Tag Archives: tech

Sites I Have Recently Come to Enjoy

30 Aug
The Savoia

Another cool blog: The Savoia

Here are some websites I’ve discovered via other websites, with excellent shareable content …

I’m a regular consumer of and contributor to Pinterest and StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon’s mission, of course, is to deliver the best of the web based on personal tastes, and I happen to use Pinterest in a way that leads me to other sites with similar content — i.e., compelling visual art and photography.

I’ve arrived at many destinations just by clicking through to the original sources of things I find interesting:

Denis Budkov

Photo by Denis Budkov in an ice cave near the Mutnovsky volcano in an area of northern Russia via The Colossal

The more this happens with the same sites, the more I seek them out specifically. I now frequently rebroadcast content from these portals on my Twitter stream, or mention them here — in addition to simply enjoying what they have to offer.

If you’re a fan of my stuff (chances are that’s the case since you’ve read this far), definitely have a look at these others – you just might find a new favorite.

7 websites with highly tweetable content

What do you think? What are some new-to-you websites you have enjoyed lately? Do you click through images or writing you like to other sources and find interesting destinations? Let us hear from you in the comments.
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Foursquare: Do or Die Time?

17 Aug

Here’s something interesting: I often look to the media for blog post ideas, but this time it seems to have happened in reverse. Case in point: a few weeks back I heard a broadcast from Marketplace Radio speaking to Foursquare’s CEO. Amazingly, just a few weeks prior I asked this very question on LinkedIn: “Has Foursquare’s time passed?” There were several good answers and a general consensus that it’s too early to tell.

Not long after I posted my question, Foursquare released a major update to its mobile app and got its PR machine cranking. What’s interesting here is that both Marketplace and I shared the same thought: Foursquare was introduced in 2009, gained massive popularity, and has been gradually cooling off ever since. Is that a sign of its having peaked already or just the fleeting attention span of the digerati?

Life After Death of the Check-In

“Life After Death of the Check In” -Jon Mitchell via ReadWriteWeb

Earlier this year, months before any of this, Jon Mitchell of ReadWriteWeb did this excellent and provocative article on the death of the check in. He rightly notes that it can be overkill:

…it’s a mundane performance of “I’m at the grocery store!” which is annoying noise to one’s friends and followers.

I started using it in early 2011, out of curiosity and to have something to do – like taking photos – while waiting in line at places or making art out of routine trips to places like, well… the grocery store. Hey, at least I try to make my activity interesting – but I sure as heck do NOT post every single update to Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Grocery Store Art

I took all these photos of my local grocery store with my phone for Foursquare check-ins.
I always try to include a photo with each one. Hey, it keeps me entertained.

Businesses Could be Using Foursquare Better

Here’s the secret ingredient: Photos. Include fun photos of your storefront, employees (smiling, preferably), specials, or a behind-the-scenes view of what’s going on. These kind of unique details draw people in, and it can certainly be endearing to customers. I’d love to see an “ask us about this photo” post at some place I check in, then feel like an insider when I take them up on the offer. I’d be getting to know the business better, and maybe even getting a special deal.

I’m glad to see Foursquare innovating and I look forward to what’s next. The real test will be adoption. It won’t be genuinely interesting  until more businesses and users get in on it and get creative. I just hope the next major developments don’t take as long – and with any luck they won’t. I’m sure Foursquare itself has also surely noticed its buzz decline, like Marketplace and your humble author.

What do you think? Are you on Foursquare? Have you been on it and lost interest? Have you ever gotten a deal somewhere because through the app? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Link Instagram and Pinterest with Flickr

9 May
Flickr to Facebook: I'll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest

Flickr to Facebook: I’ll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest. Photo by Courtney Patubo / edit by rsmithing. Click for full size.

Flickr to Facebook: I’ll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest

Hot on the heels of my post on using Pinterest for Instagram images with sites like Gramfeed, Flickr has made this even easier by including Pinterest as an option under the “Share” menu at the top left of any Flickr image. And the best part is, all photos are automatically attributed to the owner – including all photos ever previously pinned from Flickr!

Pinterest for Flickr

This is HUGE, because not only does it mean easy and proper posting from a site with millions of great images, but also it makes posting from Instagram easy as well, since Instagram users can easily link their accounts to post to Flickr when uploading at Instagram.

I personally only started using Flickr seriously as a result of Instagram’s integration, and I now swear by it as a great tool for managing your images with some neat social functionality thrown in. It’s highly customizable, easy to use, and a great value whether you subscribe for free or have a Pro account.

Just two steps gets any Flickr image on your Pinterest board. Click for full details at Flickr’s blog.

Bottom Line: Flickr Gets It Right… First

Maybe they were too busy being bought by Facebook to notice, but the folks at Instagram missed out on being the first major image sharing site to hook up so seamlessly with Pinterest. I’m fairly sure that day is coming, since Instagram already integrates with Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Foursquare, and of course, Flickr, but given the competitiveness in Silicon Valley these days, it’s not a given.

Pinterest’s growth is impossible to ignore, and Flickr did the right thing by integrating easily with the site. Rather than interfere with its own goals, this makes an already great platform like Flickr even better.

I don’t work for Flickr, but if you haven’t checked it out – and especially if you want to pin your Instagram images like a boss – definitely give Flickr a look… even if only to find cool images for your Pinterest Boards.

Impress your friends: share this on Twitter!

What do you think? Do you use Flickr in conjunction with Instagram? Do you use Pinterest and have you pinned Flickr images there? What has that been like? Will you be trying this now that Flickr makes it easy to share images originating on Instagram? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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