The New Generation of How-To's

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Have you also noticed that you use more apps on your phone than ever before? The first app page on my iPhone is simply not enough to contain all the apps I love and use. It happens because at least 50% of my browsing time is from the phone.

And with this usage growth, more useful applications are born. My latest favorite is definitely Snapguide. It has one of the best mobile interfaces on the App Store today, and it easily enables you to share your talent with friends and the Snapguide community (which is growing rapidly). You might think it is anther Pinterest kind of service, but no. Snapguide is the next phase of Pinterest where you are the one that create content and publish it to the world. Original content. Nothing beats that. Moreover, it's a new generation of how-to's, where everyone knows something that can be useful to other people and they actually take the time to create a quick guide to present an idea, recipe, art, craft, or anything that comes in mind. Surely the concept of sharing your knowledge with others is not new, it is just improved.

What's so impressive about Snapguide is that it uses the iPhone to create something meaningful from your daily basis activity without the effort. It is basically adding a documentation layer to our life where people would want to take pictures and videos of something they do in order to teach someone else. It's brilliant.

Even if you don't feel you are the 'creating guide person', you can still browse other people guides based on your personal interest, and if you don't have an iPhone, you can do it from the website - it is pretty amazing to see guides from all over the world about so many topics. And surprisingly they all look good.

On a personal note, I'd love to see more flexibility in the web version, like a quick edit option which is missing right now.

Overall Snapguide is what I like to call: Simplicity at its best service. Download it.

Best Alternative to Picnik.com

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In April 19, (2012) Picnik is closing its website completely.
After being acquired by Google in Mar, 2010, the service was active for two years, and soon will  join Google+. It's good news if you use Google+, but probably bad news if you don't. I was, and still using Picnik editor constantly to improve pictures and screenshot, so of course I just had to find good alternative. Surprisingly, Befunky does the job just fine. In fact, it has more tools and filters than Picnik ever had, and you get a lot more for free. If you never used it before, you should definitely give it a try.

Befunky has a long list of edit features where you can crop, rotate, resize, sharpen, and just about every filter you can think of to make your photo look amazing. You can than save it, share it, print it, and all of this before you even signed up to the service.

On top of everything, Befunky has a long history of applications for pictures (mobile included), this is their specialty. It is a reliable service, with very easy to use editor, tons of options (really, never seen so many on one service), and most of it is free - Can't think of any reason why not using them as your primary photo editor.

How To Showcase Your Apps On The New Facebook Timeline Page

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App.net is a great service that allows to create a great looking landing page for your app, whether it is an iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, or HTML based mobile web apps. The process is fairly easy and flexible, and the results are really awesome.

A new feature from App.net enable Facebook integration to help you showcase your App directly from your Facebook page. The page tab showcases your app with high-resolution screenshots displayed within the actual phone or mobile device. You can easily add a Like-gating option in case you want to set this tab as a 'welcome tab' and have people liking the page before using it. Also, if you choose so, the Facebook tab integration can automatically posts news stories to your timeline. You’ll have the option to post a news story to your timeline when: Your app is updated in the app store, or your app goes on sale.

So how does this work?

First you'll need to create a landing page for your app (it is free for one app + facebook integration). Just follow the steps (add logo, banner, colors, etc), and once you complete with the page settings, you will have the ability to easily integrate the App.net page you just created on your Facebook page (you'll find a link to that on the app dashboard, under the applications tab)

Here's an example of how it can look on Facebook (there are many layout to choose from)

More examples: Tap Tap Muppets, Finance-Business, Hawaiian Words.

But wait, there's more, you can also customize the 'Tab Icon' of your App:

Click on the 'Edit' option in the corner of the tab icon; then on 'Edit Settings'; then you'll have the the option to upload a new photo under 'Custom Tab Image' - Make sure the new icon photo you upload is at the size of 111 x 74 pixels.

If you already moved to the new Facebook Timeline Page, then you probably need a new alternative to the old welcome page. Start with App.net - so far it's the best solution I've tried.

eBay + Pinterest = Rummage

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I have already mentioned several times that Pinterest interface works because of its simplicity. But when it comes to shopping, its design is even better. This is where Rummage make a difference - It takes eBay picture products and present them in a similar Pinterest layout so it will be easier to find an item that you like.

Of course you can go to eBay, sort the results by gallery and have part of the shopping experience, but playing around Rummage, I can ensure you that it has much fun and attractive way to search something than on eBay itself, and you have better change on finding what you need. Once you find something that you like, click on it and get more information such as related items, seller feedback details, more items form the same seller, and the option to pin/tweet/share it with your friends.

Bottom line: there is a huge buzz feeling around Pinterest, but I kinda like it since it also improves the way we share and consume content on the web. Reminds me of the first time I felt when I tweeted.. different web behavior, yet better.

StreetFlow - A Voice-based Tour Guide For Any Road Trip [FREE]

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Man, you gonna love this app! You know why? Because it needs absolutely ZERO effort on your side in order to make it work. Just one click actually. The one that opens the app.

So what is StreetFlow?

An informative app to help you find more about interesting places around you. The beauty in it is that you just need to open the app, and once a location is set (automatically), it will give you a brief information about cities, services, landmarks, and nature in your area. The app uses Instagram, and Flickr to present relevant pictures, and Wikipedia for the content you hear. You can also share on Facebook pictures and sites you have found withing the app.

So whether you're walking, traveling by car, train, bus, etc, in your area or anywhere else in the world, you can open StreetFlow and immediately discover new points of interest along your route.

Make Your Facebook Page Looks Like A Pinterest One

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You can like or hate Pinterest, but you can't argue about its innovative design that little by little changes the way we use to view content on the web.

If you have a Facebook page and you usually publish content that is worth pinning, you may want to try this new Facebook application called Pinvolve - It will instantly create a Pinterest look & feel interface out of your page content.

Pinvolve uses the same like and comment format as in Pinterest, so you can expect your page to look something like this:

If you're happy with the result, you can make this tab as your main one through the page 'edit info' settings, under the 'manage permission' section.

Live examples: Freshome | iPad4Kids

Loudlee is like Pinterest for Music (and men can use it too)

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The first time I opened Loudlee (and thank you TNW for the invite), I knew I'm going to use it. I guess it is part of the magic you're looking for in a web service: something that will look inviting enough to use. Loudlee is it.

Yes, it has almost the same interface like Pinterest, but the reason I don't care much is because this platform works very well with music it is just a brilliant match.

So what can you do with Loudlee?

In a nutshell: you can search for favorite artists and music, create playlists, and discover new music through friends or the rest of Loudlee community. All the music comes from Youtube (like it or not, this is how it usually works in most music web services) - Loudlee just organized it better so it will be easy and fun to use.

What, are you kidding me? I use Spotify..

OK, while this may sound surprising, I have some issues with Spotify.

Being located outside of the U.K./U.S. I can use it only over a VPN connection. I've done that, but still I feel this is much like having a second iTunes, and maybe it is just me that prefer a Web-based service than anything else. Quality is king, but most of the time I'm fine with a regular video clip coming from Youtube, so Loudlee fits perfect for me. Also, I don't feel like Spotify yet cracked the social aspect of its community. In Loudlee I see it straightforward.

In anyway, there is not a real comparison here, after all these are two different services.

While I like the service a lot, there are some missing features that I'd love to see:

• The ability to like shared songs by friends (that's require a 'Like' area for later view)
• Soundcloud support (search and post songs from soundcloud)
• Easier way to follow people, by free choice
• Friend suggestion list based on music taste (can be from the entire community)
• A better way to find playlists (it's a bit tricky now)
• A way to know if someone is listening to music based on my recommendations,
• Which lead me to activity stream.. there are some interesting information and connections that I'd like to know about
• A profile URL with a username on it will be nice to have.

Last thing, I personally find the auto-following feature annoying, but I can see the viral aspect on that decision. Maybe find a way to highlight this part of settings right from the beginning.

If you'd like an invitation to test Loudlee - use this link.

My music profile can be found here.