placed on the site. In that time, InventBay decides if it wants to invest in your creation. If it does, you'll receive notice and work out an investment plan with the company. If not, it's listed on the site for other investors to check out. It's a neat idea. And since it's free to list a product, it's worth trying out.… Read more

6 multiclient IM apps to chat about

A variety of multiclient instant-messaging services have cropped up that allow users to communicate with each other over the Web. Some can be downloaded onto your desktop, while others can be accessed on the Internet. In either case, they're worth trying out, if you want to enjoy a fine experience communicating with your friends.

Multiclient IM resources

Adium Adium is my favorite multiclient instant-messaging tool for a few reasons. It supports practically any IM platform around, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, Google Talk (via Jabber), and more. It even has a plug-in for Skype.

You'll rarely have any trouble communicating with friends in the service. But its most redeeming quality is that it's open source. So, if you want to modify the code to fit your own IM desires, that's possible. And those in the open-source community are constantly improving the product, whose updates typically install with ease.

When you download Adium (it's available for Mac OS X), you'll have the option of choosing your IM service. By default, Adium takes on the same design as Mac OS X. But with the help of some plug-ins from Adium's site, called "Xtras," you can customize it as you see fit. Those add-ons include emoticons, dock icons, scripts, and more. I could go on about Adium, but I think that you get the point: if you're a Mac OS X user, it's worth trying out.

Digsby Digsby is a multifaceted tool that lets you communicate with friends over instant messaging, e-mail, or social networks. I recently took a look at its social-networking capabilities. After having the opportunity to use its IM services, I was just as impressed.

After installing Digsby on my Windows PC (Mac and Linux versions are reportedly on the way), I was able to log in to my accounts on AIM, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, and others. Digsby's app is designed well, with a more attractive interface than Adium's default skin. Digsby also gives you the option of sending an SMS text message from the application. Overall, I liked Digsby.… Read more

10 widgets for Opera users to sing about

When Opera released its widget software development kit last year, there was little doubt that some cool applications would make their way to the company's browser. More than a year later, they indeed have.

I've been sifting through hundreds of Opera widgets that all work with the Opera browser for your Mac, Linux box, or PC. I've found 10 that stand out from the others. Opera users should definitely try these out.

10 Opera widgets

Brainkrieg Brainkrieg is a fun game that does its best to "exercise your brain." The tool gives you a variety of games to play that test your memory and help you think. The point of the game is to decrease your brain age. It's somewhat similar to Brain Age on the Nintendo DS, but the latter is a bit more sophisticated.

Dotoo Dotoo is a to-do list widget in your Opera browser. You can create a host of to-do lists and access them all from within the widget. Adding tasks is as simple as pressing the "+" button under your list and inputting your task. It's not a sophisticated widget, so you won't be able to track your progress. But if you want to quickly add a few tasks, you should be happy with what you find.

Facebook Notifier Facebook Notifier gives you a listing of all your friends' recent status updates. You can't update your profile in the application, but you can easily access your profile with the links in the widget. It might not be the most useful app, but if you want to see what your friends are up to while you're browsing outside Facebook, it's a fine choice.… Read more

8 OpenSocial apps worth trying out

Since OpenSocial's release in 2007, a variety of applications have been developed through the program. While some of the applications are built for MySpace, and others are also available on Facebook--which has kept its distance from the Google-led platform--the majority of them unfortunately are designed for less popular social networks, such as Hi5, Orkut, and Ning.

Some OpenSocial apps, regardless, are worth trying out. From games to profile add-ons, I've found eight that I deem worth adding to a compatible social-network account.

8 OpenSocial apps

Centrl Centrl is a chat tool that enables you to communicate with friends across many social networks. It can be installed on MySpace, Orkut, Ning, Hi5, and elsewhere. Once installed, you can engage in a public chat with anyone or talk to individuals on a variety of social networks, including Facebook. The app also determines your location so you can find folks in your area.

I found Centrl chat to be simple and appealing. But considering that so many social networks have their own instant-messaging tool, don't expect Centrl to gain too much traction anytime soon.

MiniTweet MiniTweet is a simple OpenSocial app. The tool adds a small Twitter update box to your MySpace profile. You can pick a title and input your user name. MiniTweet then displays all your recent Twitter updates on your profile. At any time, you can view your Twitter page by clicking on your MiniTweet title. You can't update your status in the app, but it's still worth checking out.… Read more

Manage your social life with these apps

Managing social network profiles is getting more difficult. As we sign up for more services, we need to split our time between multiple sites. But with the help of social aggregators, we can limit those issues. The following tools do a fine job of keeping your social life in one spot, helping you to monitor it more efficiently.

I should note, though, that these won't be your path to social networking bliss. Some folks find aggregators too overwhelming. They believe these resources only complicate matters. You might agree after trying some of these tools.

I should also note that Facebook Connect--Facebook's single sign-on service that competes with OpenID--might soon match these aggregation services. Users can already bring some items with them to Facebook. It might only be a matter of time before the service allows users to pull full social network feeds into Facebook.

Social network aggregators

Atomkeep Atomkeep is designed to help you sync all your profile information across multiple social networks. When you change your profile information on the site, all the networks you sync with it will be updated automatically. So, if you're moving to a new home, you can go to Atomkeep, change your address, and it will update that information on Facebook, Bebo, and other social networks. The site is in private beta, so you'll need an invite code to try it out. For a full CNET review of Atomkeep, click here.

Digsby Although Digsby is installed on your desktop and isn't quite a Web tool like the others in this roundup, I thought it appropriate to include it, since it does require the Web to work and it aggregates all your social network data in one place.

Digsby provides a three-pronged approach to aggregation: instant messaging, e-mail, and social networks. You can sign in to practically any IM program in Digsby, including AIM, Yahoo IM, and others. If you're a Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail user, you can also use Digsby to manage your in-box. But its integration of social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn is quite appealing. The tool alerts you when you receive updates on your networks. Its news feed gives you constant updates about what your friends are up to. And when you want to update your own status, you can do it in Digsby without going to the individual social networks. But beware that right now, Digsby only works with Windows PCs. The company is promising Mac OS X and Linux support in the near future.… Read more

Green news harvest: Global warming slowing wind?

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

Not so windy: Research suggests winds dying down - Associated PressThis study is still speculative but worth watching as underperforming turbines can have a big financial impact. 'Zero Carbon' Motorcycle Racing - New York TimesThere seems to be a trend of electric motor racing to raise awareness of pollution and to have people learn about electric power trains. Cleaning Air With Bacteria? Greentech MediaMore work for micro-organisms, this time it's removing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from paint factories and such. Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones - Technology Review… Read more

Make music a social experience with these sites

We all like to share songs with friends, and we all have songs that share meaning with loved ones. Perhaps that's why there are so many music social networks out there. These sites combine both, and make music exploration and enjoyment something that you're not doing on your own.

From the well-known to the obscure, I've been exploring a variety of music social networks that you'll definitely want to check out:

Buzznet is a great way to connect with other music lovers. You can write status updates and view an activity feed that shows what your friends are listening to. You can also tell all your friends what your "song of the moment" is and post it to a profile that can be completely redesigned and themed using built-in tools.

Buzznet has some songs from major artists, but I would have liked to see more tracks. That said, the site makes up for it with music videos from YouTube. That adds a bit more value, as long as the recording quality is good..

Flotones isn't the best looking site in this roundup, but it does a nice job of connecting indie artists with fans. You can choose to sign up as either a fan or an artist. If you're an artist, you can upload music, post to a blog, give out your contact information to schedule gigs, and more. As a fan, you can find artists, follow their updates, and review their music. You can also send them private messages. Not all musicians put their music on the site, but quite a few do.… Read more