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Tag: sharing

Spotify and Facebook

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 6:28 PM on September 27, 2011

SpotifyI have a Spotify Unlimited subscription which I created as soon as Spotify became available in the U.S. If I am not listening to Podcast or watching something I am listening to music on Spotify. I also have a Facebook account, mostly to keep up with my family and friends from high school and college. Occasionally if there is a song I really like or it triggers a memory I share it to Facebook, along with Twitter and Google Plus With the new Facebook update if you connect your Spotify account to Facebook, every song that you play is shared to it. There are several other music applications that also work this way, including IHeartRadio, Earbit, Rdio, Slacker Earbit and Songza.

I connected my Spotify account and it works. If you have your Facebook account open to your profile and you are listening to a song, that song will appear as you are listening to it. I connected my Spotify account to Facebook for a couple of days and then decided that my friends really didn’t need or want to know every song I listened to. Plus because I have music playing in the background and I like to try new playlist from ShareMyPlaylist I may not even like the song that is playing.  I am just doing some exploring to find new songs, artists and bands. One solution would be to disconnect Spotify from Facebook entirely, but I don’t want to do that.  I could see using the information later to set up playlist. I just want to have more control on what I share and when I share it. My solution to this has been to go into app settings in Facebook and click on edit and then go to custom settings and set the share to only me.  I hope this will work when the new Facebook changes go public. I want to use Facebook to collect the information, but only share the songs I want to. I wish there was a way to be able to share specific genre to specific groups, For example if I am listening to jazz music then I only want to share that with friends who like jazz and not those who like rap.

I am also not happy with the way apps are being integrated and dependent on Facebook. For example if you want to sign up for Spotify now you must have a Facebook account. To me this is a case of putting all your eggs in one basket. Granted Facebook is a big basket. However not everyone wants to have a Facebook account for various reasons including privacy concerns. Spotify has now cut itself off from these potential users. Plus it means as a user the more the apps I use are integrated into Facebook the harder it is to leave. I have already been through the walled-garden era with AOL, I really don’t want to go back.

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Posted in Facebook, Information, Music

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Tweaking Google Latitude With Latify

Posted by tomwiles at 8:33 AM on September 27, 2011

Tweaking Google Latitude With Latify

Google Latitude is a nifty, fun add-on utility for Google Maps that can be very useful for tracking friends and family. With Latitude, it’s possible to share real-time location information from devices such as supported Android and iOS phones and tablets. Location sharing is by permission only – any mutual Latitude friends must specifically grant permission for location information to be shared.

I’ve been making use of Latitude for a few years. I’ve got a number of friends and relatives that follow my location as I travel around the country as an over-the-road truck driver. Even after all this time, I’m still surprised that some people are curious enough about my location that some of them will check on me multiple times a day.

One of the things I’ve long wished for in Latitude is much greater control over the sharing. Most of the time I want my shared location information to be as accurate and real-time as possible. Thus, it becomes possible for Latitude friends and family to track me as I drive down the road in real-time.

Recently I purchased a $2.89 program available in the Android Marketplace called Latify. The Latify program works in conjunction with Latitude to provide a lot of extra control over Latitude and its sharing capabilities.

With Latify set to push out the most accurate, real-time location information possible it does use more battery power, as it is making more intensive use of the phone’s GPS chip. This isn’t a problem for me, since most of the time I keep the phone plugged in when I’m in my truck. In those instances when the phone is going to be running on battery power for hours on end, I turn off automatic data synching. There are also a number of power-saving options available within Latify itself.

If you want a way to share the most accurate, real-time GPS location of your phone with Latitude friends, at $2.89 Latify is worth the money.

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Posted in google, GPS, Information, smartphone, Software

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CloudApp and Cloud2Go

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 9:43 PM on August 13, 2011

Cloud2GoYou are writing a post and you want to add an image, audio or video file, one way to do that is to link to the to the file URL. What do you do though if the file you want to use is on your desktop, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. One solution is to use CloudApp which is available through the Mac app store and the corresponding mobile app called Cloud2go, which is $2.99 and available through the mobile app store. Although it is not optimized for the iPad you can use the iPhone version.  I use it along with WritingKit to write my blog post. What ever version you use whether desk top or mobile they both require an account with the CloudApp Website.

The way it works on the desk top is you simply drag the file from where it is up to the cloud which sits in the menu bar. The cloud will light up and you will hear a dinging sound that tells you the upload was successful.  You can change the sound and add a Growl notification through preferences. The file is then uploaded to your CloudApp Web site. All drops are automatically private, until you link to them. The URL is then automatically created and added to your Mac clipboard. If you are using the mobile app, you simply click on the plus button and add then add the file you want. You add an image or video from your library or text from the clipboard. Once the file is added, again the URL is automatically created and ready to be added to your post.

If you have a free account you are limited to 10 uploads a day and a single upload can’t be more than 25 mb. A pro account is currently $45.00 a year. With a pro account you have unlimited uploads and a single upload can be up to 250 mb. You also get your own domain to share your links. CloudApp is not intended to be used as a storage like Dropbox, it is intended to store things you are sharing links to. I am very happy with CloudApp and Cloud2go and use them all the time

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Posted in application, Information

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Get the +1 Lowdown from Google Themselves

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:00 PM on June 16, 2011

If you are wondering about implementing the new Google +1 button on your website, but worried about the proper way to do it, then you may want to free up your calendar next week.  Google has announced they will be holding a special, open-to-the-public webinar on Tuesday 21st at 3pm ET.  This should go a long way towards clearing up some of the misconceptions and unknowns about exactly what +1 can and can’t do for a web site.  For instance, there is a lot of speculation about +1 being a boon for SEO by raising the search ranking of pages.  But, Google can be very particular and very unforgiving about how their apps are displayed on sites – often banning users from Adsense for unknown reasons.

Google claims they will answer such questions as “how do you make sure this experience is user friendly? Where should you position the +1 button? How do you make sure the correct URL is getting +1’d?” The webinar will be conducted by Google Developer Advocate Timothy Jordan.  He will cover “technical implementation details as well as best practices to ensure the button has maximum impact.”

You will need to register for the event, which you can do here.

If you don’t, or can’t, attend then you can find some good information on +1 embedding code over at this unofficial Google blog.  If you just want automatic imtegration of +1 along with other sharing buttons like Twitter and Facebook, among others, then check out Socialize plugin for WordPress, which has already done an excellent integration of +1.

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Posted in google

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Put the Google +1 Button on your Website

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:08 PM on June 2, 2011

If you have a website then you are almost certainly interested in drumming up visitors and generating interest – what’s usually referred to as SEO.  Many sites use buttons on the home page and on individual posts to prompt readers to “like” the article on Facebook, “tweet” it on Twitter, or share it is some other way such as Digg or Reddit.

Now there’s a new player on the viral sharing block – the Google +1 button.  Google announced this several months ago and webmasters have been waiting for the opportunity to add it to their sites.  Given that Google is THE top player in the SEO game, this one has been very highly anticipated because of the potential traffic that may come along with it.

The wait ended yesterday when Google sent out the following email to everyone who signed up for the notification list.

Hi there,

You asked to be notified when the +1 button code was available, and today’s the day!

The +1 button makes it easy for visitors to recommend your pages to friends and contacts exactly when their advice is most useful — on Google search. As a result, you could get more and better qualified site traffic.

You’ll need to add a small snippet of code on the pages where you want a +1 button to appear. Ready to get started?

***CODE INSERTED HERE***

To stay current on updates to the +1 button large and small, please sign up for the Google Publisher Button Announce Group.

If you have questions when adding the code, check out the Google Webmasters Help Center. Thanks for your interest!

Sincerely,
The Google Webmaster Central & +1 button teams

Already I have seen the button popping up on various websites.  This could be a huge traffic boon for many sites, since clicks on the +1 button seem to lead directly to better Google search rankings.

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Posted in google, Social Media

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Plizy Another Way to View Videos on Your iPad

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 12:22 PM on May 30, 2011


If you like to watch online videos on your iPad but are tired of trying to find ones that interest you, then Plizy maybe what you are looking for. It is a site created by CEO Jonathan Benassaya who has been an important part of the French Tech scene for quite awhile. It allows you to view videos from those you are following on Twitter and Facebook. If you hit the Add a channel button, you will see a list of various categories, from Animation to Travel. Each category has a list of sites within it. Click on the site you are interested in and it is added to your collection. Right now Plizy is connected to Revision 3, Vimeo, YouTube and DailyMotion. Each site you add becomes another square. If you connect Facebook or Twitter, they each become a separate square.  As new videos are added to a site your collection will update. If there is a new video a blue dot will appear under the that collection.  Clicking on the heart next to a video will save it as a favorite. As you like more videos, Plizy learns your preferences and starts to recommend videos based on them and who you follow on Twitter and Facebook.  You can share the videos out to Facebook and Twitter. You can also comment and like directly on the application. If you are in portrait mode and click on the conversations icon you can follow the conversation under the video without having to leave the application.

Right now Plizy is in invite only private beta. I like Plizy, but there are a few things I would like to see added or change before it goes public. I wish there was a way to reorganize the channels by moving the squares around. Unfortunately Plizy is not Air Play enabled, which is something that needs to be added before it goes public. Hopefully they will be adding other sites to their collection like Blip.tv. Plizy is entering a competitive and growing field. Showyou and Squrl are two other application that I have tried that are similar to Plizy. They aggregate videos from various sites, so you can watch them within a single application. Plizy ability to curate and personalize your video collection based on your preferences will be what separates it from its competitors.

Update (18:11 on 5/30/11) I have been informed that you can move the tiles around by clicking and holding on  them and then moving them or thru the edit button.  Also Blip.TV is one of the video sites that Plizy does gather from now.  Finally Plizy is now in public not private beta.

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Posted in application, Information, video

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IntoNow

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 8:29 AM on April 27, 2011

IntoNow LogoThis past week Yahoo purchase IntoNow. What is IntoNow. IntoNow is a way to share what you are watching on TV with other people. It was launched in January 2011 into a ever growing field including Glue and Miso. The way intoNow works is you hold up your iphone, iPod Touch or iPad and hit a button on the IntoNow application and within a couple of seconds the applications picks up what you are watching on TV. It also determines whether the show is currently on or if it is a recorded show. IntoNow has a database of over 5 years of American TV content or 2.6 airings. It uses this data base plus the SoundPrint technology, The SoundPrint technology reads the audio from TV shows like a fingerprint and identifies the program within a couple of second. This is what makes intoNow different from its competitors you don’t have to enter what you are watching, the system picks it up automatically. Once what you are watching is determine you can then share it on Twitter or Facebook. You can also start and participate in discussions and recommend shows. It is clear by the Yahoo press release that they plan to use the information for target advertising. “IntoNow has built a platform and companion TV application based on real-time indexing of television that deepens the connections between audiences, television content and advertisers.”

I did see a couple of problems with IntoNow, First because the number of users are fairly small I only found one show that had any kind of discussion at all and even that only involved two people making unconnected comments. Second it is limited to US TV shows only, so if you want to share a movie you are watching on Netflix or maybe Amazon On Demand then you will have to use some other application. In addition if you are outside the U.S. or watch non U.S.-based shows you are out of luck. intoNow does not work well in a noise environment and let’s face it, if you are watching TV with some friends a quiet environment is not happening. Plus history tells me that in the end the purchase of IntoNow by Yahoo has a good chance to turn out bad for IntoNow the product. Although the creators will have done quite fine, money wise. If you ask me which of these TV check-in products I like best I would say Glue which has a large and active community. Glue also allows you to share more media types, including movies, music, and web videos. I not sure I will use IntoNow, it will depend on if the community that uses grows and becomes more active.

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Posted in application, IPAD, iPhone

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Watch the Videos Your Friends Share on Showyou

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:10 PM on April 14, 2011

Showyou

With the advent of Airplay for the Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and ipod Touch video applications are beginning to appear in the App Store that take advantage of it. Showyou is one of these apps. On the iPad Showyou takes the videos that the people you are following on Twitter and Facebook are sharing and presents them in a beautiful grid. The most current videos appear on the upper left hand side of the grid. You can have the grid show you just the videos from people that you are following on Twitter and Facebook, or just Showyou users or both. The size of the images in the grid are set randomly and have nothing to do with the importance of the video. On the iPhone and iPod Touch the video images appear as a list with the most current first. If you have Airplay you can then send the video to your Apple TV or to your Mac if you have Banana TV.

If someone likes or comments on a video of your’s that appears in Showyou then you will see a little red flag at the top of the application. The same flag will appear if you get a message back on a video you commented on.  If you see a image of a video you think you might like, you simply tap on it and it opens up. If you like a video you can heart it (like it) and send a comment to the poster. You an also share the video back your followers on Twitter and Facebook. This app reminds me a lot of Flipboard or Zite in terms of how it is set up and how well it is designed. This is an app that is worth downloading, especially if the people you follow post a lot of video. I’ve only had it for a day, but it is already my go to app for watching videos that are posted by the people I follow. Robert Scoble did a good interview with the founders for Building 43.

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Posted in Apple, application, Information, IPAD, iPhone

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HSTI Wireless Media Stick™

Posted by tomwiles at 9:21 AM on February 3, 2011

Harry Diamantopoulos of HSTI presents the Wireless Media Stick™. The Wireless Media Stick™ is able to deliver to playback devices the files stored in PC, Mac and NAS (network attached storage) devices. For example, plug the Wireless Media Stick™ into your HDTV’s USB port and watch a movie or view digital photos stored elsewhere on your WiFi home network. The memory is on your network, not on the Wireless Media Stick™. The Wireless Media Stick™ sells for $119 dollars. HSTI has also announced an app that installs on Android smartphones that is able to connect with the Wireless Media Stick™ to enable instant, easy sharing of photos and videos from the phone.

Interview by Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com and Andy McCaskey of SDR News.

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Posted in Android, ces, google, Info, Interview, Special Media, storage, Streaming, TV, wifi

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A Review of GetGlue

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 9:35 PM on November 30, 2010

GetGlue is a social sharing service that is available through the web, Iphone, Ipad and Android. It allows you to share not only what your watching or listening too, but also what your reading, thinking about, eating. The first thing you do when you join GetGlue is you have the opportunity to rate various categories including movies, music, actor, artist, books. Based on how you rate things Glue offers you suggestions of things that you might like. Getting suggestion from Getglue is especially useful when you first join and you don’t have many followers. As you get more followers the suggestions get better and more accurate. Also when you rate and review things you can win actual physical badges.

It is fun to see what other people think of the things that you like and also what you didn’t like. Sometimes when you watch or read something and your view of it is different then what the majority of the web seems to think, it makes you feel bad as of you are missing something. With Getglue you find people who think like you and see things the same way you do. I like reading those reviews and seeing what other people think. There are other programs like GetGlue one that I also use is Miso. However with Miso you can only review videos, and there are no way to rate them. Also with Miso you don’t get suggestions based on what you have rated. I will admit I don’t use Miso that much, unlike Getglue I am not really getting anything out of it.

Geek News Central Research Analyst Carissa Caramanis O’Brien looked into how Getglue is doing and found an article from Crunchbase that said that in October Getglue reached the milestone of 10 million checkins in October. It is also starting to offer not only badges but also discounts through its partnership with HBO. If you subscribe to HBO this great, however for those of us who are not HBO subscribers it’s interesting but not useful. Hopefully GetGlue can make more arrangements with other providers such as Itunes or Amazon. I would especially love to see it make an arrangement with Amazon, which would allow everyone to use it no matter how they view or get their media. Do you use Getglue, if you do you can follow me I am listed as klandwehr. If you don’t, I would recommend that you try it. It is free and it is great way to find new things.


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Posted in Information

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