Whether you’re leading your own team or an entire company, solid communication skills are an absolute must. It sounds obvious, but have you taken the time to analyze and work on what areas of communication are necessary to move your startup in a powerful direction? Communication skills are about having…
A social site where only two people are involved? Meet CoupleStreet, the first social network for couples. On this site, you and your other significant one can become connect without anybody else getting on the way. No nosy friends or relatives will be around. CoupleStreet is where you and your other half can interact, free from the eyes of the world. Each one of you gets his own wall, where he can post just anything for the other to see. Only he/she will see it. And in addition to letting you communicate with each other this privately, the site lets you create a list of tasks that are to be done, and set down reminders for events such as anniversaries and birthdays.
Besides, CoupleStreet lets you monitor shared expenses. So, if you’ve just moved in with your couple you can use this site to ensure everything goes smoothly, and that you won’t end up quarreling over something like money.
Couple Street is free to use, and you can sign in using your Facebook account. Some e-commerce features will be added at some point in the future, but the basic service provided by the site (that of keeping couples connected) is remaining free.
Available for iOS and Android, Forfone is new VoIP platform that you can use to get in touch with your friends, no matter in which part of the world they are staying. If you all get the app, you’ll be able to call each other, and also to send as many text messages and photos as you want. The app is free to download and install, and there’s no fees to pay for the calls you make, or the SMSes and pictures that you send out. And it’s also possible to call people who are outside of the Forfone network. That would currently cost you 1.9 cents.
And Forfone is also an interesting platform in the sense that you can use it without having to sign up for an account, or sign in via any other service. The only thing you need to do in order to become a Forfone user is to download the app, and tell all your friends to get it too so that you all can talk free of charge.
Those of you who live in Europe can, however, get 100 free minutes for calling landlines if you sign in using your phone number. As of the time of writing this review, this service is available to people in the following countries: Spain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Looking for alternatives to Twitter? If you are, please feel free to check this new web service out. Heello has been created by TwitPic’s founder Noah Everett, and although the site has existed for more than a year, it’s just become open to the general public. Any person who visits it now will be able to create an account for free, and (to all intents and purposes) send out tweets that are meatier by default.
You see, what Heello enables people to do is to send micro-messages (140 characters in length) that can include media such as images and videos. These micro-messages go by the name of “pings”, and something that sets the site apart from Twitter is that it has a stream of messages which is updated automatically. That is, the site features a continuous flow of messages. If you do begin using the site, you won’t ever have to update anything manually.
And that’s the extent of originality as far as this new service goes. There are no features that could really take Heello above Twitter. Not even a notch. And (unfortunately for its creators) there’s nothing that makes Heello better than any of the innumerable Twitter clones that are already available elsewhere. Ekko, Identica … they mostly do the same. And they got there first, too.
Scapehouse is a communication platform that enables users to share both messages and files with all their contacts in a secure and trustworthy setting. A service that is essentially free, Scapehouse can effectively be used to swap images that only your close friends and your family would see (IE, photos of your newborn child) with the same practicality that it can be used to send files to a colleague who happens to be located in a foreign city. It is a platform that lends itself both to personal and professional uses, and it is equally functional in both cases.
And in addition to letting people swap files in a safe way, Scapehouse enables just anybody to have private conversations with his contacts. People who use this platform can authenticate who they are by signing in via Facebook, and then organize private conversation groups that can have as many participants as they need. Two, five, twenty… it is all the same to Scapehouse. It can handle any number of individuals, and let them talk to each other at the same time.
Read more on Scapehouse.com – Communicate With Friends And Partners…
Group communication keeps on getting easier and easier. This new application has come into the picture with the sole aim to let those who have to message large groups of people simultaneously do it easier than ever before. This is done by letting users create a network to which they can invite these people they need to interact with, and then proceed to contact them by composing and sending the relevant messages out. Users are the ones choosing the names of their networks, and the idea is these will take after their companies, organizations and schools.
A platform like this one aims to put an end to the chaos that ensues when connecting with multiple people at the same time via email. Here, all conversations are placed in a context that makes everything instantly relatable, and that is leaving no participant unsure about what was said before.
And in addition to being usable by companies, not-for-profits and educational institutions Peers.me is a platform that individual users can employ to have a more ordered messaging experience than the one provided by email. That is the plan, at least – personal accounts are going to become available shortly. You can preregister for one now.
The concept of email is mutating by the hour into something that is better-suited to these times in which micro-sharing seems to have captured the imagination of people. Platforms like Facebook mail are leading the way into the future of how people communicate, with its streamlined approach and the absence of elements that while important are not vital for conveying the experience in question. And now a service like Shortmail comes around to make things even more compact.
Essentially, Shortmail is a communication platform that limits messages to 500 characters, and that does without attachments and elements that can be potentially distracting.
As a service, Shortmail is available for iOS, Android and mostly ever popular mail app currently in use. And both access through IMAP and POP3 is supported to the same extent.
If the above sounds interesting and you feel like giving this service a try, then you will be glad to know that such a thing can be done for free and without even having to create an account first. If you have a Twitter account you already have a Shortmail account, and you can use the service right away.
Adding a chat room to a site is a great way to let visitors begin forging a true sense of identity. And a visitor who starts building a sense of attachment to a site is the perfect equation as far as any webmaster worth its salt is concerned. I am sure you all agree with that. And I am also sure that the only thing that might keep some webmasters from actually adding chats to their site is that they are afraid such a thing could cost them time or money. Well, this new service will prove them wrong. It will let them implement a chat room in no time at all, and it will let them do it without having to pay a fortune for the privilege. In fact, they will be generating an income by adding the chat, since it will come with ads that visitors are sure to be attracted to.
These chats can actually be added to any site, although special emphasis is placed on the North American market. Yet, those who are in territories other than the US can get in touch with the company and request its assistance for implementing one such chat in their own sites.
There are people who are reticent to using for Facebook for arranging events, if only because they are afraid that something which is meant to remain private and exclusive could accidentally become publicly-known. And such individuals are the ones who will find this new website commendable. It is titled Minigroup, and (true to its name) it lets anybody create small groups for interacting with others online. If you create one such group, any person you invite to it can take part of the events you organize. And all the people that you invite can also receive and share files with you and the other members of the minigroup. These are limited in size to 25 MB per file, and when taken as a whole the files that are uploaded should not exceed 250 MB.
This might sound a little restrictive, but the truth is that anything larger would actually go against the very essence of the site – Minigroup.com is meant for quick and focused collaboration. Those who want to work together on a grander scale are to look elsewhere. And they are to be ready to pay for it – Minigroup is a free service, and one that can be used by just any person who is interested in it.
FoundTown stands as a really interesting service for all those who are keen on supporting businesses and retailers in their local areas. In general, users of this site are enabled to find the best events and deals going on right where they live, and have them shared with absolutely all of their friends. They are enabled to comment on what is being offered, both among themselves and with the actual dealers.
Buying things locally is not only good in the sense that you are getting what you need without having to go that far, it is also good in the sense that you are supporting people who have had the strength and resolve to open up a venture right where you live, and provide everybody with services that might be nonexistent right there without them.
Most of all, sites like FoundTown foster community bonds. That alone would make it worthy of your time. Couple that with how well-implemented everything is, and the advantages of such a service become entirely palpable. Check it out – you can get started for free.
Yatown is a new entrant in the social networking space. In this particular case, things are kept pretty specific as those who use the site are able to connect with their neighbors only. That is, Yatown is like a version of Facebook for neighborhoods.
Users of Yatown are able to promote garage sales, announce open houses, find trustworthy babysitters and even advertise pet walking services for all their neighbors to take notice.
When using Yatown, it is very easy to set down your current location – a button is provided to these purposes. And you can always check the most interesting neighborhoods around via the featured menu.
The only drawback is that right now you can only use the site if you get an already-existing user to invite you. That might be easier or harder to achieve according to where you live, but I suppose that such a thing is half then fun of the whole process, right?
Many lament that the full power of the Internet is not really being used when it comes to enhancing the experience of classrooms. But if platforms like Naiku manage to break on through, then that might change for good.
Essentially, Naiku gives teachers a chance to collect student achievement data much faster and more accurately than by traditional means. In particular, the creators of Naiku believe in the advantages of what is termed formative assessment, a process in which teachers and students connect with each other outside of the physical boundaries of the classroom. Formative assessment means that teachers always know the point students are in the learning process, and are able to modify the lessons that they are to impart so as to really enlighten their students.
And that is what teachers who use Naiku will get a ready chance to do: connect with students via technology, to understand their current levels of learning and to increase both the efficiency of what they teach, and the engagement of their students. Item authoring, item selection, assessment scheduling, assessment construction and assessment administration are all simplified using the Naiku web platform. Plus, teachers can also communicate and collaborate among themselves.
Yobongo is a recently-launched communication platform that lets you make new acquaintances wherever you are. The way Yobongo works, those who run the app will be told about groups that they might enjoy joining upon checking in. The app will take the location of the person into account, along with information such as who he has spoken with more recently, for how long and the actual density of all the available groups. By weighing all that data up, the app will recommend the most suitable people for the user to interact with, right where he is located.
And since chat rooms never have more than 15 participants, the experience of users is kept as focused as possible. Nobody is going to be ignored on a Yobongo chat room.
In any case, it is important to mention that the app never reveals the exact location of the user to the other people participating in the conversation. That information is kept strictly private, and the only one who is revealing this is you (IE, the user), in the event you want to take the interaction started online into the real world.
The days in which you had to go to a designer and ask him to come up with an introductory video for your site or blog are numbered. A platform like Moso is here to let just anybody come up with one such video himself, regardless of how proficient he really is when it comes to editing and processing images. The idea is that Moso can be used to create videos including not only audio and pictures but also motion text and credits. This is all done using a flexible interface that will let you individualize the separate parts to be used, and then the effects that should be applied (if any).
And once the video has been assembled, you can easily spread it through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – integration with all these three services is fully supported.
Plus, videos that are created through Moso can be edited later on using other video software. This means that if you want a pro to iron out what you have created afterwards, then that is instantly possible. The files created with Moso can be opened using all major video editing applications currently on the market.
The title of this review might make this iPhone app look a bit bland, and if turning your mobile into a walkie talkie was all Hey Tell did it would indeed be a bland app beyond belief. I mean, the only ones who could derive any uses from it would be people in their mid-to-late 30s wanting to relive some childhood memories.
The truth is that Hey Tell has got more going for it. You see, this app lets you broadcast what you are saying to every other person who is near. That opens up quite an interesting range of applications. To all intent and purposes, it turns Hey Tell into something akin to a location-based random voice chat. You start your transmission, and all the people in your immediate proximity will get what you are saying.
That is very useful in itself. And a fact is a fact – this app has got a fun quotient that tells it apart from the many other group messaging apps out there. That makes it instantly noticeable. And if you were a 80s kid, then this app is bringing lots of memories for good.
Read more on HeyTell.com – Turn Your iPhone Into A Walkie Talkie…
Letting families and nannies communicate faster and better is what this new web-based service is all about. The AK Families website encompasses a suite of three different tools, namely a calendar, an organizer of to-dos and a scheduler of reminders.
All these tools are really simple to use – the interface that has been favored is really to-the-point, and you are not going to need a manual in order to get into the swing of things. You are not even going to need reading a FAQ – it is all that intuitive. And every bit as important, all three tools can be used free of charge. You will be allowed to schedule shifts, assign to-dos and send out reminders to these nannies that you have hired without having to pay a single cent.
Just sign up for your own account by providing the basic particulars that are asked, and you will be all set for arranging the work your nanny is meant to do, even if you have to go on a weekend trip and you are going to be far from home.
YapTap is advertised as the ultimate group communication tool, and while that definition is a bit inflated there is no denying that YapTap already stands as a satisfactory communication platform.
Basically, users of YapTap are allowed to gather all their contacts together in different groups of interest, and reach out to them massively. Both text messages and emails can be sent out to all the people who are included in a group, and groups are actually limitless in terms of members You can invite as many people as you want to join them.
This means that a platform like YapTap is suitable for just any kind of group – the selected party of friends you grew up with, the Church you attend, the volunteer organization you work for…
YapTap is a paid service, with monthly plans starting at $ 19.95. But you will be pleased to know the whole application can be tried for free. You will be able to create a group with an unlimited number of members, and send up to 200 messages during this free trial period.
Venuing is a mobile application that lets people who are attending the very same sports events chat with each other. This is accomplished by checking in first. Once that has been done, people will be able to see who else is attending the same event, and where they are seated thanks to an overhead map with 3D view. Talking with anybody is a mere matter of individualizing him (or her), and messaging away.
In this way, a truly original channel is opened among attendees. To think that some venues might start incorporating such messages into an actual display is not that unconceivable to me.
As an application, Venuing is available for the three main mobile platforms of the day (IE, iPhones, Blackberries and Android phones). The app can be downloaded for free in all three cases. Links to the respective stores are provided on the site, and you can get the one you want by texting out a code that is provided, too.
Read more on Venuing.com – A Chat System For Event Attendees…
Wall.fm is a social network creator. Using it, people like you and me can proceed to connect with those we want in a context that can be as public or private as we wish, and exchange all the kind of information that is shared on social sites such as Facebook – only that in a more circumscribed setting.
And that is the best way to describe this site – as a walled Facebook. All that can be done on Facebook can be done here. Content can be tagged and commented by those who you let become part of the network, and people can also participate in forums, blogs and wikis.
Wall.fm lends itself wonderfully for these interactions that are not really suitable to a site as general as Facebook. Family members who want to share photos of newborns and such content are the obvious users for this service .And so are educators that want their students to interact in a safe and secure setting, free from any kind of intromission or unwanted interruption.
Read more on Wall.fm – Letting Everybody Have His Own Social Network…
Fast Society is an application that can be used for setting up temporary groups and both texting and calling their members. These groups can’t include more than 15 individuals, and they have an expiration date (currently three days, but that limit is being expanded to as much as seven days in the next revision).
And it is important to note that (once it has been created) a Fast Society group will exist for at least three hours, regardless of how many people actually use it.
This app has a direct advantage over some of its competitors like GroupMe and Plannr, and it is that you don’t have to sign in, or disclose any kind of information besides your actual phone number. People who are gunshy to give too much away will obviously find that enticing.
If you have an iPhone, you can already get the app and give it a spin for yourself to see if it’s something you’d envision using regularly. And if you have either a Blackberry or an Android, then you’d be glad to know that apps for both mobiles are under development right now.
Fast Society is an application that can be used for setting up temporary groups and both texting and calling their members. These groups can’t include more than 15 individuals, and they have an expiration date (currently three days, but that limit is being expanded to as much as seven days in the next revision).
And it is important to note that (once it has been created) a Fast Society group will exist for at least three hours, regardless of how many people actually use it.
This app has a direct advantage over some of its competitors like GroupMe and Plannr, and it is that you don’t have to sign in, or disclose any kind of information besides your actual phone number. People who are gunshy to give too much away will obviously find that enticing.
If you have an iPhone, you can already get the app and give it a spin for yourself to see if it’s something you’d envision using regularly. And if you have either a Blackberry or an Android, then you’d be glad to know that apps for both mobiles are under development right now.
Read more on FastSociety.com – An Application For Group Texting…
