GO2WEB20 Blog

Why should you use Pinterest?

2012-02-05T09:28:00.000+02:00

Pinterest has had the tech scene sizzling lately, especially over the fact that it is a platform mostly used by women. And according to these stats, it is true. I actually couldn’t care less about who’s using it by gender. If you aren’t using it yet, it is your loss (whether you are male or female).

“ But what do I need it for?” This is the most common question I hear whenever I’m recommending it for people to use .

Here are some reasons:

As a Visual Bookmarking tool - As an addicted Delicious user, I’m pretty amazed by the easiness of moving from one platform to another after so many years of becoming accustomed to the former one. But it is not anything like Delicious. The visual bookmarking concept is something else entirely for me. For daily links from tech blogs that I see and like, I mostly use the +1 button (to save everything as a list in my Google+ profile), but anything that looks good, and I know I will remember based on a visual memory and category, goes inside one of the albums I’ve created in Pinterest. And, I love that it can be DIY content that you created (such as food or craft photos that you can upload) along with content you find around the web.

As an Inspirational Platform - Thinking of remodeling your house? Having a party and need some desserts ideas? Feeling too geeky and looking for something fashionable to wear? All of these and more are click away when it comes to Pinterest. The most amazing thing I’ve learned quickly is that even if you think you just shared the most unique cake or gadget, there will be always something better posted by someone else - it is an endless lot of brain pickings and recommended goodies.

As a Discovery Tool for New People/Businesses - The beauty in Pinterest is that anything you share can be viewed by people you don’t even know, and you can see whatever other people share, just by searching a category or an album name. It is a great way to discover new small businesses or any other stores worth visiting, online or offline. The more you search for things that you like, the more you have the chance to find new people that share your interests, and start following their albums and pins.

Now, all the above are from an individual user point of view.

If you have a business (online or offline), and you have visual elements to showcase it, here’s how it can work for you:

As a Traffic Booster and Business Promotion - I don’t see lots of businesses using Pinterest as a marketing tool yet, and there are only few blogs that I’ve noticed having embedded the pin-it button. However, I usually read mostly Tech Blogs so this might just be particular to my web experience.

In any case, I’m sure Pinterest will grow like wildfire. If you have something to sell or you want people to see and talk about something, and it also looks good, go and place the pin-it button on your blog posts, and if you have a store that you want to market, start posting on Pinterest, let your customers know that they can follow your Pinterest account if they want to get updated directly by placing an actual display in the store itself and/or if you have an online store, you can simply place a follow-us button on your site - there are not many buttons out there, but again, I know it will just be a matter of time before people start creating goodies for Pinterest. Meanwhile, you can use whatever on their site: Pinterest Buttons.

Make sure your Pinterest is visually appealing and that everything you want to showcase is easy to find through albums. Also, make sure you maintain it often enough to keep people interested.

The re-pin system is what makes traffic skyrocket, it is somewhat like “reshare” and “retweet,” but moreover, it reminds me of stumble upon. Because it is focused on the visual and everything is shared publicly, the chances more people will see something is higher than at any other place. Offering your audience another way to follow, connect and track you online and your chances of getting some engaged traffic towards your site increases.

In summary, I want to say that I don’t think Pinterest is the best tool for just any business. If you don’t have anything visually attractive, it will be hard to get people to pin it. However, I do think this is a service for everyone and I’ve seen people taking it to so many directions, I can’t even tell you what Pinterest is/does for them. I can only speak for myself. And for me, it is a great discovery and bookmarking tool. But again, it can be something else for you.

A New [Free] Facebook Tab Creator Tool

2012-01-25T08:40:00.003+02:00

If you market a brand and manage a Facebook page then you must have tried at least once to create a welcome tab for your visitors. You probably used one of the many tools out there to do so, like Pagemodo, Tabsite, Involver, Miproapps, etc., for example. Some of these are great but usually they’re not completely free and very few offer anything extraordinary. (Full list here: my Techcrunch post on the issue)
There are probably more services available than you actually have the time to try, because this niche is really one of the most desirable features Facebook offers - If you want to be visible to people who come by your page, you need a welcome tab. A good one.

Beside what’s on the list mentioned above, I’d like to recommend you add a new service that offers a bit more for free to your own list. Introducing Hookuapp - A great content creator tool for your Facebook page.

This service lets you create a page that gathers all of your social content in one place and that can be viewed directly from your page, with no need to go outside of it. You can bring all your tweets, blog posts, your entire Google+ stream, videos, photos, slideshows and much more here, place them under sub-tabs in your welcome tab, sort them as you like, change their color and name, and easily delete, add and reorganize your content. You can also choose the text direction (left or right) on your page, a feature I don’t nearly ever see in such apps.

Right now, I don’t think there’s a service that lets you do all of this for free and that looks really great with the flexibility to actually let you design your page the way you want it. The down side may be that it will take you some time to create the ultimate page (which can be really fun if you like these kind of design-oriented challenges), and the upper and lower self-promotion of the site, which I guess is pretty reasonable for a free app.

While creating a welcome tab for one of my pages (which can be viewed here) I stumbled upon some bugs, but overall the experience was good and the results were fairly nice.

One of the two things that I didn’t like much was the save/publish area. I think it’s confusing and could be done differently, outside of the content box where users can easily digest that they have to go through this process to publish the page’s changes. As for two: the fact that you can’t edit the name of the tab.

For more information, watch Hookuapp’s demo:

Design your Facebook Timeline Cover from your iPhone

2012-01-18T21:52:00.003+02:00

I love when tools are fairly easy to use, plus you get great results when using them. This app is exactly it.
If you thought about changing your Facebook timeline cover now is that time, and you can even do it from your iPhone, in 3 easy steps:

Take a photo

Choose filters

Save the photo or upload it directly to Facebook (no need to change the size of it)

If you wish to be creative and do something with your profile picture and cover in order to create the ultimate timeline, you'll need to buy the full version which also contain more filters. However, start with this one and see if you really need it. I found this version to be just fine with the amount of filters and features I need.

Download here - Free.

Like For Israel - A New App We Made

2012-01-06T10:56:00.004+02:00

During the ‘Like for Israel’ Hackathon, I teamed up with three colleagues (Yosi, Eyal and Israel) to create an iPhone app that in its basis aim to promote Israel’s landscapes and sites. I usually don’t go to Hackathons since I'm not a developer myself, but to my surprise it was an interesting experience overall.
LIKE for Israel is an organization aims to create a global Internet task force, connecting pro-Israel activists from all political circles, professional and geographical backgrounds and strengthen the pro-israel presence on the web.

The App based on a simple LIKE stamp that iPhone users can stick on any photo they take. All it needs for them is to open the app which opens the camera automatically, place the LIKE stamp as needed, and take a shot. Additionally, there are few other stamps to place instead of the 'LIKE' one, and users can easily switch between them by simply tap on the stamp.

What we actually wanted is to allow people to LIKE things that are related to Israel, and share some of the country wonderful views. I myself use to take lots of landscape pictures so it will be nice to add the like stamp on top of them from time to time. Having said that, you can also use the LIKE stamp to share any likable photo you want regardless Israel.

The app is available on the App store for free and you can download it here. (or directly here)
I’d like to also recommend a service for people who are on the run and looking to create a quick landing page for their new smartphone app (great for events such Hackathons) - App.net - it is just a super cool service!

Likeish: The Service I'll Never Have

2012-01-05T21:02:00.000+02:00

2011 was nothing but hard work for me. Consulting with Israeli companies about UI/UX and social marketing strategies, meeting with early stage start-ups daily to guide them along the new terrain, organizing my own event - Techonomy, and then, just managing to stay on-top-of everything else was not an easy thing to accomplish - but it’s how I live my life and I find it completely rewarding, inspiring, and fulfilling.

I’m always in a thinking mode and I often have ideas in my head that I’d like to see come to fruition but usually that doesn’t always happen.. Either I find I don’t have the time or lack the energy to create it myself or I just move on to another, better idea.

This year, I had two major project ideas, one is actually in the making and is still in stealth mode. The other one is Likeish.

In my vision, Likeish is meant to be a service that solves Facebook’s search problem.

In other words:

Likeish is a bookmarking platform divided by two categories:

The content people share via Facebook
The content people like on Facebook.

Shared content:
Anything shared on Facebook will be accessible through Likeish. It may be via a Browser Add-on, a Bookmarklet, or simply through Facebook Connect, decided through user preference. Content shared on Facebook will also be saved under the Likeish service where users can easily search and find thier favorites and browse through their own content or other people’s content.

Liked content:
As long as a user has signed up using their Facebook account, they will be able to access and review their Liked Zone, where they will find all the links they have ever liked on and outside Facebook.

There will be two site modes:
Non-login - Allows search and browsing of public content, sorted by popularity, etc.,
Sign-in - (Facebook connect only) Allows the saving of content (public or private), browsing of likes, and the viewing/searching friends’ content.

Technically, everything that I was aiming to achieve is do-able via the Facebook API and does not violate its regulations (as far as I know) - but Facebook is always apt to change, block, and basically take down such services if they so choose. I thought it would be nice to do something creative with their API, something people really need: A good content search.

So why I am giving away Likeish?

I don’t have the time nor the money to lead such project, but if you are an entrepreneur (or maybe investor?) that find Likeish interesting and intriguing, lets talk.

The site is completely designed (by Eyal Shahar)

Take a look at Likeish below - I'd love to hear any feedback you may have:

Check this Likeish set on Flickr for better view.

Don't Just Take Videos. Take GREAT Videos!

2012-01-01T16:07:00.001+02:00

How often do you test an iPhone/iPad App and say "Wow"? For me, not so often. But from time to time I bump into an App that is: A) Impressive B) I can see myself use daily.

Today is one of these days, and the App called: Movie360. It has 13 effects that you can choose for your movie. Alternatively, you can take a video, upload it to Youtube and choose almost the same effects, but it is much easier to do it all from the iPhone, plus, you can change filters while taking a video (something you can't do on Youtube). Plus (plus!) files of Movie360 are much smaller, and recording time can last as long as two hours!

I have no idea why this App is free, but if you are a person who love taking videos on a regular basis, grab it as fast as you can. It's a treasure.

Mixtape - You Gotta Love It

2011-12-20T23:29:00.002+02:00

I feel like part of Web 2.0 is back :) Anyone remember this service that allowed to make playlists and play them on an old cassette? The '80 style..
So here is a new service that brings back memories and the experience.

Everyone's MixTape allows to prepare cassettes with music from three sources: Youtube, Vimeo and Soundcloud. Search for the music you like and add tracks to one of the offered cassettes, or create your own. You can then share your playlist on Facebook or anywhere you want with a link, or embed the code just like this one:
(don't judge me by my music choices)

Path. The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful

2011-12-05T20:48:00.006+02:00

If you haven’t tried Path, go download it first and foremost. You can decide whether you want to keep it and use it later on, but don’t miss its outstanding interface and user experience (that is only if you are iPhone or Android owner).

This App has gained a lot of buzz over the last few days, mostly because of its innovative GUI. That is pretty amazing because it’s hard to impress early adopters - people who try just about everything and anything worth trying. In this sense, Path is a design treat and a sweet surprise for firstcomers.

Although I’m pretty much smitten with this app already, there are some issues that I think are problematic for users. However, lets start with the good things:

New set of communication tools - There’s no doubt that Path worked hard thinking about what’s going into the plus at the corner of the home page. You don’t need more than that anymore, you can share your entire life simply from 6 options. Moreover, they can change the behavior of each icon from time to time (or add more functionalities) to make it more interesting. Bottom-line, this corner plus, has more than positive than I’ve seen on the web in a long time.

Simplify conversation - Although it may seem like Path is over packed with graphical elements, the flow is simple. It is extremely easy to follow a conversation or an activity. It seems that the Timeline concept is hot right now ever since Facebook debuted it. I’ve seen in on Twitter, and now on Path - but on Path it is well organized. In fact, I’d love to see my Facebook Timeline organized so flawlessly.

Less is better? (+/-) You be the judge.
For people who have had it with just about everyone on their Facebook stream, and are looking for a more intimate place to share, Path is the right place for them. That is Path’s concept from the get-go, sharing with only your closest friends.

For me, this might not be good enough. After having so many friends, on so many platforms, I’ll miss the effects of sharing on such a grand scale. After a while you get bored with the same group of people liking your photos. It might be just right for a family sharing platform, but I don’t see someone like my mom using it right away. Perhaps down the road, I’ll feel different about this but for now, that’s not the right path. Because at the end of the day, it’s another social platform to handle, and something’s got to give.

Now for some Bad things (or strange functionalities):

Auto-viewer counter - It is still a blur to me how it works, but it seems like everyone who just sees my picture on their stream, counts as a viewer automatically. If this is really the case, there’s something unnatural about it. Almost like someone compelling me to “see” a photo, although it was only displayed in my stream. The same applies to ‘Visited Your Path,’ this message can sometimes be personal (even within a group of good friends) and it is somewhat annoying that everyone or the person themselves (sometimes) can see visitors.

Deleting/Edit content
If you are looking for the delete button, it’s inside the comment box, which does not make a lot of sense, if you want to delete your own content. I’d be okay with a simple remove button just like in Gmail or the Facebook iPhone app. As for the Edit option, don’t look for it, there’s no such thing.

Web Login
This one is really odd. From the homepage, there’s no way to log-in to your Path account. You can only log-in from the links outside the app (AKA Facebook/Twitter), and there you can change the settings if you want. (Android users that couldn’t find the settings before, now can)

AND The Beautiful

This is by far the best looking app on the market right now. I think the interface is so good, it makes people visit the app just to use it more than to see what their friends are up to. Great job on that Path! If anything, they just raised the bar for a lot of application developers and set the standard way high. Always a welcome change, seems like there’s a new path to follow.

Create Lovely Music Webpages, & Publish them as Facebook Fan Pages Too

2011-11-03T21:29:00.006+02:00

The first thing that came to mind when I came across Nogeno was that it looks a lot like About.me, only for musicians. Over the last year, it seems like About.me is leading a new trend: offering a simple way to get a quick look at some one’s information without getting lost in cluttered content. I believe Nogeno is on this same path - And, if you are a music artist, then you might want to take a look at Nogeno.

Nogeno provides musicians with a rich platform to create a webpage that showcases their music, biography, discography, videos, and gig listings. All in one single place. Musicians can have a custom URL with their band’s name, and publish it anywhere they want: social networks, email-signature, business cards, or even as their own webpage.

While attempting to create a page, myself, I realized the experience was not as quick as I thought it would be, but the results where pretty neat. I guess that for a really informative and good looking page, you’d have to invest some time - but I think it’s worth it (see examples below and judge for yourself).

After the user signs up, they can import all of their information and music from Bandcamp or Myspace via URL, or upload music directly from their computer, and then add information into the Nogeno backend, and customize the page with background wallpaper and colors to match the whole page’s theme.

Musicians can also sell their music directly through Nogeno, from the settings they can choose which tracks to offer as free downloads, which are for sale, etc. Having this feature, defines a direct sell communication channel between music owners and people who purchase music online. Musicians can change this setting very quickly and easily choose to do deals, make a song/album free, or anything else they want to offer fans.

But the most appealing tool in Nogeno is the ability to create a welcome tab in their Facebook Fan Page that parallels their Nogeno webpage in a matter of no time. Yes, almost like RootMusic, but your page will live in two places: as a web page (the one you just created on the site), and inside of Facebook. Basically, you’ll only need to set it up once. Once you set up a webpage in Nogeno, you’ll find a “Facebook” tab in the editor section. Click on it, and follow the few steps to get your own music tab within your Facebook page.

When I asked the company why they chose to store music on the platform instead of using SoundCloud for example, I was informed that they might go that route in the future, but their vision at the moment, is that they want musicians to think of Nogeno as a hub for their music, and allow them to connect their music with other services later on.

Nogeno, however, is not the only player in this arena. There is of course Rootmusic (which only recently raised another $16M to expand Facebook’s BandPage), and Onesheet, who are doing similar things separately. But if you combine the two services together, you’d get Nogeno, which is the only service today that allows users to also export pages to Facebook, in addition to the other features.

Up until now, the company has raised $20,000 from Israel-based Venturgeeks, and are already in talks with several angels about the next round.

The service already has more than 4,000 pages, among them you can find Duran Duran, We The Kings, and many more.

Disclaimer - I used to be a mentor to this company (on a free basis)

Drive and Play!

2011-10-26T12:23:00.007+02:00

Before I tested Drivia, Entertaining trivia game based on voice, I was very skeptical about it. An app that you can play with while driving? Doesn’t make much sense. Well, Drivia aims to change that while building the first interactive app designed to fight driver fatigue.

Drivia, an Israeli-based company, has recognition capabilities that asks the driver questions and provides feedback on whether or not the answers are correct. The app behaves differently based on the fatigue level of the driver and interacts with the driver by voice only, in order to prevent the driver from falling asleep.

While the idea might sound noble and exciting (and I must admit, addictive!), I have some reservations, and safety issue. First, even though the app is voice based, you’ll need to place your iPhone somewhere close to you in the space of your car in order for the app to hear you correctly. If you don’t have hands free car kit installed, then it’s a problem. But the main issue might be that it will be a challenge not to look at your phone during the whole Trivia time, which is a natural behaviour that we're used to, and would be difficult to change.

Having said that, when I think about SIRI, I believe we’re going to see more and more services developed based on the same idea (and API, once siri will open it) so yes, I think services such Drivia has a chance to change something in the way we use our smartphone in the car.

The app is free with limitation. In-app purchase are available for $0.99.

Download here.

Facebook Timeline & Creativity

2011-09-26T08:27:00.000+03:00

The new Facebook timeline interface, once referred to as “profiles,” is by far the biggest change Facebook has made to date. In fact, there is a possibility that Facebook has not only changed “profiles” within Facebook, but changed the definition of profiles overall. The ability to save and explore everything in one’s life through a timeline is absolutely brilliant.

If you already have access to the new Facebook timeline interface, then it might be a good time to consider a new and exciting profile picture - this time on a much wider scale.

It has been less then a week since Facebook announced the new Timeline feature and already I“ve seen some really great looking timeline photos to welcome people to the new “profiles.”

I was hoping to find a few services to help one get really creative with the new timeline photos by now, usually we are really fast to build those tools (like this one, for example http://picscatter.com/) that support drastic changes or real game changers. But I didn't have much luck so till then, here are some cool, already-existing timelines, to keep you inspired.

The Creative (photo credit)

Hidden message (photo credit)

Food Porn (photo credit)

Apple Fanboy (photo credit)

The Geek (photo credit)

Simply Clean (photo credit)

Dog Lovers (photo credit)

The Timelinest (photo credit)
You can use this Photoshop template to create and test your cover design (851x315px)
http://files.designer.co.il/facebook_timeline_cover_template.psd

And my own timeline story - made with instagr.am photos

I’m sure we’re going to see more awesome examples soon. Let the fun begin!

Do You Filter Content or People?

2011-09-18T18:21:00.000+03:00

I don't know if you’ve felt it as well but over the last month I've noticed that fewer and fewer people are commenting on my posts no matter where they are, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and even own my own blog.

I'd like to think it had nothing to with me...

I do think something has changed. I don't think people filter content anymore, they simply filter their friends. if you are anything like me, you start your day by reading the news feeds you have subscribed to or feeds from your friends. In the beginning, it was mostly blogs we subscribed to but now that it’s friends’ updates, or people you know, the way we read content has changed. Honestly, do you ever really read everything in your stream on Twitter, or do you just scan it quickly by looking for friends’ profile pictures first?

The same applies to Facebook. It is more than likely, and probably makes sense psychologically, that by now, you go through your stream faster than before and by looking at the most active friends, ones that you best familiar with and most interested in what they have to say. Little by little (and it maybe subconsciously that you do so) you narrow the list of content so you are able to consume it better.

As a result of this change in consumption behavior people seems to respond less on their friend’s posts, and those looking for interaction need to be satisfied with only a like or +1, and maybe a share (sometimes so fast you can’t really believe they have read the whole post).

Are we that kind of user generation? I think we need some kind of innovation here.. it reminds me of the strong era of RSS Readers. It was great while it lasted, but then we got bored and moved to other kinds of feeds suggested by our friends. Are we ready for a new kind of content sharing behavior? What do you think?

Thank you Michael Arrington

2011-09-18T08:29:00.000+03:00

Six years ago, a few of my friends suggested that I start a blog.

Only Michael Arrington said I should blog in English. I remember telling him:

Mike, I have zero experience writing posts in English. He responded: “I don’t know any Hebrew that already gives you some advantage over me...”

This was the push that gave me the confidence to start my own blog.

In addition, Mike visited my blog regularly, and supported my posts many times. Whenever I discovered a new interesting web2.0 service, he often posted about it on Techcrunch along with full credit to my blog in the post. I can’t ever thank him enough for doing so because it was a component of my success and gave me a lot of exposure I would’ve never otherwise had. I know about other small tech blogs that Mike supported along the way and I’m sure they feel the same gratitude that I do today.

Reading all the recent hateful posts about Techcrunch and posts personally attacking himself makes me feel sad and less confident of this industry. From my personal experience, from a friend’s perspective and having been a Techcrunch reader since 2005, I can gladly vouch that Techcrunch was Mike’s labor of love. The guy simply loves startups. It is what excites and drives him. I know of many startups that received more than just a post, but also, a place to stay while in SF. I can only imagine how many succeeded because of the Techcrunch coverage and the exposure.

Excuse me, if I don’t share the same feeling as some of you do about Michael Arrington. I am very secure in what I’m doing today, but if it wasn’t for Mike’s advice and support, I probably would not be where I am today.

Thank you, Mike for the great friendships over the years. Thank you for believing in me and teaching me so much about the new web and blogging in general. I’m sure it is not easy to let go of Techcrunch but hopefully we can keep looking towards the bright side here: You can’t stop writing, so there’s still that and your knowledge & and ability of finding the right companies to invest in will serve so many startups on a global level I actually think it is thrilling to see what you’ll do next.

Enjoy your new journey.

You Can’t Force Me to Chat, Even if You Are Facebook

2011-08-24T18:56:00.004+03:00

I've long maintained that privacy is dead - that whatever you choose to share on the web is visible to the entire planet for limitless time so it’s really up to you whether to share it or not.

However, there are other issues inherent within the sphere of privacy. Users should be able to control the parameters of accessibility and visibility. One should always have control of who you are visible to and who you are not or where you are at a given time and who's not privy to that information.

Irregardless of whether you understand how privacy on the web has changed, you still have the right to control it. I take control of what I share, if it should not be on the web, I simply do not share it. If I'm sharing where I am, it's my decision, so I have control of that as well. What Facebook has done by enabling users’ online visibility through chat without any notice is downright wicked.

It all started after I downloaded Facebook’s new messenger app to my iPhone. At first, I was kind of happy with it because it sent me notifications each time a person sent me a message. The experience was great and it made sure I did not miss any important messages, but quickly I came to understand that the messaging platform on the iPhone, was not just tied into Facebook's messaging system on the web, but that it was also connected to their chat. This threw me for a loop, and was very confusing since while I saw myself offline, other people saw me online (which is rare for me - I rarely use Facebook chat of my own volition).

I couldn't find any way to customize the app on the iPhone nor could I find any other settings on the Facebook site itself and any information that I tried to find in Facebook’s help center was of little help. I began to receive lots of chat messages from people on my “friend’s” list who I am vaguely familiar with (my blog’s readers or people I barely know in real life). I have no problem connecting with them however, I’d like it to be of my own volition and choosing - at my own convenience. I, therefore, had to delete the app from my iPhone, in hopes this would solve the issue of me being visible to the world as constantly online, even when I wasn’t or didn’t want to be. I recognize that the lines between being online and offline, have blurred. Through the use of our smartphones and mobile devices, we are rarely unplugged but I still believe we have the right to have a say in who has access to us and when.

Of course, deleting the app did not resolve the issue.

Luckily, someone suggested that I change my password and that seemed to finally work. As a result of this whole issue, I don't get any Facebook messaging notifications sent to my email anymore. Now, I only see them when I am on Facebook and check them manually.

I truly think this is the single worst Facebook experience I have ever had.

Nevermind, asking why Facebook thinks they have the right to do this, I want to know - why they think I’d want to chat with any of my thousands of friends as opposed to sending a message via email. How is it this becomes their choice? The worst web services are often the ones who treat their users like a herd that has to be forced into a certain behavior often with no alternative choice. I feel as if Facebook is trying to force a new kind of behavior on us, regardless of consequences. Usually, I'd welcome new ideas and innovations, but this one is so outright inconsiderate and demanding - it’s problematic. Moreover, average users might not understand or catch on to what the hell is happening in their message box, which raises ethical questions about participation and consent. The worst part is - that since it’s Facebook even if you want to complain and your complaint is valid, well, you can’t.

This may be asking too much but I want Facebook to care, I want them to give a damn about my privacy, my safety, my right to choice. I want Facebook to recognize us for being loyal users for close to half a decade and give us more options. I want them to provide us with more information about the new messaging feature, and finally, allow users have a choice of how they wish to interact though Facebook. I had avoided this new messaging feature (on the web) for a long time until I was unknowingly forced into submission. What a poor experience it has been since then: all messages from one person are gathered into one long thread (who needs that), duplicate messages while posting (probably a prevailing bug), and a chat interface in messages that is more suitable to chatting in real-time..

Well, Facebook you’ve got us cornered. All my family and friends are there, I can't leave now. I just need to live with it.

Update: Facebook has just released some additional privacy settings for sharing content but none for their chat or message system. What a shame!

Google-Plus Playground

2011-07-08T14:39:00.013+03:00

And while we all try to understand the capabilities of Google Plus, I thought it is a good time to gather some tools that let you enhance the experience. Personally, I believe this service is here to stay and I am quite surprised at the ease with which you can disconnect from one social service to try another. Also I must say that Google Plus excites me because of the extensive options and its future connection to other Google services (Gmail, Calendar, Places, etc).

Google+ Tools

With this extension you can choose any color for notifications, add Google Chat to the bar, and some more minor tweaks. I like the Gtalk feature best since it is less annoying than on the left sidebar (on its closed mode)

Color Plus

If you don't like the black bar, you can change it to Green, Pink or Blue. I wish Google would just let us pick the color we want. I prefer it to be white (just like in Gmail)

+Photo Zoom

A great way to preview pictures quickly without the need to open a post. You can easily disable/enable it from the upper bar.

Tweets +1

If you don't know it yet, everything that you +1's around the web goes under a tab in your profile page. With this extension you can simply save tweets that matters to you.

Replies and more for Google+

Adds reply and reply-to-author buttons to post comments. Additionally it adds the number of notifications on the Browser tab but unfortunately it doesn't look so good. More options under the extension settings.

Extended Share for Google Plus

Very useful extension that easily help you share stuff from inside Google+ outside to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Now all we need is a tool to let us share from anywhere else into Google+..

+1 Plus One Extension

Easily save any webpage into your +1's list. It will also be shown in Google Search Engine to your social graph.

Alternative plugin for Firefox (badly designed)

Google + Facebook | Google + Twitter (update)

Like Google+ but miss Facebook? Now you can track them both from the same page. It truly looks awesome based on the video but on my Chrome it refuses to work well.

Surplus

I actually think that notifications in my Gmail, and on any other Google service is quite enough. But if you wish to have it constantly, you are more than welcome to download Surplus - Google+ notification tool for your Browser.

More useful links:

Create short URL to your Google+ account with gPlus.
Add a +1 button to your site or blog.
Google Plus icon vector - Free download.
Google +1 icon set. More +1 icons.

How to move Photo Albums from Facebook and Flickr to Picasa:

Since Google now offers you unlimited space in Picasa (soon to be Google Photos), you might want to consider moving some of your Facebook or Flickr albums in there. The nifty integration between Google Plus and Picasa worth the trouble.

From Facebook:

Simply go to your account settings and find the "Download Your Information" option. Once the process ends, you'll get an email with a ZIP file with all your information including your photo albums (sorted by folders). Once you'll have it, you can easily upload photos to Picasa.

From Flickr (and other services) - use this great software. I've been using it myself, and it works just fine.

Plus me

A New Photo Viewer Platform Worth Checking Out

2011-06-29T08:57:00.006+03:00

I know.. there are too many photo sharing and storage services to choose from lately: Instagram, Path, Picplz, Dailybooth, and more. It is getting hard to pick only one favorite. But make no mistake, VVALL is not the ordinary sharing platform, but more of a service that enables users to view photos by the date picture taken, or shared over the web. Now you can easily associate a picture to an event that happened on a certain date, and collect your memories better than before.

VVALL organizes your photos automatically, and create a beautiful photo journal that is basically a record of your life. Once you sign up, you can connect with the photo-sharing platforms already in use in order to import your photos to the service, by days (private upload option is also available). Additionally, you can backup all your photos to Dropbox. And of course you can invite friends to follow your VVALL, and know who has seen each of your days.

The application is a bit slow, but I love the noble concept and the design (which is yeah, somewhat resemble to Path).

Missing features:

Auto-copy notes of each photo if grabbing it from Instagram, or Picplz
A better inviting system
Allow me to comment on my own photos
The ability to see all of this from a web platform.

Some screenshots:

Available for iPhone and iPod Touch. Android is coming soon.

Create HTML5 Slideshow With Your Online Photos

2011-06-21T15:46:00.006+03:00

I just love easy-to-use services where you don't need to register in order to use them. I also usually recommend those tools whenever I can. I received a link to SlideMyPics to my email today, test it quickly, and was very impressed at how easy is to prepare a slideshow with your photos online. All you need is to choose a service where your photos are already stored at, pick a slideshow layout, and music soundtrack if you like, and you get a cool widget to embed in your blog (example below), or a link to share wherever you want.

It's a shame though that in the list of photo-sharing platforms this service offers, you won't find instagr.am, Twitpic, and other services that are well known to us as we used them daily.

Pah! Game App Offers Hidden Payback Benefits

2011-05-26T20:57:00.005+03:00

There's a chance, that if you follow me online you have probably heard me complaining about the annoying amount of noise that stems from my neighbors. I can simply tell you that living beneath noisy neighbors is not fun at all.

But! Now it is payback time.

Meet PAH! A wicked iPhone application that allows people to control a retro space game by their voice alone. You actually need to use specific tones, loudly, to control the game's spaceship.

But Pah! is not new to me. I've played it on the web for at least 5 years now. I'm happy to see it available on the iPhone, and it is really by far one of the innovative apps I've tried to-date. That said, I would like to see this game develop and grow in challenging directions. More screens, fun activities, higher level of challenges to overcome. Right now it is exciting, but only for few minutes. That's not offering any real or juicy challenges there.

Here's what happened when I gave Pah! to some of my nephews to test:

Oh, and of course I played as loud as I could.. {{Pah}}

Daps'em Is The Like You Never Had

2011-05-02T21:23:00.018+03:00

Let me first explain the title of this post - what does it mean the LIKE you never had? Well, in Facebook you can like just about anything, but can you really like people, or show them your appreciation in a unique way other than just hmm.. telling them? Why not Dap them instead?

What I really like about this app is that though you can dap a variety of things (not just people), you can stop for a second to think about what is actually worth your dap, it's not that you do it repetitively every sec, but when you truly appreciate something. On the other hand, if you appreciate things daily but never get the chance to say it out loud, this application can come in handy, especially for people who find it hard to express feelings of appreciation.

Daps'em gives the ability to send a dap with a personal note of appreciation. It can be a person, book, or event, etc. (you can also attach a photo to your dap). Then you can share it within the Daps'em community, and they can 'Yay' your Daps if they wish, or simply comment on it. You can of course connect to Twitter and/or Facebook and as well as Foursquare in order to share it with friends wherever they are.

But there is still work to be done/missing features to add:

Tagnames in Facebook - because if you dap friends you also want them to know about it even if they are not connected to Daps'em.
A short URL that can be grabbed from the app to share it manually, or by email.
It would be useful to see each conversation under a separate link.
In the profile section, Got and Gave daps should be separated by tabs, and clickable.

Overall, Daps'em has a great look and feel and it is highly functional and original.

It's those little gestures in life that count so much and we often seal it with a simple 'thank you' note. Daps'em aiming to make the world quite a better place, bold statement it is, but how can we not relate to that?

Download here. More info on Techcrunch.

Cartoonatic is a Mind-blowing iPhone App!

2011-04-30T17:24:00.005+03:00

With lots of new iPhone application released daily it is actually becoming harder to find something that is exciting and worth using - but once in a while you find this one app that wows you.

Today it is Cartoonatic.
This wonderful app will make you feel like a leading star in the "Take On Me" music video by A-Ha. Your video will turn into cartoon instantly, while you're taking it. Cartoonatic comes with 9 video effects that you can preview in real time. When you're done shooting your video, you can edit music, and easily share it on Facebook, twitter, by email, upload it to Youtube, or save it to your iPhone.

Simply put: this is one of the most fun iPhone app I've tried lately (free).

Instagram vs Extragram

2011-04-30T13:24:00.006+03:00

There are only few services that I'm using although they are not giving a perfect user experience. Instagr.am is one of them. The service has so much potential to be the next big photo sharing platform, yet it is holding back some of the basic features that users want and need.

I was an instagr.am addicted user right from the beginning, but once they've changed the news feed, It was just too hard to track stats, and you do want to know how many, and who are the people, that liked your photos (I won't believe if you say you don't). I think this is the reason Instagr.am changed this feature back, but still, it is simply not enough.

Instagr.am should be fully featured available through the web as well. But while you're waiting for them to add the ability to:

Like a photo from a web browser
Comment on a photo
Brows photos in an a wider screen
Search for photos from a web browser
Follow a person

You should know that Extragr.am already enables everything in this wish-list.

When you click on an Instagr.am link from Facebook, Twitter, Blogs - You get this:

(the profile pictures you see in this picture are not even clickable)

Wouldn't it be great to see something that is more similar to this:

In any case, it's great that Instagr.am opened their API for developers, that way we get to see great innovations such Extragr.am - But I would love for Instagr.am to enable web synchronization themselves. It will definitely expand the community that is now surrounding the iPhone users, and will increase user engagement.

How To Make Sure Your Clients Will 'Like' Your Facebook Page

2011-04-18T13:13:00.016+03:00

Can anyone doubt the fact that Facebook is 100% mainstream now? I see more offline messages than I see in my friends online stream, or at least this is the case in Israel. You can see those "follow us in Facebook" messages just about anywhere: TV Ads, Posters, Billboards, Restaurants, and more. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

While Facebook is becoming more and more visible offline, it is crucial to have tools to help people bridge the gab between these two Online & Offline worlds. SpotLike is one of these tools.
SpostLike is an insanely simple, yet powerful engagement tool for clients and customers. It allows people to enter their Facebook page URL address, and immediately get a printable QR code to place in their location, whether it is a store, office, restaurant, etc. This will give visitors at these locations the ability to scan this printable QR code in order to quickly get to the location owner Facebook page, where they can easily 'Like' it.

There are lots of online generators that will let you create QR code in a flash, but most of them are not print-friendly. SpotLike will easily generate a high resolution format that is also good looking to place anywhere you want.
[example]

SpotLike is powered by Tingiz, a company that has lunched its future concept vision in the Techonomy3 event. Tingiz aims to make the right connection between people and products in a way that both costumers and clients will benefit from. I personally think Tingiz takes QR code to its next level - the way product-codes should actually work like. If you own a brand, I suggest you to take a deeper look at this company - no other service gives better solutions than Tingiz.
(click inside to find more)

I'm very much fascinated by the QR code technology, this is why I explore it top to bottom. Soon I'll expand on this subject in a longer post. Stay tuned.

*tip: if you don't own a printer, but you have an iPad, you can generate the code through your device and place it anywhere you want to let other people scan it :)

Magisto Will Edit Your Video Like Never Before (Invites)

2011-04-14T18:51:00.005+03:00

When I first heard the concept of Magisto, it was too good to be true: Creating a short and exciting video clip from a longer one is quite an achievement, but to make it interesting while knowing how to emphasize the best parts in it, is a whole different story.

And this is what Magisto does: It takes a long video, or several videos, and combine them into one video that you might be more proud to share. You can upload up to 600MB, but in the end you get less than one minute video that is more focused and easy to watch.

The first thing that comes to mind when seeing Magisto in action is that it looks very much like Animoto, only for videos. But although the similarity, the technology behind Magisto is one that can actually recognize important moments and make sure people won't miss them.

I am very fascinated by Magisto technology and hoping to see more and more features in the near future. The features I'd like to have:

Longer video time (2-3min)
Embedding option
Uploads to Youtube
Ability to combine music with sound from the original video(s)
Ability to upload my own music or have a larger music library
A mobile version.

Magisto has recently presented at our Techonomy3 event and won first place!

If you want to try this magic yourself, click HERE to get your invite. I can already predict it is one of the promising startups of this year.

The Best Free 22 Educational iPad Apps for Kids

2011-04-09T23:34:00.020+03:00

Kids should be outside in the sun playing with their friends, yeah I know... But what if they don’t want to, and instead are choosing to play games on the iPhone or iPad? Is that such a bad thing? And you as a parent, can you really control that after letting them play with these devices? Isn’t it actually nice to have options? Something we couldn't have had at their age..

Alright then, so I’m not a mom (yet), but I do have nephews and I can see they have time for both playground and iPad so I don’t see what is wrong with that. In fact, I personally encourage them to play with educational apps so it is also contribute to the child's development as far as I see it.

Over the last two days I was searching for the best apps on the iPad appstore that are:

Completely free
Interactive
Educational
Looks great and suitable for kids (meaning, zero ads)

I roughly divided the app list to group of ages, so all you need to do is to create a folder on your iPad, you can call it: “Free & Awesome”, and throw all my recommendations in :)

iPad games for Toddlers (1-2 years old)

Lullaby Night Light Soother:
This is just a wonderful app when you can close the light, open the app, leave the iPad on your new born room and it will play a pleasant melody while changing colors on the background app. Very useful since the app won’t stop until you deiced to close it, so the melody keeps on going..

Baby Finger:
This app is suitable for toddlers and kids with disabilities. It allows them to touch on the screen in order to create shapes and sounds. Very easy and addictive for the little ones.

My Scene:
I found this set of great apps created by a company called MyFirstApp - All of their apps are drag & drop based with beautiful interface. I was kind of amazed every single one of them is free. On this one your kid can drag relevant elements to familiar scene such as: The Sea, The Park, etc.
(wish it had sound though)

Kid’s songs:
Quite a treasure I must say, it is the only app I found that will let you play a great list of kid's songs for free. It is also built like a karaoke machine so your kids can see the lyrics and repeat the words playing.

Monster Chorus:
A bunch of cute monsters singing in a chorus when clicking on them, your kids will love it!

Awesome Xylophone:
A clean xylophone (no hiding ads) that is fun to bang on, and listen to its magical sound.

Forest Friends:
One of the cutest app, allowing your kids to paint, play the piano, watch a movie, listen to a story, and meet the forest animal friends.

(3-5 years old)

Build it Up:
An educational app for the young ones, allowing them to drag elements in order to build a complete object such a birthday cake, a play-toy, and more.

Match it Up:
Another educational app that allows children to match things up together. There are three different apps in the store for that - all are very colorful and helpful.

A Sunny Day:
If your kid is going to a kindergarten it will be nice to go over all his daily activities so he’ll remember them easily - this is what this app do: Visualize a day in a kid life

Singing Fingers:
Wouldn't it be great to sing while drawing something, then listen to it? Well now you can! Moreover, it is a wonderful way to save your child voice recorded.

Four Seasons:
A magical and interactive storybook for children of all ages, celebrating Earth Day and the gifts of nature. (by Israel-based http://www.itabtale.com/)

AnimalPuzzle:
You probably familiar with the wood puzzle games where you need to combine few pieces to make the puzzle complete. AnimalPuzzle based on a similar idea, allowing your kids to make animals out of wood-like puzzle pieces.

Farm Flip:
A nicely done memory game designed for the young ones - with animal sound and lovely pictures.

Balloons:
An e-learning application that lets its small users the ability to show their knowledge in a fun and interactive way.

(6-7 years old)

Math Tap:
Related app to Balloons, Math-Tap gives older kids an easy way to answer math problems.

Egg a Sketch:
Have you ever tried to paint over an egg?
You can start practice on this app first..

Lets create pottery HD lite:
One of the amazing apps I’ve ever tested on the iPad. I already bought the full version but the lite one is good enough to start with. Closer to realistic way to create pottery art, decorate it, then sell it, get virtual money and buy more decorations for your next artwork. Fun for all the family.

EmmaZoo:
Find the differences in a colorful animation set.

Connect Master Classic:
Connect Master Classic is a fun puzzle game. Player needs to match a same per of picture that go through the same clear line. Good exercises for the brain (all ages)

Update! Adding Jigsaw Junior to the list: A great way to play with jigsaw made out of your own kids pictures. (free for limited time)

Get these apps:

Techonomy3 is Only One Month Away! Register Now

2011-02-28T23:08:00.007+02:00

I'm very excited to be organizing the Techonomy3 event this year with co-partner Eddy Resnick. Though it will probably be hard to top last year's event, we're doing our best to gather the best content we can into a great show.

A few words to explain what Techonomy3 is all about:

Techonomy3 is a platform/event to assist in the exposure of innovative Israeli based companies to the local and the worldwide market. The event focuses on startups who provide solutions that will also impact the community outside of Israel. Since Israel has a favored position in the worldwide technology market, Techonomy3 can provide positive connections to the European and US hub for the Israeli community. By leveraging the Israeli community, the local entrepreneur can develop a vocal fan base for their venture which will be supportive into the future.

This year guests are Mike Butcher from Techcrunch, and Brad McCarty from The Next Web. They will be around during the event so make sure to grab a word with them about your startup/app/project.

Registration is now open! Please note that we have seating limitations, so don't wait for the last minute to register. Payments will only be available via PayPal.

Thank you Ziv Meltzer for the awesome logo, and the great team of Wix for helping out with the site.