Everything Social Networking
STEVEKHART.COM
You’ll find all kinds of stuff posted at my blog, so keep checking back. You’ll find a lot of information related to social networking, Facebook, Twitter, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), just cool internet tools and technologies.
Bio:
Name: Steve Hart
Job: Interactive Development Director for a large media communications company.
Interest: Everything Social Networks, SEO, Blogs, and Media Publishing.
Italian Judge Convicts 3 Google Employees Over Video
According to Google’s blog, three of their employees have been convicted in a Italian court for failure to comply with the Italian privacy code. 
In 2006, a video was posted on ‘Google Video’ showing a group of student bullying an autistic student (horrible!) at an Italian school. Google quickly took the video down and worked with local Italian authorities to apprehend the suspects.
A public prosecutor in Milan chose to charge 4 google employees for violating Italy’s privacy code. These employees had nothing to do with the video. They weren’t in it. They didn’t upload it. None of them had seen the video before the charges were brought up.
Today (2/24), the judge found three of the Google employees guilty.
Why is this important? Because Italy has set the precedent that employees of a content sharing company can be held liable for their users content. This includes the likes of Wordpress, Blogger, Facebook, and other social media sharing giants.
Skype Calls Using Verizon Network
This is a huge announcement and possibly the biggest game changer in the wireless arena for 2010. Verizon announce 
today that starting in March of 201o, Verizon Wireless will allow Skpye Internet calls on their network. ”Verizon Smartphone users with data plans will enjoy free and unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls to anyone on the planet. And you’ll enjoy amazingly cheap Skype International calls as well. All this from Verizon Wireless’ 3G network” says Rob Jackson at phandroid.com.
If all goes well, a data plan only smartphone could make Skype calls without Verizon’s wireless phone service. This Voice Over IP (VoIP) service could change wireless plans and the overall cost of phone service.
We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out with the other major service providers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. But for now it looks promising.
From Skype’s website:
BARCELONA, SPAIN; BASKING RIDGE, NJ, UNITED STATES; AND LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG — At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless and Skype today announced a strategic relationship that will bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones in March. The new Skype mobile™ product enhances Verizon Wireless’ smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless. The two companies have created an exclusive, easy-to-use Skype mobile offering for 3G smartphones. Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans can use Skype mobile to: * make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America’s most reliable wireless network;* call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates;
* send and receive instant messages to other Skype users; and
* remain always connected with the ability to see friends’ online presence. Initially, Skype mobile will be available on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones with data plans, including the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530, Storm2™ 9550, Curve™ 8330, Curve™ 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour™ 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS™ by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR™. John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said, “Skype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless’ more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we’re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe. And you’re not limited to using a single type of phone; we’ll have nine smartphones ready right at launch in March.” Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Skype, noted, “People want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it’s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. Verizon Wireless will give U.S. consumers the best Skype experience on mobile phones and will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.” Customers interested in learning more about Skype mobile for Verizon Wireless smartphones can visit www.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile. Additional information about the service will be available next month. Visit www.verizonwireless.com for more information about Verizon Wireless or follow the company at http://twitter.com/verizonwireless. Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com or follow the company at http://twitter.com/skypemobile
Google Sky Map For Your Phone
Just got the new Motorola Droid phone and I love it! It makes my blackberry seem archaic. Comparing the Droid to a blackberry is like comparing a standard cell phone to an 1980 brick sized cell phone…you know what I’m talking about.
So I started downloading applications. There are a ton of them in the “market place”. A few pretty cool ones, but the best is Google Sky Map. It turns you phone into a personal astronomer. Want to know where Uranus is? (insert joke from a 7 year old here).
Using your Android phone orientation sensors, just hold the phone towards the sky and the screen displays the stars and planets regardless of cloud coverage. It uses the device’s compass, GPS, and accelerometer to see the constellations, planets, and stars.
And best of all, it FREE!
What’s your favorite Droid or iPone app?
Holiday Gifts for the Geek in Your Family
Here are a few holiday gift ideas for the geek in your family. I guarantee they won’t be disappointed.
Chargepod
The Chargepod ($39.95, callpod.com) comes with one mini-USB adapter and a voucher for an additional adapter. Each adapter after that costs $9.95. Or pick up the Bundle Pack ($79.95, Callpod.com), which comes with six of the most popular adapters and a car charger.
Samsung CL65 Camera with Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth
This way cool camera from Samsung offers 12 mega pixels and is the first camera equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS geotagging. This camera allows you to upload pictures and videos directly to Flicker, Facebook, Photobox, YouTube and Picasa. The built in GPS tags where the photo or video was taken.
Nikon Coolpix S1000pj
Nikon introduced the world’s first projector camera. This 12.1 mega pixel camera will be a hit when your’re dispalying images of up to 40-inches and to two meters away. It comes with a remote control and stand to help.
Keyboard Cuff-links (Uncommongoods.com)
This gift assume the geek in your family actually owns a shirt with cuffs. If he or she does, this is the perfect gift for them.
Post your gift giving suggestions for your favorite geek.
Verizon / Google Droid, The New iPhone?
In direct competition with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has released their new cell phone “Droid”.
Verizon’s Droid: Specifications
4.56 by 2.36 inches and weighs about 6 ounces.
It has a 3.7-inch, 854-by-480 pixel touchscreen.
It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 5mp camera capable of DVD-quality video recording.
It has a 16GB microSD card, expandable to 32GB.
It runs Android 2.0 operating system.
It has integrated turn-by-turn GPS navigation (FREE).
The Droid connects to Google’s Android Market, which has over 10,000 downloadable apps.
Verizon’s Droid: How Much Does It Cost
$299 up-front not including the $100 mail-in rebate. $199 in total.
You can buy the “Droid” at Best Buy where you will avoid paying the extra $100 from the mail-in rebate. Best Buy credit the rebate at time of your purchase.
The Droid requires a voice plan which runs $39.99 for 450 minutes and an unlimited data plan that runs $29.99. A text messaging plan is extra.
If your not looking to switch networks (iphone/att), the Verizon Droid is the best Android based phone on the market.
Picasa 3.5 Released with Facial Recognition
From the Picasa site…Picasa 3.5 now has name tags, based on the same technology that powers name tags on Picasa Web Albums. With name tags, you can organize your photos based on what matters most: the people in them. In this new version, you can also more easily geotag photos using Google Maps, plus import photos from your camera and upload them to Picasa Web Albums in one step. Get started by downloading Picasa 3.5 for PC or Mac at picasa.google.com
People
 |
Add name tags – Picasa 3.5 scans all the photos in your collection, identifies the ones with faces, and groups photos with similar faces together. It’s easy to add name tags to dozens of photos at once by clicking “Add a name” below a photo and typing the person’s name. Once you’ve tagged some pictures, you can make a face collage with one click, easily find all your pictures with the same two people in them, or upload your name tags to Picasa Web Albums. Learn more. |
Other Improvements
 |
Geotag your photos with Google Maps – Quickly add geotags using new integrated Google Maps by clicking the Places button in Picasa 3.5, and dragging your photos to the location where you took them. Of course you can stil use Google Earth to tag or view photos if you prefer. Learn more. |
 |
Import, upload, and share, all at once – We’ve improved the import process so that you can star your favorites, upload to Picasa Web Albums and share with Google contact groups at the same time. Learn more. |
 |
Tags — Better bulk tagging, quick tags & tag counts – We’ve also improved the tagging experience. Just click the new Tags button on the right side of the Photo tray to add Quick tags  , see tag counts for groups of images, and manage tags more easily. Learn more. |
Cool Tool – Fast Dial for IE, IE7Pro
If your a Firefox browser convert because to cool features and add-ons, you probably use the Fast Dial. Fast Dial is a visual bookmarking tool…but it’s only for Firefox.
But what about us Internet Explorer (IE) users?
Check out IE7Pro.com. IE7Pro is an add-on for Internet Explorer which adds a lot of features and extras which make your Browsing faster,More Responsive and Sleek.
I like the ‘Easy Homepage’ feature. You can configure IE7Pro to create new tabs with grid of selected sites you frequently use. This solves the problem of having 9+ tabs open every time you launch IE.
I use this tool by having 3 IE tabs for my cores sites I use continuously. Then I set up a 4th tab that displays IE7Pro’s ‘Easy Homepage’ configured with a 4X3 grid of other key sites. When I need to go to one of these sites, I click the ‘Easy Homepage’ tab and launch the site without having to type out the site URL.
Get IE7Pro here
Google Voice – Get Invited!
It’s not new news, but it’s good news. Google has come out with another great application. After reserving 1 million phone numbers, Google Voice is ready to use. Google Voice is like having your own personal PBX…and its free!
Check out the key features:
One number for all your calls and SMS
Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts
More cool things you can do with Google Voice
The voicemail transcription and sending via email or SMS (text) is possibly the best feature. I use the caller screening which is great for unknown numbers. It asks the caller to state their name. You can send a call to voicemail then secretly listen in.
Then call forwarding…I set my office phone to forward to my new Google Voice number, from their I have Google Voice forward to my cell phone. In doing so, I able to use all the Google Voice tools on calls to my office phone number through my cell phone.
Get an Invite. Don’t get discouraged, it took about two weeks to get my invite. You’ll be glad you did. After you’re invited, you be able to pick your own phone number form their possible 1 million numbers.
I bought a domain name, now what?
So, you’ve bought, or registered, a domain name – Now What?
You have few basic options
1) Purchase a hosting service and create a website. There are lots of hosting services out there. Most are pretty inexpensive to get started. I’m using www.godaddy.com, but do a google search for “website hosting solution”. You’ll find sites like www.BlueHost.com, www.MediaTemple.com, www.hostgator.com and more.
2) Use one of the many sites out there that will create a site for you. www.wordpress.com, www.ning.com, www.yola.com. Most of these site will charge you a small monthly fee to use your newly purchased domain. Also try Google site builder for free.
3) ‘Park’ your domain. Parking a domain is basically using a service to serve ads on your domain. In doing so, you can make a few pennies while you figure out what you want to do. Most hosting services provide these services for a fee, but you can use Goolge’s Adesnse for Domains for free. Check out www.skimboards4sale.com or www.rallycheer.com, they are both provided by Google Adsense. They took less than 15 minutes to set up.
4) Set up an custom gmail email account with your new domain.
If you have a suggestion, I like to hear from you. Leave a comment below.
Twitter Backgounds Made Easy
Mashable posted this great article about Twitter backgounds. Here are a few excerts from Mashables article on Twitter backgounds.
Here are a couple reasons for why you might want to build your own:
1. Personalization and expression
2. Enahnced Contact info
3. Personal branding:
4. Artistic creativity
What would a Twitter resource guide be without some useful Twitter apps? Not only do many of these tools provide pre-designed backgrounds, but many can also automatically update your background, provide detailed information and FAQs, and even fully-functional image editors. Here are a few of the best:
1. MyTweetSpace: MyTweetSpace is one of the simplest ways to create a Twitter background with minimal effort. It allows users to create badges, add graphics, play with text, and more to create elegant backgrounds and left-hand text columns. You can even log in with Twitter and MyTweetSpace will automatically update your background.
2. TwitterBacks: This website provides a set of templates perfect for creating your ideal Twitter background. The templates come in PSD (Photoshop) form. In fact, my Twitter account utilizes a TwitterBack template as the basis for my design. Can you guess which one?
3. TweetStyle: TweetStyle offers free background templates, custom Twitter backgrounds, and a few useful blog posts on the subject of the backdrop.
4. Free Twitter Designer: This handy little app provides an easy-to-use image editor to help you create a professional-looking theme.
5. TwitBacksTwitbacks: This is another tool for creating backgrounds. This one specializes in left-hand column-based backgrounds.
6. TwitterGallery: TwitterGallery is a directory of themes based on color and category. You can even click the “install” button under any theme, log into Twitter, and poof!…your background is ready.
7. Peekr: If you stumble across a great Twitter background and want to take a quick look at it in its pure form, the Peekr bookmarklet is the way to go. Click on the bookmarklet once to show only the background, and press it again to bring everything back to normal.
Tags: backgounds, Twitter
Copyright © 2008
Search
Links
Recent Posts
Archives
Popular Posts
- How To Tweet Your Facebook Status
- Completely Unscientific Pie Chart Of Who Uses Twitter/Facebook And Why
- Free Online Photo Editing Made Fun
- Cool Tool – Fast Dial for IE, IE7Pro
- How to update your Facebook status with your Twitter tweets
- Free Web to PDF Plug-in for Internet Explorer & Firefox
- Twitter Follower Auto-Responding Email Message
- Migrating from Wordpress.com to a Hosted Solution
- Publish Tweets as a WordPress Blog Post
- 6 New Blackberry Apps