Boy yesterday was one busy day in technology world! From the launch of Gmail’s new body-motion feature, to Groupon’s purchase of April 1^st date’s trademark – the tech industry was setting the world on fire. Now, it’s not your everyday deal to have almost every single tech company in the market, launch some new product or service on the exact same date…. unless, of course, that day is April Fool’s Day in which case the rules of engagement change drastically.

I must admit, April Fool’s Day is one of my most favorite days in the year and not only because I can do pranks to my friends and family, but because in the business world, this day signifies a “creativity showacse” day. (and, further, in the tech world, often an indicator of what’s coming next).

So, let’s begin.

Gmail Motion

After years of research and testing, Google has finally launched a new email motion feature that allows users to perform their usual emal actions through their body movemnets. So here’s the video that was also launched on April 1st by Gmail, and that talks in greater detail about these new features. Enjoy!

Groupon

Up until April 1^st 2011, the April Fools Day was somewhat of a “no man’s land”. However, on Friday, Groupon announced that it has purchased the date’s trademark, “April Fools Day”, as well as all of the pranks that happen around the world on that day. And further, pranksters that are caught performing, now, illegal pranks, will be prosecuted for Trademark infringement. On Friday Groupon announced that it has already made several arrests throughout the world, and that it is hoping there will be many more to report soon. Some of the current defendants facing charges are:

YouTube, Grooveshark,Dealpinch, Mashable, TechCrunch, Google, Huffington Post, Think Geek Gmail, Hulu, and LinkedIn.

Credit: Groupon

Ryanair: Child-free Flights

Yes, you heard it right. Starting in October of this year, the Irish airline offers flights where no children will be allowed (read: enjoy your flight. literally). The decision on the new program comes as a result of a survey conducted across 1,000 European passengers that stated they would pay higher prices only to avoid other people’s children on flights. According to airline’s website, 36% of surveyed have had their flights “ruined” due to the noise from children, and 18% urged the company to put a restriction on the number of children allowed on a plane per flight.

Here is their website with the rest of the information.

Google: WANTED: Human Autocompleters

Google is hiring! (or, was hiring, rather) Yesterday, an announcement came out that Google has opened “Autocompleter” position in their Mountain View, CA location that would help with… well… autocompleting.

The role description starts with:

It then goes into details on the personality type such as “talented, motivated, and opinionated”, and concludes that this new position would “help us predict what users are looking for”.

Among several requirements, probably the most important one would be:

The rest of the opening can be found here.

YouTube: 1911 – Top 5 Viral Videos

Have you ever wondered what were some of the viral videos that your grandparents’ watched? Yesterday, YouTube took a dive into their archived folder and pulled up, what they called 5 Viral Videos of 1911.

Enjoy!

LinkedIn

We weren’t let down by LinkedIn, either. Yesterday, the professional networking site decided to open up their platform to a bit of an unusual professional crowd. So if yesterday logged into your LinkedIn, you might’ve found yourself a bit confused by the choice of “People you May Know” LinkedIn offers you. Here is one of the screenshots that TechCrunch posted on their site:

Google AdWords

Following YouTube’s “back to past” line of thinking, Google also took a dive into its history and, to great excitement of some of the online-ad veterans, brought back with it some of the “old school” ad units included in Display Ad Builder.  The formats that became available again, are: “Punch the Monkey”, “Click here for smileys”, “LOLCat”, “Congratulations, you’ve won”, Pop ups galore”, and “Scratch off”.

Here are some of the screenshots AdWords listed on thier site: new Display Ad Builder.

But what about you – do you “celebrate” April Fool’s Day? What were some of the pranks that you heard  off and that I didn’t include in my post?

Feature Image Credit: eqal.com

Korina Bogdanovic is an alien coming from the future, year 2099 to be exact. Her mission on this planet is to teach Earthlings about Technology, the invisible enemy about to take over the Earth. When in a lazy mode, she fills her time writing some crazy nonsense on this site she refers to as “Home”. She also uses Twitter to send out secret codes and messages targeted for humans as well as her planet’s HQ. For direct questions or comments, you can email her at korina8765 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

If you are one of our regular Girl Guide readers, you are probably aware of a big event  happening this week. As a matter of fact, it is this Friday, March 18th. But before I get into details, allow me to give you a bit of an intro of what that event truly means…

St Louis is a gorgeous city. The ones that were born here say that. Me as someone coming from another country say that. People coming from other states and living here say that. We all dearly love St Louis.

But, just like any other “midland” living in between dominant territories like South, East, and West Coast, St Louis, and Mid-West in general, has experienced type of peer pressure so common for territories with similar geographical position — the pressure to adopt culture of one of dominant sides. The problem arise when things don’t happen that way.

In the case of St Louis or Midwest, the midland wants to stay just that — the midland. All along with its personality and cultural distinctiveness. And the dominant Coasts — leave us alone: we are just fine.

Coming from someone who grew up in Europe’s midland, Former Yugoslavia, in most other countries of the world, the conflict of cultures would mean war. In America however, it means something quite more cultural, educated, and intellectual – a “cold disagreement” as I call it. This means that no one is trying to win over another; everyone respects each other’s right to live and prosper; no acted upon aggressiveness among dominant coasts….. I repeat: among the coasts.  However, by still unexplained rule of nature (more or less), the negativity usually turns toward the one in the middle, in this case toward us in Midwest. And further more, we become that dredged party. Someone different than them. Someone to be different from.

The pressure is felt among all, including us living here. Individuals, businesses, foreign residence, you name it.  We all feel pressure under piles of questions asking us Why we live there. St Louis has become a “great place if you have children”. If not — why in the world would you want to live there???

Why? …………………………………………………………….. (silence)

Because very few on the other side, St Louis side, actually responds to that question. At least not in a manner that I think we should.

Why live in St Louis? Well, where do I begin?

Aside from the fact that the place is as economical as can be, it is also one of the spots through which metropolitan style and trends flow. Look at how many art galleries there are… how many international artists open their first exibits on the streets of St Louis. Oh, and have you heard that there is some pretty wild night life out there? DJs like Tiesto, Christopher Lawrence, or Paul Van Dyke, have spin their best tracks in St Louis clubs. Oh, and btw, one of the stopping spots for U2′s tour is — you’ll never guess — St Louis!! AND our Zoo is free and the only one in the US that is.

I get it.

We are tired of all that attitude and questions coming from our neighboring Coasts. “Fine — if you don’t like how we live, don’t look at us.” Oh my Lord, you don’t even know how much I understand and can relate to that attitude. But, in the end, it becomes counter productive. If you push people away, they move further. And I believe, we are doing just that — acting as if we don’t care and cutting conversation short. “We are happy, and we don’t need you. Go away”. And they do go away. But we need them. And they need us.

And with that said, I now go back to my opening paragraph…. the reason of why this post was created in the first place. The chance for all of us to speak up and show that we are as contemporary as they are — residence of Cyberland, non-tech background tech experts, scientists, educators, PRs (I heart my editor:), music bands… home of some of the most honored minds of today’s world.

This Friday, March 18th, is the closing date for St Louis Sexiest Cybergeek nomination, and we need your VOTE!! We need to sign up as many of our darling, sexy geeks out there as we can, because if this year’s success, next yea we’ll make it even bigger and better. So, take a second and fill out the form nominating your favorite geek. You can vote for more than one. Just make sure you do actually fill out the form, or otherwise your votes won’t be included.

Please tell all your friends as well, and let the coundown begin. After Friday, your votes will remain only candles in the wind…. waiting for that breeze…. The Perfect Breeze…. to take them all away…. to neverland……………

So, stay here with us because we need you, and your votes. Until then — rock out our beautiful St Louis and keep sharing and spreading the news!

Submit Your Sexiest Cybergeek v3.0 Nominations Here!

Korina Bogdanovic is an alien coming from the future, year 2099 to be exact. Her mission on this planet is to teach Earthlings about Technology, the invisible enemy about to take over the Earth.She uses Twitter to send out secret codes and messages targeted for humans as well as her planet’s HQ.  For direct questions or comments, you can email her at korina8765 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Image Credit: bookwormofedwards.com

Sometimes I read a book, see a photo, or happen upon a blog post and I can’t help getting green with envy-wishing I had thought of it first. Reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown did just that. Brown’s book follows the tale of three sisters who must learn what it means to be themselves, and how essential familial bonds and trials are to self-actualization.

In her book, Brown layers together the narratives of the three daughters of an overly devoted Shakespeare scholar (responsible for the Bardian inspired names Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia) in such a way that their tale is told from the perspective of the group-a unique literary device that subtly allows the reader to give shape to the relationship they share. The book alludes to the poetry and plays of Shakespearean throughout, with old-English couplets being slung left and right and even the title alluding to the ancient meaning of the word “weird” or “wyrd” which is explained by the sisters early in the book as meaning fate, a conceptual theme central to the book.

The sisters grew up in a small Ohio town anchored by a university, in a home that can only be described as splendidly cluttered with literature. Through a series of individual twists of fate they come home and to the side of their ailing mother. Each sister brings with them their burdens and unique personality: Rosalind, or Rose, clinging to her dutiful martyrdom; Bianca, or Bean, struggling with a loss of not only her integrity but also her gently slipping youth; and Cordelia, or Cordy, coming to grips with the twists of an unexpected pregnancy. All three become the dutiful daughters who guide their parents through their mother’s battle with breast cancer.

Brown’s book is told with enough lightness to pull the reader through some dark topics, but without losing the gravity of the situation and revelations. And Brown handles the characters enough love and grace, even when they are at their worst, that it is easy to relate to all of them and hope to see the best for them.

As the oldest of three sisters, sisters who share a relationship not unlike the “weird” Andreas sisters, I was immediately drawn to this story. And like any piece of art (which I deign to confess that I see all books are art, no matter how big or small) it reflected back at me my relationships in a way that made them more clear and valuable to me. Though be you a sister of three or a sister of one, I recommend reading The Weird Sisters and sharing it with them.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. You can join in on the discussion about the book over on BlogHer’s site by visiting http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/now-reading-weird-sisters

Image credit: poptower.com

It is a concept that lives in the back of everyone’s mind-what would happen if all of those characters from fairy tales were living in the real world? It’s the very reason so many people were captivated by the latest royal wedding, and I would venture to guess something that lives at the heart of  the reason just as many people were jeering the event. Fairy tales exist in another realm, a place where poison apples can lay a gal out in a coma to be awakened by true love’s kiss, a place where the debt crisis could be mitigated by the spin of a wheel or a touch of a hand to produce gold.

From the  creators of Lost, ABC’s Once Upon a Time has taken those childhood tales of witches and princes and transported them into a world not unlike ours, to a town called Storybrooke, Maine. A town where everyone is a character from a storybook who has been trapped there by the Evil Queen’s desire to exact revenge on Snow White and take away everything that she loves.

Each week more of the story unfolds as viewers are treated to a glimpse into these parallel worlds. The storys develop as we see how the characters from A Land Far Away’s lives have intermingled, how the curse and their story have intertwined and created their “real” lives, and how it has influenced the town and each person’s relationships.

The show’s central story focuses on Snow White (or Mary Margaret Blanchard as she is know in Storybrook) played by Gennifer Goodwin (Big Love, He Just Not That Into You) and the Evil Queen/Storybrook’s mayor Regina Mills, played by TV vet Lana Parilla (24, Spin City). The curse is focused on the well documented struggle between Snow White and the Queen, which will be the subject of not one but two upcoming major motion pictures, but the curse has trapped and affected the lives of just about every major hero and heroine of fairy tale.

The story begins when Emma Swan, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming (played by Jennifer Morrison of House and How I Met Your Mother), comes to town and, as the only person not trapped by the original curse, she is key to breaking it.

The fun comes in seeing how characters like Jiminy Cricket, Little Red Riding Hood and Rumpelstiltskin have manifested themselves in Storybrook. And in a fashion reminiscent of Lost, you wonder how these characters are going to escape, and if they will ever figure it out and live to tell about it.

However, true Lost fans will be happy to note that while some of the greatest elements of Lost storytelling exist in Once Upon a Time, this isn’t just the island with storybook characters. Viewers are in on the secret, and one of the story’s central characters is as well, which at once makes it more accessible and adds a fresh twist to the supernatural storytelling aesthetic that could only, and should only, be found in Lost.

With only seven episodes under it’s belt you already feel like things have to be resolved by the end of the season, but harkening back to my days as a Lost fan I have to think that just means Horowitz and Kitsis have us exactly where they want us. I have high hopes for this great series that has only just begun.

Once Upon a Time airs at 7pm CST on ABC Sunday night, and full episodes are available for free online at ABCGo.com. The next new episode will air after the winter hiatus on January 8. And for your dining, drinking and viewing pleasure I present to you the chow and cocktails I recommend to accompany Once Upon a Time…

Grown Up Grilled Cheese-There is something about Sunday nights that scream comfort food, especially in the fall and winter times. And since Once Upon a Time falls right during that Sunday night dinner hour, and is a fun way to reconnect with childhood tales and adventures I recommend a grown-up grilled cheese dinner using either this Gouda and Apple Grilled Cheese recipe, or maybe try a little more adventure with some fontina, gruyere and rosemary-apricot spread. Both are sure to please.

Caramel Apple Martinis-The most famous tale of Snow White is Grimm’s poison apple story, which was further elevated into the fairy tale repertoire by Disney’s version of the tale. So, without further ado, I submit this delicious and creamy, Bailey’s caramel apple martini as your cocktail of choice during Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time has become requisite Sunday night viewing in our house, and though it might appeal a little more to the little girl who sat wide-eyed listening to tales of lands far, far away the fantasy elements and the suspense are enough to interest a dude as well.

Have an avid reader in your life? Think about gifting them with a great book this holiday season.

Here are some of my favorite authors I discovered this year. Their personalities shine in their works and they’re earning all sorts of accolades for their endeavors. And what’s also very cool? They all have strong connections to the Midwest, and St. Louis in particular.

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter

Davie Jones is an uber intelligent, kind and quiet girl from Mississippi. She flees her abusive home and alcoholic mother to carve out a life for herself in Los Angeles. While in high school, a beautiful boy by the name of James was the subject of her adoration. Many years later, she (literally) runs into him in LA.

32 Candles is an Essence Book Club Pick. Davie spent much of her teen years watching 80’s movies. Her favorite is 16 Candles so there are many references mentioned throughout the storyline. And by the end of the book, she’s got 32 candles on her cake. Does she end up with her Molly Ringwald-esque ending? (You’ve gotta read it to find out.)

Midwest Connection: Ernessa might live in Los Angeles now but her family is still in STL.

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen 

This is a sit and savor story, set in Wisconsin. Sisters Twiss and Millie tend to injured birds discovered by the locals. Throughout their story, living as spinsters in their childhood home,  you discover how one summer their cousin’s arrival altered the course of their lives. The reader also uncovers the amazing sacrifice Millie made.

If you’re close to your siblings you’ll love the bond the sisters share as well as the humorous way they relate to each other. The Bird Sisters, which was recently released in paperback, was selected for the Target Emerging Authors Program and was named the Ladies’ Home Journal Book Club Pick for November/December.

Midwest Connection: Prior to a move out of state earlier this year, Rebecca lived in St. Louis and was a Fontbonne University instructor of creative writing and literature,

Little Black Dress by Susan McBride

Toni is an event planner who races back to her hometown after her mother’s stroke. While there, she realizes the family winery and her mother’s affairs are in a sad state. One day, as she searches through the attic, she finds a little black dress. But this is no ordinary frock.  This dress, which hugs each and every wearer in the most flattering way also tells the future. Toni discovers secrets that were kept for decades, and the reason for her aunt had vanished fifty years earlier.

Within a few weeks of it’s initial release the book was already in it’s second printing. Both Little Black Dress and her earlier book, The Cougar Club, were selected by Target Stores as a ‘Bookmarked Breakout Title’. Plus, since the story starts off in St. Louis, there are references to real local spots and most of the story is set in Missouri’s wine country.

Midwest Connection: Susan lives in St. Louis with her hubby.

Mom, Incorporated by Danielle Elliot Smith and Aliza Sherman

Build a life, income stream and a career!  Mom, Incorporated is a book about helping moms with an entrepreneurial spirit establish and grow a business. Danielle and her co-writer Aliza share some valuable lessons learned in creating and establishing their successful businesses.  They also touch on marketing, billing, accounting and legal matters with a straight-forward, friendly approach.

I would loan you my copy but, dude! It’s all full of notes, brainstorm ideas, and highlighted areas.

Midwest Connection: Danielle, her hubs and two children live in the St. Louis area.

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

This is the fourth book in a series about Lizzie Brown, a preschool teacher who is as straight laced as can be.  But then her wild Grandma Gertie shows up on her doorstep and Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer who’s meant to battle the devil’s right hand minion. She needs training. And stat! (Thought you would think being a preschool teacher would have totally prepared her for dealing with demons.)

My favorite is her wild little terrier. He talks. And then there are the biker witches who are part of Grandma’s gang. Obviously, if you need a gift for someone who loves paranormal (and funny) this is the go-to author.  The first book in the series is a New York Times Best Seller!

Midwest Connection: Angie, and her family, live in St. Louis.

Lisa Bertrand is a contributor for Girls Guide. She also writes about pop culture, hot products, and how they fit into the parenting realm for ALIVE Magazine’s ParentPop blog. She can be found on Twitter as LisaOnTheLoose, or you can email her at lisadetmerbertrand [at] hotmail [dot] com.

Photo credit: Lisa Bertrand

Image credit: www.moviespad.com

Let me start by saying I am developing a fondness and respect for Paul Rudd. Paul and I go way back, back to when he was the dashing George Knightly incarnate, Josh, in Amy Heckerling’s movie that defined a generation-Clueless. We grew closer when he became the hapless Paris in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, and then when I became too old for such things (well, in public anyhow) he and I grew apart.

It wasn’t until he brought the awesome in Anchorman when we really hit it off and I discovered a side of him that was at once aspiring hipster and funny at the same time.

Then he went and starred in Our Idiot Brother, which was my flick at home pick for this weekend.

This movie had me with the previews. A great cast, (I am falling in love with Adam Scott currently and have always adored Elizabeth Banks), and what seemed to be a very funny story line. I was excited. However, after watching it I really wanted to chat with the director and writers, ask if they some how forgot to work with Rashida Jones in her role as Zooey Deschanel’s girlfriend, and let then let them know they should have really considered spending more time with crunchy types before focusing on a character that endows said crunch.There was so much gold to be had in that storyline, but the character glossing really caused the writers to miss some great opportunities.

That being said, I loved Ned, and not just because I love Paul Rudd (see above), but because he really was a great character and a refreshing change of pace from the “young-metro-too-busy-for-true-love” main men we have been seeing more than enough of lately. You really wanted this guy to win, and he reminds you of that friend of yours who is just a really, truly nice guy…the one who tends to get the shaft but keep smiling. It was because of him – and only because of him and the stock Adam Scott character- that I end up really liking the story overall.

But an intense character story or a fall out of your seat comedy it is not. Dare I say, the movie is cute, and-while not a mind-blowing or perception altering film-it is fun, lighthearted movie worth a home screening.

Released on DVD, vudu instant streaming and on demand queues on Tuesday, November 29 Our Idiot Brother turned out to be a good coucher-a movie that is meant for leisurely home viewing with some chow and cocktails. So, for your consideration, here are my recommended chow and cocktails to accompany Our Idiot Brother.

Chow- Giada’s Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
Ned is an organic farmer in Our Idiot Brother, which opens with a scene of him selling some choice fruits and veggies at a farmer’s market. It really makes you want to savor a great fresh veggie dish, and I can’t think of a better way to showcase veggies that with this amazing, tasty recipe that is one of my kitchen staples. Top with fresh cheeses blended and baked this dish also a great dish to put into rotation when lasagna is too intensive.

Cocktails-Herbal Martinis
Anyone who has seen a preview of Our Idiot Brother knows that the storyline starts with Ned selling an herbal remedy to a uniformed police officer, landing his butt in jail. So, starting with the herbal reference, for your consideration I submit to you three martinis: basil, tarragon and lavender martinis. All great herbal options, and while the basil pairs nicely with the pasta, the lavender uses an herb often touted for it’s relaxing properties-right in line with Ned’s laid-back philosophy on life.

Our Idiot Brother is more of a flying solo or long-time partner couches, cocktails and chow viewing endeavor. Not really a date night in or girl’s night in adventure. Meant to be enjoyed, none the less, with plenty of great food and drink.

Melody Meiners is the Founder and Managing Editor of Girls Guide. You can email her at melody [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and you can follow her on Twitter- @cosmosgirl.

Some of you might be able to recall the moment when a strange, phone-like device, referred to as a “cellular phone”, entered our world.

That was April 3rd, 1973. Little over 38 years ago.

Since then, it seems, the race has only sped up. With each day we take yet another step into the world of bits and bytes, becoming impulses ourselves.

Businesses as well as population are highly reliant upon technology and its improved communication methods because it not only saves cash, but it also saves tons of time.

This increase in use of online resources as well as mobile devices for communication purposes have truly revolutionized the way in which we interact and communicate with one another. Furthermore, it has placed Information Technology field in the center of every human life, with everything else revolving around it.

According to various sources, all of those drastic changes we see around us are just signals of something much larger and grandeur coming our way.

According to Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology 2010-2015 in only a couple of years from now, “75% of all phone calls will be made over an IP network.” According further to Cisco, the converged network is here to stay and the only real choice is not if, but when you are going to embrace it.”

This shift is in great deal echoing throughout communication industries as technical computer knowledge increasingly becomes one of the key skillsets looked for in job candidates. Marketing Graduates, for example, right out of college, are being faced with chilling reality that the knowledge they gained in classrooms, as well as their diploma are no longer enough.

To live by the ocean and use all of its potentials… find the way to master the ocean ahead of you. If you live, even just partially, inside the online world, you must find the way to master it…

Both designers of history, it was only a matter of time when art and technology will correlate. Today’s Technology is modifying the ways in which art is both viewed and created. Photoshop would be one such applications on final products seen in art galleries.

To make the matter even more interesting, both art and technology have lately taken chances in simulating one another, giving in that way to each other a silent nod of approval.

As “Technological-Art” fires up many round-tables and exhibit openings, it has also found a way into the corner of Midwest.  No other than famous Laumeier Sculpture Park in St Louis has taken on the part of offering its ground to be turned into a virtual reality

In the same way, Midwest will join Technological-Art Wave in an exhibit, called Electric is the Love, which is opening on October 29th at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St Louis, MO. Yes, you’ve heard of the idea before, the final product will surprise you. That is all I can say.

This time you won’t see weird gadgets competing with each other; or room full of blinking lights with projector in the middle; or spooky sounds coming from wired-up room supposedly reminding of server-room.

This time it will be about You.

It will be the opening of a virtual reality door, and the imaginary road that will take you through bits and bytes; through zeros and ones.. via impulses that are moving in one unified rhythm, as hectic as your mind; as colorful and bright as your vivid dreams.

How do You feel? Where are You now? Are You afraid?

The Virtual Laumeier is the place that exists for you. Technology has no value when no human is around to value it. In the same way, the virtual impulses will not exist without your heartbeats to give it the rhythm. That’s why it is also a communal project…

Dave Derington, the local video game designer, created a virtual game design for Laumeier Sculpture Park at Virtuallaumeier.net by modifying the original platform of the popular video game called Minecraft.

The game is used as a canvas where everything is rendered as blocks in a fixed grid pattern, allowing players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. This project combines the simple pleasures of gaming with the complications of everyday life, and presents it as a high-art video game.

To encourage participation, Derington refers to visitors as his “virtual curators” and he wants them to participate! by providing their own digital source material to expand Laumeier Sculpture Park into another dimension.

“As you enter the premises of your well-known park,” reminds us Turkovic, Curator of Exhibition for Laumeier Sculpture Park, “try to forget what you know about where you are at. Let’s together explore not only how it all looks on the other side, but also who we are when inside the digital world. Are we the exact same person? Or are we a digital copy of ourselves?”

“Your Turn!

What are your thoughts on today’s technology? Where do you see our world going? How do you feel about art simulating technology?

Image Credit: Virtual Reality Play

Did you notice how everyone kept saying “Again?” in days leading up to the Google+ launch but no one has used it since? Well, surprised or not, it looks like this time Google has struck a social media chord.

As expected, the launch triggered many rumors and speculations (I’m guilty of spreading some myself), and almost all of them involved Facebook in one way or another.

Even though I don’t believe that Google+ will cause the great fall of Facebook, for the very first time, the question of some different platform becoming my new, virtual world in place of Facebook doesn’t sound as unreasonable as it used to. But while we are waiting to see how things shake out, here is a few things you can do to get the most out of your Google+ profile now and get a head start…

1. Get Your Google+ Vanity URL
We’ve all heard many times that in today’s world, we are all brands, so having your personal Vanity URL can be as important as having your profile picture, right?

So, here is how you do it:

a. Log into your Google Plus account and navigate to your profile page

b. Copy your Profile ID number (the number found in your URL after “Google.com” and before “posts”)

c. Go into gplus.to website enter your nickname (no need for special characters or numbers) and paste your Google Profile ID you copied in the previous step. Click Add:

d. Ta-da! Your Vanity URL has now been created. (Mine is gplus.to/KorinaB – let’s connect!)

2. Sharing with Your Other Networks

Surprisingly (or maybe not), Google+ doesn’t have an option for sharing with other social networks. As a workaround, you can install a Google Chrome extension called Extended Share for Google Plus, and you will begin to see a “Send to… ” link in your post footer that looks something like this:

3. Privacy: Hide Your Circles

Online privacy is still very important to us. But let’s be honest, in cyberspace there is no real privacy, no matter how careful we are. But if you want to protect your online privacy you need to know and understand your privacy settings. So if things suddenly change and the defaults privacy settings are restored, as often happens during upgrades, you can quickly change them back to your preferences.

To hide your Google+ Circles from your friends, follow these steps:

a. Login to your Google+ account and navigate to your profile page.

b. Click Edit Profile

c. Next, click on the circle you would like to hide and uncheck both “Show people in my circles” and “Show people who have added you to circles”.

d. Hit Save, and you are all set, circles hidden.

4. Three Fun Ways To Use the Google +1 Button

Here is one feature that Facebook just doesn’t have. There is only one way to like a post on Facebook, and that is by hitting the “Like” button. But Google has given their network an added edge in that arena. In the Google+ world, there are a couple ways of using the +1 button to share with your circles:

a. Google -1 Button
Remember all the Facebook campaigns for unlike/dislike/hate buttons? Well, Google heard it. You can give a -1 to a post and reduce the result. Here is how:

1. Go into Chrome Web Store and navigate to -1 Minus One app.
2. Click on Install in lower right corner of the blue application screen:You should start seeing both +1 and -1 buttons.

b. Turn Facebook’s Like into +1 Button
Feeling kind of spent on Facebook likes? You are not alone. Google developed yet another Google Chrome extension, called Facebook to +1, that turns Facebook likes into +1s. The application can be accessed on this page.

Sounds pretty competitive, doesn’t it?

5. All About Google+

Finally, If you are looking for something along the lines of “Everything Google+” in one spot, then I have just the right place for you. The site Google Plus Apps is a wiki of sorts where users can add their findings into collection posted on tumblr. It is truly a great source of information, and I highly suggest going over to get your feet wet with Google+ and checking back frequently.

If you like quick and immediate tips and tricks, here is a down and dirty list, just for you:

a. Click on your profile pictures to quickly rotate through them.

b. If you’d like to format the text inside your post,  here are some of tips and tricks on how to do that:

• (*)bold(*):  Add * before and after the message.
• (_)italics(_):  Add _ before and after the message.
• (-)strike-through(-):  Add - before and after the message.

c. Use “+” or “@” to address someone personaly in your post. (we currently use “@” for that function in Facebook. i.e. @Korina Bogdanovic, +Korina Bogdanovic)

d. Click on Timestamps in order to pull up a permalink (URL) of any the post.

e. For the list of all of Chrome Google+ Extensions, visit this site.

This cool cheat sheet by Mashable is very helpful too:

Your Turn?

What are your Google+ first impressions? What do you like about it best? What about features you like the least? What do you think future of Google+ will be?

Image Credit: tweetingfollowersite.com, static.guim.co.uk

Korina Bogdanovic is a technology and gadgets contributor for Girls Guide. When in lazy mode, she fills her time writing some crazy nonsense on this site. She also uses Twitter to send out secret codes and messages targeted for humans as well as her planet’s HQ.  You can email her at korina8765 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Have you hit the social media wall yet? Yes, that one. The one where your chaotic but, to some extent, organized social media uniervse suddenly turns up-side-down, changing into this multi-headed monster of confusing and all-over-the-place information, infinite tools, and repetitive thoughts.

If you have, I feel your pain.

Been there…. A couple of times, actually. But before diving right in, one thing that I always try to do is I try to disconnect entirely from the project at hand. For a couple of hours or a whole day, though that’s rarely possible.

Once you are able to look around yourself, and actually see things that are right in front of you without immediately trying to find a “Submit” or “Ok” button, I say you are ready to start building your social media strategy. And make it a plan you can stick to no matter what. Try not to switch the strategy or priorities when you are facing an obstacle, and try to be the first to make your original idea happen.

Let’s quickly review the list of some of the tasks that need to be completed for a successful social media strategy to be achieved:

• Creating Presence
• Monitoring and maintaining presence
• Posting regular updates
• Responding to replies and comments
• Tracking competitors
• Testing and re-creating Social Media plans
• Increasing your network
• Increasing the number of fans and followers
• Exploring new strategies and avenues

Now, we are ready to turn our attention toward the actual goals and objectives. The following are some of my suggestions on how to best approach and complete this task.

• Evaluate whether your business has necessary resources to develop social media on its own. If you answer “no” to a question such as “Do we have traditional marketing in place?” that most likely means your business is not ready to do everything on its own. Hiring a consultant or agency could be a possibility in this situation.
• Establish your Social Media goals and objectives. This site has pretty useful tools. I also like to use MindMeister because of its visual qualities and ability to take a look at the big picture at any time. And today, I learned about Wunderlist, which is a To-do list app. Check it.
• Try to focus on setting SMART Goals and Objectives. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Be realistic. Social Media takes time.
• Commit to your Goals and Objectives. If you have other employees that are part of your business, try substituting A and R for “Agreed” and “Realistic”. I found this method helpful when communicating Goals and Objectives to my team. With substituting those two acronyms, we are saying that employee commitment is expected; however individual employee performance expectations will not increase or decrease, but stay realistic and consistent compared to previous projects.
• Your Goals and Objectives plan should include an option for Feedback, meaning the tasks that constitute Goals and Objectives will be reviewed regularly and adjusted accordingly (i.e. the task is too difficult, or to complex and needs to be broken into smaller tasks, etc)
• Your Goals and Objectives should have certain level of complexity and challenge. Pay close attention when applying those attributes as they both can be motivators as well as de-motivators. Employees that already work in highly complex and challenging business environments can start feeling burnt-out if asked to work with even more complex and challenging tasks than the ones they already work with on a daily basis.
• When your Goals and Objectives have been reached – Time for a beer (or wine)! Whether your team consists of 20 employees or if it’s a one-man-band, when goals and objectives have been met, it’s time to celebrate! Get your employees out of the office for a happy hour to properly celebrate achievements.

Your Turn!

What methods do you use to set social media goals and objectives? Do you use specific tools, or traditional pen and paper? Is there anything else that I might have forgotten and should be included in this post?

Image Credit: http://theibisnetworkblog.com

Korina Bogdanovic is a technology and gadgets contributor for Girls Guide. When in lazy mode, she fills her time writing some crazy nonsense on this site. She also uses Twitter to send out secret codes and messages targeted for humans as well as her planet’s HQ.  You can email her at korina8765 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Today’s market is saturated with digital start-ups, and a breath of fresh air cannot always easily be felt. In fact, many economists are predicting that we are facing a second digital bubble which is getting ready to burst.

In a market where quantity is reaching it’s top limits, attention often starts switching toward it’s counterpart – quality. And ideas themselves becomes the key ingredient for differentiation and branding.

Many digital startups out there today are unique ideas, and executing them well. Here is the look at 10 most promising startups that are currently setting the market on fire, and that stand a chance of weathering this doomsday prediction…

Embedly

Embedding is not a new concept for any of us. YouTube, Flickr, and many web-based applications have made good use of it, and web users have become very familiar with it. After seeing the popularity rise of embedded content and the benefits of doing it (an average of 250% increase in time spent on sites with embedded content), Sean Creeley came up with an idea for creating an app that would do all of this for you. The app is called Embedly and, according to Creeley, it can make a call to any URL or RSS feed,  grab multimedia associated with them (text, photos, videos, audio, etc.), and embed them into different platforms.

You no longer need to know where the code resides, or in which part of your site it should be copied to, as all of these decisions are made by Embedly. On a personal note, Embedly is to me God’s Gift, as I try to embed everything and anything possible onto my blog, and needless to say – it can take some time. But with Embedly, I just specify the place where this multimedia resides (URL), and I am good to go.

Honestly, Now

Remember Three Words Me that launched in December of 2010 by teen Mark Bao and went viral almost the first hour of its existence? Well “Honestly, Now” reminds me a lot of that site and has a very similar concept. Just scarier. “Honestly, Now” is built on the concept that you will get exactly what you ask for. The basic idea is that you come up with a question, post it with or without accompanying photo, an then wait for the stream of answers. Your friends have a choice to respond as themselves with a username published, or discreetly where their name is hidden from you. It can be an eye opener for some. Here everything is out there in the open, so be ready for potential shockers landing in your “Honestly, Now” inbox. The site is still in Beta version, and available by invitation from a friend that is already a member, or an invitation from owners.

OnLive

Are you a gamer or know someone who is? If the answer is Yes, than Onlive is for you. It pretty much integrates gaming experience with social aspects of networking sites. The game first hit the US on June 17, 2010 and it has been evolving ever since. Onlive is not a platform itself. The way it functions is through On-Demand which means that the users can request to play a game on their PC, Mac, TV, or even mobile devices. The Onlive servers, where games are stored, streams the requested content to the device that made the request via and Internet connection. This in itself is a breakthrough in the gaming industry as users are not dependent on game consoles and expensive hardware. Rather, their devices become gaming hardware. I included it as one of the ‘recent’ digital startups because of Onlive’s June 2nd, 2011 announcement that it now integrates with Facebook. To be certain, Facebook integration in the form of gamers being able to access theirs and their friends Facebook walls, while at the same time playing the game, has existed for a while now. However, the new feature announced on June 2^nd allows for users to access their games from the Facebook platform and stream games just like they would on PC, Mac, or TV.

Likester

Wouldn’t it be cool if Google had an option to return pages that received the most Facebook likes? Well now you can get those results with Likester. Today we have about 2.5 million businesses that use Facebook “like” button. However, simply counting “likes” on a certain post, page or article is not enough for business to know how the article ranks overall and compared to other businesses articles. This is where Likester comes in. They pull out vast amounts of statistical data gathered from daily “likes” on various websites, or from Facebook itself, and organize it in a meaningful way, creating a search engine of likes.

The site launched in April 2011 and it provides both brands and consumers with data such as the most popular sites based on likes by friends, or the rest of Facebook community, and allowing users to identify current trends, shift in trends, and potentially what can be expected to come next. The search can drill deeper by location, by person, and also predict likelihood of user future likes based on the past ones.

Isn’t it neat? Especially in the age of EdgeRank, I predict that quite a number of brands and consumers will utilize this service. Give it a go and let us what do you think!

AfterSteps

After thinking through whether I should include this startup into my post, I decided in favor of it. No one likes to talk or think about death. But, life happens, and when it does, we often times find ourselves lacking crucial information, or worse, funds, that would help us go through this hard time.

AfterSteps, plan for the expected, is “an online end-of-life planning platform with educational resources and tools to create your plan, store it, and transfer it to your designated beneficiaries.” Cloud technology at its best. The way the site works, is by first organizing information available to you into an interactive checklist that simplifies and prioritizes steps to be executed when loss happens, and it is then stored online (or in the Cloud). After the user’s death, AfterSteps transfers stored documents to you or whoever else is designated as a beneficiary. Take a look, make a mental note, and the come back to it when you’re ready.

Daqri

Daqri was first introduced at the Launch Conference that took place in San Francisco in February 2011. The services is based on augmented reality, a concept that most of us have at least heard off, and QR codes.  Unlike traditional QR codes that would display information mostly in the form of characters such as contact information, calendar evens, email addresses, etc, Daqri allows users to create QR Codes that display images, videos, and other multimedia objects that can be viewed on a smart phone camera.

As of now, this service, which is in private beta, has received mixed reviews, as it is not quite clear how multimedia included in QR codes can improve a user’s view of the product. David Sacks, the founder of Yammer, on the other hand thinks that even though at this time the idea might seem a bit open-ended, it will take only one creative user to create what Sacks referred to as “a killer use case” that will show what can be done, after which the product’s popularity will sky rocket. But, until, that happens, Daqri might be struggling a bit to find its niche.

Cabana

Cabana lets users build web-based apps and create a prototype or full application within minutes. No previous knowledge of programing languages or concepts is needed. The application allows users to simply drag and drop objects into a test screen where various and intuitive functions can be applied creating a fully functional app. The user can chose to connect the app to external services such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. At the Launch Conference in San Francisco, it was said that Cabana acts very similarly to, for example, WordPress in that with simple, user-friendly tools users can create websites without needing to know programing languages.

A.I. Type

A.I. Type is application described by founder and CEO, Eitan Fitusi, as an application “to introduce an intelligent system that enables any end user to compose complex textual paragraphs in a rapid, simple and reliable manner with no spelling or grammar mistakes.” Woohoo! (for English as a second language speakers like myself, that are also aspiring writers, this is a dream come true!). Fitusi further describes his application as a unique A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) based system that “…allows everybody to write like native speakers, enrich their vocabulary and polish their style.” Seriously?

But, according to this article, the application’s market does not stop at non-English speakers. It can also be used by English-speaking people to improve their vocabulary and help create higher value articles, blogs, books, etc. The founder then proceeds to explain the logic behind the product: “Our challenge is to imitate the well-known human intelligence skills that have been employed to compose billions of paragraphs of text. Looking at this enormous amount of data, we ask ourselves if we can say something about human writing habits. Can we identify the common rules that may create any text paragraph?”

Sonar

Well, it seems someone has thought about us, introverts, and decided that it is time we were given empowering tools to help us determine which exact conversation should occur, with whom, and why. It is called Sonar.

According to Sonar’s mission statement is is “a mobile application that helps you learn about and connect with like-minded people nearby.” It sounds to me that it simulates a good host at a party, introducing people with similar interests. It is based on geotracking service, much like Foursquare and Gowalla, which collect various information on users from social networks like Twitter and Facebook. For example, you are at a party, and you see someone that you might be interested in knowing more. Just by pointing your device, it will identify the person on Twitter or Facebook, and it will let you know if you are already connected there. From here you will see from your Twitter account the connection you share, and you can even send a tweet introducing yourself.

This sounds cool, but could present quite the creepy factor… and present privacy and safety issues.

the good news is that identification of people can be done only if they themselves have the Sonar app turned on. If they don’t – you are out of luck. So, it is not automatic, by logging into the app, you are giving consent that you are OK to be found in this way and open for further introduction and conversation.

Friday

Are you afraid that time will wipe out some of the best memories and time you had? If you do, your day has come. “Friday”, a product from India-based startup Dexetra, promises to collect all of the digital data from your phone and create a map, or a journal of your life, that you can reference at any point. The app goes through your mobile pages such as “calls, text messages, emails, music, battery life, calendar events, photos and location” and indexes them, creating a sort of augmented memory for you. You can then use the app to see things like what happened on a certain day. Basically it is an app that creates a search engine of your life, with any piece, no matter how small, being available to be retrieved ad-hoc. The app also applies statistics to your life, calculating places that you most often visit, please you most often interact with, restaurants that you love, etc.

Image Credit: paleycenter.org

Korina Bogdanovic is a technology and gadgets contributor for Girls Guide. When in lazy mode, she fills her time writing some crazy nonsense on this site. She also uses Twitter to send out secret codes and messages targeted for humans as well as her planet’s HQ.  You can email her at korina8765 [at] yahoo [dot] com.