The Google Story
I found this little video over at The Next Web that takes you through the story that is Google and how they have grown over the last 11 years.
Video went a little to fast for you or you want to see a little bit more info? Well google has their own interactive timeline you can check out as well.
[via]
What Is Google Wave [In Two Minutes]
So unless you have been away from the interweb the past few days you have probably heard Google Wave mentioned 1, 2, 3, 1000 times in about a 48 hour period. We have heard from people saying it is great...its sucks...i have invites...i am looking for invites or you may have even heard from people saying what the hell is Google Wave.
Well this video tries to explain a little in a little over 2 min
So there you have it. I myself have been checking it out and kinda getting a feel for the service and see what it can offer this geek [oh and I dont have any invites]
Google Wave : A Quick Look [screencast]
So my buddy Chris (aka idonotes) did a quick screencast last night after he got his google wave invite. Check the video to catch a quick glimpse of it in action:
And then we have a google wave from myself
google wave via (jeff)isageek on 12seconds.tv
Still waiting on my invite. A buddy of mine has sent one my way but they are taking some time getting out there on the interwebs. Can't wait to check it out. So have you used it? Your thoughts so far?
Google Wave Wednesday
So tomorrow is the big day!!! When google releases 100,000 invites to us early adopters out there for the highly anticipated app Google Wave.
So when I get up in the morning I will jump onto my email and see if that coveted invite is there in all its goodness. If not and there is the option to send an invite to a friend I would love to get one from somebody to help feed my early adopter/wanting to play with the newest service addiction hehe.
So not sure what Google Wave is yet? Check out the info below:
Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation
and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
Also if I do get an invite and there is the option to invite others you can be sure I will be sharing the option to my readers for those limited invites.
Here is to the excitement of Google Wave Wednesday!!
PubSubHubBub and RSSCloud : Adding Them To Your WordPress Blog
So if you follow the tech blogs around the interweb you will surely have noticed the talk of the real-time web and the part that services like PubSubHubBub and RSSCloud could play in all of this. I really has become one of the hot stories us geeks are talking about.
TechCruch has a story they put out recently "RSSCloud Vs. PubSubHubbub: Why The Fat Pings Win" where they looked at the pluses and minuses of each technology.
PubSubHubBub description on wikipedia - "PubSubHubbub is an open protocol for distributed Publish/subscribe communication on the internet. The protocol extends the Atom and RSS protocols for data feeds. The main purpose is to provide near-instant notifications of change updates, which would improve on the typical situation where a client periodically polls the feed server at some arbitrary interval."
ReadWriteWeb had a snipit about RSSCloud - "RSSCloud is an element that's always been present in the RSS 2.0 spec but has drawn new attention with the rise of interest in the Real-Time Web."
Now as bloggers we always want to get our information and blog posts out as quick as possible and for those of us who use WordPress there are a couple plugins that we can use to take advantage of both of these types of technologies at least till maybe we get a winner in the discussion of which is better for the masses.
The two simple plugins (which i have both installed on (jeff)isageek.net) are:
On a side note can I just say I love saying PubSubHubBub 
Add Diigo To Google Readers New “Send To” Feature
So the Google Reader team recently announced a bunch of new features to the service including Send To that allows you to send the stories you find to services like twitter, del.icio.us, digg, ect
I am a user of the social bookmarking site Diigo and wanted to have that available to add my stories I found interesting to my account. Google Reader was nice enough to add the feature where you could add custom services that they might not have listed by default which I thought was pretty kool.
So listed here is the info you need to use in order to get Diigo up and running for yourself.
1 - Obviously you will first log into Google Reader and go to settings. Once there click on the 'Send To' tab
2 - You will see the default services listed and at the bottom of the page you will see 'Create A Custom Link'
3 - Place your title i.e diigo in this case. Under URL put this 'http://www.diigo.com/post?url=${url}?title=${title}'
4 - For an icon I grabbed the 16x16 here http://www.iconarchive.com/show/web-2-icons-by-fasticon/Diigo-icon.html
Once you have all of that click save and you should be ready to go!
preDevCamp Kansas City
So this saturday I got the chance to go to preDevCamp here in Kansas City which is a camp/hackfest for the palm pre product which is on the Sprint Network.
I am no where near a developer but am so excited to get this phone and wanted to learn some about the Web OS that I was so excited to go! The event did not disappoint!
action is starting at #pdckc on 12seconds.tv
The camp took place at the Screenland Theater and our city had the 2nd most amount of people registered overall which was really kool seeing the strong development community here in the area. The event started around 8am with people gathering and getting setup then moved into some very kool speakers talking about all aspects of developing for the Web OS.
What I got out of the event? meeting others in the area developing, learning about the pre and the web os, a free web os book, pizza provided by little springs design, learning some new skills and playing around with the development tools to make apps for the pre.
I am hoping to take what I got from the day and maybe someday make my own app...but if not I feel like I got some knowledge and overall had a great time!
Thanks to all for making it a great time and for Palm for making a great phone in the Palm Pre
What Is A Browser?
I am guessing probably those who follow my blog would have no problem with this question but for those non-geeky types you can get some interesting answers as evidence with this video....
TweetDeck For the iPhone [video]
I dont have an iPhone but thought it was really kool that now you can use and sync up TweetDeck on your iPhone now and one of my followers Chris Harvey (his site) created a little video showing off the app.
Now what makes this video even kooler was he featured my twitter stream for part of the demo so check that out and see this kool new app featuring my lightsabers!
Good job Chris!
facebook.com/jeffisageek
Well after hearing the announcement that Facebook would be allowing vanity url's for the service on June 12th at 11:01 PM central time and waiting for that moment to arrive I am now happy to say that my new official address to my Facebook account is facebook.com/jeffisageek.
I really didnt think my name would be gone since there really are not to many (jeff)isageek's out there but I am sure people out there looking for maybe just their first name or even their full name if it is a common one have not been happy this evening.
So did you get the vanity url you were looking for? On a side note Allison also got msgigglebox which is what she wanted to us.
Upgrading to WordPress 2.8
So WordPress 2.8 is live for everyone to grab now and I decided to upgrade the ol' blog. Overall it was a smooth upgrade without any issues that I can tell at this time. Check out the video below to see some of the changes.....
For a full list of all the changes, bug fixes, and upgrades (over 180 of them) check out the codex
Zappn : From Idea To Launch Party!
Last week I got an invite to attend the zappn launch party which is a local startup here out of Kansas City and lets just say those guys know how to throw a party!! There was food, fun, beer and music from local DJ's nomathmatics which rocked the house!
What is Zappn you ask? Zappn lets you "create events, manage media, and share your life — Instantly!" Sharing thoughts, pictures, and seeing which friends will be attending before, during, and after that kool event you went to at the club, bar, or venue.
How about a little video from the guys on the ideas behind the service, how the name came about and just a little history.....
Get to know swindlr Pt. 1 from swindlr on Vimeo.
What is zappn.com? from swindlr on Vimeo.
So you kinda have a little history of what then was known as swindlr but now known as zappn is....and that brings us to the party the other night and for that I took some video and figured I would share it with the world cause hey that is what I like to do
In closing I would just like to wish they guys the best of luck with Zappn and hope they can see their dream grow into something all of us will be using for years to come...I also look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future..what else will they think of that us the geeks and users can play around with?
Bringing Sexy Back To Sharing
I found a pretty sweet wordpress plugin the other day and have implemented it into my blog posts called SexyBookmarks. What the plugin does is allow your readers to share your post with services like twitter, facebook, digg, mixx, reddit, ect ect.
Now there are tons of plugins like this out there but I really liked the look of this one as well as the animation that goes with it. If you look at the end of this post you can see it in action.
Overall it is a pretty easy plugin to setup and have running in no time. Check it out and bring sexy back to your blog as well.
A Look At Google Wave
The big news coming out this past week was the announcement from Google of Google Wave.
Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year.
Learn
Google Wave can make you more productive even when you're having fun.
Take a sneak peek.Develop
Learn how to put waves in your site and build wave extensions with the Google Wave APIs.
Visit code.google.com/apis/wave.Build
Google Wave uses an open protocol, so anyone can build their own wave system.
Learn more at www.waveprotocol.org.
To get all the info on Google Wave check out the video below as the complete guide to Google Wave from Mashable
From Mashable
[A Complete Guide to Google Wave]
Chatterous : Chat Room By IM, E-Mail, Or Phone
I recently added a chat room to my site for people who wanna come in and say hello, see who else is on the site and have a conversation, or whatever. I used the service Chatterous which is a new way to bring a chat to your site or blog.
Now what is kool about Chatterous is the ability to send and receive messages either via Instant Message, E-Mail, or even via your phone as SMS text messages! How kool is that?
What is Chatterous?
Chatterous is group chat combining the web, im, email and your phone.
Use your existing im, email and phone to chat
Once you create a group, you can chat with your friends through im, email or your phone. No need to use the website!
Your friends don't need to sign up
Your friends don't need to sign up to chat with you! They can reply right on their im, email or phone.
Help your friends reach each other
Once you've created a group for your friends, everyone in the group can reach each other whether they're on im, email or out and about on their phone.
No installation needed
You don't have to install any software! Just use your existing im client, email or phone!
So now I can be 300 miles away from a computer but still be active on my site in my chat room. And setup is a breeze. So come on in to my room say hello and see if this is something you might want to add as a service on your site or blog.
Listen to Thousands Of DJ Sets With Play.FM
Found a kool new service called Play.fm today that lets you listen to more than 12.000 DJ sets, radio shows and live recordings can be listened to for free and on-demand.
PLAY.FM is the most comprehensive audio database for DJ and club culture on the internet. More than 12.000 DJ sets, live recordings and radio sessions can be streamed free of charge and on-demand.
Has some nice features that let you embed performances in your blog or website as well as putting them onto facebook and other social networking sites. They also provide widgets to share your favorite sets with your friends and the world.
- More than 12.000 DJ sets, radio shows and live recordings can be listened to for free and on-demand
- DJs, labels, booking agencies, clubs and event promoters from 140 different countries upload their recordings
- Listeners help build tracklists with a tracklist building tool developed by PLAY.FM
- In the Meta-Shop prices and qualities of tracks can be compared across different shops
- Founded in 2004 by Georg Hitzenberger, based in Vienna/Austria.
Check out the video below for a little rundown on the features of the service:
Getting Started on www.play.fm from PLAY.FM on Vimeo.
Kansas City Startup Drinks
Today I found out about a kool new group that is forming here in the area called Kansas City Startup Drinks. What is Startup Drinks you might ask?
a) A drinking group with a startup problem.
b) A low key, unstructured group drinking (coffee, beer or spirits) event that happens in cities across the world
c) Therapy for startup junkies (you don’t have two days to go to a conference, but you do have two hours and would love to stay involved in the community)
Sounds like a great concept and I look forward to checking out any meetups in the future.
Social Media Meets Severe Weather
Whitney Mathews of the local Kansas City company Spiral16 recently sat down with a local blogger/podcaster Ed Roberts who runs the KC Weather Podcast and they discussed using social media when it comes to reporting or talking about severe weather
Some new features Ed has added when it comes to sever weather in the social media realm is adding a chat room for everyone to get together and interact with Ed and others as well as using the hashtag #kcstorms on twitter.
Tweaking Facebook With Greasemonkey
If you have followed my blog or my twitter feed you will know that I am a big fan of using Greasemonkey scripts to enhance the different services I use on a daily basis. Tonight I was looking for some new ones to add to my collection and I found some that I really liked for Facebook and figured I would share them with everyone to check out.
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Remove All Facebook Ads - Obviously this one removes all the ads on the Facebook pages you go to.
Facebook Direct Links - When you click on a link on Facebook it takes you directly to the site.
Facebook Fixer - Enhancements for Facebook: bigger profile pictures and photos, easier viewing of albums, links to download videos, showing people's age and sign, google calendar integration, keyboard shortcuts & more. Compatible with new Facebook and fully customizable!
---------
So there you have it. Hope if you are a Facebook user you can use these scripts to help enhnace your use of the service as well. If you have any other scripts or plugins you use with Facebook leave a comment and share it with everyone.
Gathering The Pulse Of Your Blog Around The Internet With Disqus
Disqus recently announced a kool new feature for everyone called "social media reactions" which basically takes all the conversation going on about your posts around the interwebs and brings them to you and your disqus account.
Social Media Reactions, a new feature on Disqus that aims to connect the discussion on your site with the scattered conversations occurring everywhere else on the web. Today, people have many tools available to discover, read, and discuss great content. Blog posts and articles can be mentioned on Twitter, commented about on Digg, and even shared across FriendFeed. Now, these social media reactions can be connected back to your site keeping the conversation together. When your posts are being discussed on Twitter and Digg, these tweets and comments will appear within your Disqus powered comment thread.
Another new feature disqus rolled out was the ability to tweet your comments you make via the service to your twitteraccount to help keep your friends upto date on what you might be commenting about and maybe get some more discussion going from your other followers.
Others out there
If you are not a disqus user but are interested in features like this you should check out BackType as it does a lot of the same things.
Earth Hour 2009
Don't Forget Saturday March 28th is Earth Hour 2009.
Earth Hour 2009 Promo on 12seconds.tv
In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.
We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.
VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.
Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.
WeFollow – Find The Tweeters For You!
Kevin Rose recently announced the launch of his new service called WeFollow which is called "A User Powered Twitter Directory" that allows you to find people on twitter based on how they tag themselves (some of the popular tags being tech, socialmedia, blogger).
Its a pretty easy service to get youself on as all you need is a twitter account of course and then tweet the following:
@wefollow #yourtag #yourtag #yourtag (replace '#yourtag' w/the tags you'd like to be listed under, example: #blogger - max 3 tags)
For myself I tagged myself with #geek, #blogger, and #socialmedia
How each tag is listed is by how many followers you have so if you have 10,000 you are more likely to be at the top and if you have 75 followers you will probably be towards the botton which of couse we have seen having a lot of followers doesn't always make you the best person to follow on certain subjects.....but hey I think it is a start.
The service is in beta so there can always be bugs and also I am sure we will see new options and services in the future as the site grows. So check it out and tag yourself.
TweetDeck Now Integrates With Facebook
TweetDeck today announced integration with Facebook allowing you view your friends statuses as well as to update your twitter status, your facebook status or both right from the tweetdeck application.
Another feature I found in the upgrade is if one of your facebook friends is online a green dot will appear and by clicking this you can open a chat window right there and chat with your friend on facebook.
Once again another great addition to an awesome application that allows me to keep up with all my twitter friends.
You have two options for getting the update you can either head over and grab the beta or wait a few days till they launch it public. It's upto you! Enjoy!
Siftables – Making The Digital Physical
This morning going thru my rss feeds I found a presentation on Siftables that are these little cookie sized computers that you can do some pretty kool stuff with. Check out the video below from the TED conference.
Siftables are cookie-sized computers with motion sensing, neighbor detection, graphical display, and wireless communication. They act in concert to form a single interface: users physically manipulate them - piling, grouping, sorting - to interact with digital information and media. Siftables provides a new platform on which to implement tangible, visual and mobile applications.
I kinda thought It brought my love for tech/computers together with something like my love for LEGO in a way. Just a thought.
Twitter Tweeters
Was watching Current Tonight and they had a segment on twitter that I thought I would share with everyone. So check it out especially if you are still trying to figure out what exactly twitter is.
In today's over-blogged, hyper-texted, socially networked world, Twitter has once again revolutionized the way young people define their community. In this pod, by vc2 producers Open Content, we meet a superuser who tweets incessantly to hundreds of loyal followers, a father of 5 who tweets as a buxom blonde, a Berkeley student whose tweet got him out of Egyptian jail and sit down with one of the founders of Twitter, to find out where the company came from and where it's going.
Add Funtionality To Your Twitter Notifications With Topify
The other day I reviewed a service call twimailer that would enhance your twitter notification emails by adding information right in your inbox like the users avatar, who they were following and followers, as well as a list of their last few tweets.
Well after the blog post went live I heard from one of the developers of another service like twimailer called topify which adds even a few more layers of functionality to those bland notification emails from twitter.
Extra features added to what you can do with twimailer :
* reply to DM's right from the notification email.
* follow a user back right from the notification email.
The only thing that topify does not have that twimailer does is showing you the last few tweets from your new follower.
Here is a little video put together by the topify guys highlighting the service.
“The Twitter Song” (Do The Twitter Dance)
Check out "The Twitter Song" by Chris Thompson aka @jungleboytv.
Spice Up Your Twitter Notifications With Twimailer
Are you tired of those boring text based "so and so" is following you on twitter without any info of who they are or maybe what they are tweeting about?
If so then Twimailer is the service for you! Twimailer takes and spices up your email notifications by adding the requesters :
- twitter avatar
number of followers and who they follow
their profile info
and about 10 of their most recent tweets
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a little demo video of how the service works so check that out and see if it might be something you like
Twimailer demo from jon on Vimeo.
I thought this was a kool little service so give it a shot and let me know what you think.
There is another service called topify that adds some other features but I have yet to get a beta invite so cant blog about them yet.
(jeff)isageek Hits 10,000 Tweets
So with this blog post and its posting to twitter I will hit 10,000 tweets. I have been using twitter pretty much since the beginning of the service. I was around the 1500-1600 person on twitter and I think the first person I followed was @ev (founder of twitter).
On a personal note I have had such a great time using twitter since July '06 and have met some awesome people, learned all kinds of great things, and even had opportunities open up which I am sure twitter played a part in even if in a little bit.
To all my followers I thank you for adding me as a friend, I am glad you have enjoyed my tweets, blog posts, video's, links, humor, and even your kind words during times like surgeries or when my grandpa passed away earlier this year.
So here is to all the great people I have met thru twitter either on the interwebs or those I have actually had the great opportunity to meet in real life and here is to 10,000 more tweets!
[I figured I had more to say about this then just 140 characters worth so I made sure to have my 10,000 tweet link to a blog post.]
update : I just thought if you are just finding out about me on twitter feel free to follow me im at twitter.com/jeffisageek
catch me on the interwebs:
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