StuffBuff – New Approach to Auctions
The designers of StuffBuff believe that sellers want more from an online auction than they’re getting from eBay and Craigslist. They are challenging these well-established services with StuffBuff, an auction that takes place in 10 minutes rather than days, and is interactive and real-time. The auction can also be embedded in your blogs and social networks, so it’s portable from one website to another, and this means it can go viral. With cataloguing software to organise items for sale, and easy ways to embed the auction on main networks and blogs, StuffBuff sounds prepared to make a strong attempt in this competitive market already dominated by the main auction sites.
Join up and list items then start to sell. Buyers can use LiveHaggle to chat to you to find out about the product and all buyers can see what’s being said. Buyers can also ask to be notified when a product becomes available, so they could be waiting for the goods you have to sell. StuffBuff also has a listing of new products as they come on to the market. Photos can be scanned in using webcam or any video camera to make the whole process quick and easy.
To get the site started it’s free to list items, but the standard fees in future will be $0.25 to set up an auction, $1.50 Reserve, and a 5% fee to StuffBuff for the final sale price received. Anyone who has found offputting sides to the main auction sites will be tempted to give StuffBuff a go. Like many sites starting up it takes a social network approach, letting users build up a network of fans and followers so that they can interact as a community
VisiRun – Fleet Management with Web Tracking
This service has a low monthly fee of 29 Euros for fleet management, letting businesses track where their vehicles are on the map in real time. Managers can keep an eye on locations, routes, drive times and stops. This not only lets managers stay in control of their team, it also lets them see which vehicle is nearest to their next client, and also which technician is closest at hand if a driver neads assistance.
Any unscheduled stops would be noticed, along with changes to the route. Alarms can be set to alert of stops and also arrival at destination, as well as for speeding. The system can also help managers assess the time needed for a particular drive and also for loading and unloading. Other devices can be monitored, including loading doors and anti-theft buttons. This not only helps avoid theft, but should stop anyone getting into the trucks uninvited. The driver and manager will be aware of all movements in and out of the vehicle.
To improve communication with drivers VisiRun allows text messages, and communication of the next mission. Drivers can also be alerted to any problems on the road up ahead so that they can divert and avoid them. The system is designed to avoid any need for telephone calls to the driver, and with increasing needs to monitor international fleets this kind of service is essential. It uses GPS tracking and Google Maps.
StreetMavens – What’s Happening Near You
This is an international website that lets you search by country and city to find what’s going on locally for leisure and business. A search for events in London certainly turned up some interesting ones, and although not all cities are included yet there is already a good selection. It’s also possible to list your event, making this a useful place to promote an activity, and with the Southbank Centre and National Portrait Gallery among the first events listed it feels like a worthwhile resource for event promoters and those looking for something to do.
Businesses can use StreetMavens to list their activity, and the map at the top of the main page has a zoom-in feature that makes it a handy street map. Like many recent websites it includes community features, with a Street Talk page to let people make comments, a page for photos, and a final page where you can search for others on StreetMavens to friend them. It all feels very new and information needs to be added, but judging by the start this could build into a popular website as users keep adding content. It would also be a handy resource for researching cities before you travel.
DroidWeek – Weekly Android Applications and Games News
Keep up-to-date with the latest developments for Google Android applications, phones, games and extras with Droid Week and Android and Me. Although Droid Week is at the setting up stages it’s linked to Android and Me which is already full of information. At the time of writing Droid Week has active forums, a store full of accessories, and recommended launches. The connection with Android and Me makes it feel like the same website, and together they are certainly a useful resource for these increasingly popular products.
Android and Me is also being overhauled to sort out the wealth of information and to make it more easily accessible. Articles and a podcast add extra ways to keep Android users informed, and it’s also possible to submit articles. The recommended application on the main page at the time of writing was Flixster, a downloadable product which lets users find movie showtimes via a location based search and then take a look at full information and reviews. Visitors to the site can nominate applications and enter competitions as well as taking part in community discussions. I’ve been wanting to find out more about Android products and seeing all the information together in one place is a real bonus.
Blabbelon – High Quality Voice Communication Online
The moment I saw a description of Blabbelon I could see it was a service I’ve been looking for, so it should prove useful to others. Blabbelon allows users to talk to others, either individually or as a group, no matter what they’re doing on the internet at that time. They might be involved in a virtual world game or conducting professional business, or perhaps using the internet for a distance learning course and workshop.
Isn’t that just like Skype, you might ask. Well, in a lot of ways it is, but one major difference is that you don’t have to download software and adjust the settings to get it started. With Blabbelon you could quickly direct people to the website where they can log in with their email address to receive a password, and you can start the communication almost immediately.
Once you’ve registered you can invite your contacts by email to join Blabbelon and add them to any ‘Blabs’ you want to set up. Afterwards you can also add contacts using their Blabbelon name. To talk to them you use a hot key, the default is the right Control key but you can change it, or you click on a Talk button with your mouse. Discussion can continue while you browse other websites or carry on with your game, and if you don’t want to join in by talking you can also use text. One of the main difficulties with voice communication online is that everybody talks at once, or two people talk over each other. With Blabbelon you can only talk while you hold the button, and as you release it another person takes a turn.
Although I couldn’t test it, as I need to add contacts first, I can see it will prove useful to me based on the website statements. Apart from the ease of getting started, which I really need when I suddenly want to have a group discussion for distance learning workshops, I would value the push-button approach to stop people talking at the same time. Blabbelon also promises high quality sound, which would be invaluable when I need to film a meeting or performance. The high-definition sound quality uses technology called Silk created by Skype. The website describes SILK as a ‘super wideband audio codec that delivers optimized voice clarity while minimizing internet bandwidth needs.’ While people like me would use this for a small group, it could also be used for hundreds or even thousands simultaneously, according to Blabbelon. Future plans include Blabbelon for the iphone and other mobile/cellphones.
Nuzart – Exhibit Buy and Sell Art
Nuzart is a visually attractive website, full of art in various forms created by artists and easy to find for buyers. Artists, including those using various media and photography, are invited to set up a gallery to display their work. Menu options take them through the steps to upload images, set a price, promote and sell. Buyers can search through these galleries to choose a piece of art, select the printing materials and size, and then buy. For those who create artwork on computer it’s also possible to upload the image, select the printing material and size, and purchase a copy.
Purchasers are helped in their selection by choosing the colour they like to predominate, as well as the type of subject, genre, technique, and the shape of the artwork. This will be a particularly useful service for businesses looking to brighten up their offices, restaurants or other premises with art. It will also help headhunters looking for artists and provides a good way for artists to be spotted and hired. As a service to let computer artists produce printed copies of their work it could also prove popular.
The one suggestion I would make is that this is a professional site, beautifully produced visually, and yet the text isn’t quite in perfect English. It’s almost fluent, but for a site of this quality buyers and artists alike will want to see no errors in order to trust the service, so a proofreader is needed to polish it.
Polylance – Find Freelance Work
Polylance is one of the latest to join the growing number of websites where freelancers can find and pitch for work. The difference with Polylance is that it collects freelance information from the other sites so users can look at a greater number of jobs in a single place. It updates real-time if users choose the live option, and by registering you can also change settings to filter the type of work you want to see. The sites used to update Polylance include popular ones: Elance, GetACoder, GetAFreelancer, iFreelance, oDesk, RentACoder, and ScriptLance. It doesn’t include People Per Hour, which is a main site, but it’s still a useful way to find the popular services. An advanced search option lets freelancers look for work with detailed specifications.
A look at the site shows the expected abundance of freelance writing and translation work, and also technology, finance, legal, administration, sales and marketing and web development. Each category is laid out clearly with subcategories that can be clicked to find exactly the type of work you’re looking for. To look in more detail at a selected job, Polylance connects the user to the website where it is posted. Some of these websites are better than others, with lack of room for enough detail being a general shortfall. This method of finding work is still in its early stages and attracts criticism, but there’s no doubt that it can help employers and employees find each other, there are serious work offers, and it can help freelancers find employment.
SuddenlyDarling
What are teenage girls wearing? This is a question teenagers themselves, and their parents, really want to know the answer to. The SuddenlyDarling website gives all the answers, mostly presented by charming girl-next-door and 16-year-old model Katelyn Rose. The outfits presented really are attractive and reflect the latest fashions I see on teenagers in London every day. The unique point about SuddenlyDarling is that it aims to promote a positive self image in girls and young women and to put clothes together in a way that isn’t too provocative and inappropriate for teenagers.
The website is beautifully put together and it has clearly taken a great deal of professional work to back up the input from teenage Katelyn. It reads like the sort of teenage magazine parents will remember as their main source of information on keeping up with trends when they were younger. Of course, a website can present far more than a print publication could. Visitors can see the outfit Katelynn is wearing each day, plus a selection of the latest clothes for each season. This then links to a breakdown of where to find economical versions of each item of clothing.
Although Katelynn is the very likeable main face of SuddenlyDarling, her friends also appear in a variety of outfits to show good choices for varying hair colours and body shapes. The nice thing about the site is that they aren’t all impossibly beautiful, but look lovely and sound cheery with their advice which is presented in videos as well as text and photos. Make-up, hair, clothes, questions and answers – it’s all here. Although there’s a commercial feel to many parts of it, with specific products and shops mentioned, there are also tips on how to use household products to make your own cosmetics, and a variety of shops for teenagers on a budget.
It would be good to see a section for teenage boys, and also more of a racial mix with tips for different skin colours and hair types. Apart from that the website comes across as suitable for all teenagers, and the inclusion of the word ‘modesty’ on the logo would fit in with a variety of cultures. The About Us page points out that KateLyn is Christian and that the website is associated with CastFam Productions, which has a goal to ‘utilize the power of entertainment to make a positive, moral impact in the lives of today’s youth.’ This doesn’t come across too blatantly in the website, which just feels like an enjoyable teenage online magazine, and it could appeal in a much more multicultural way with some tweaks.
Webotify – Share Spotify Tracks with Video
Now and again I find a website that gives real pleasure and this is one of them. Webotify lets you share your favourite tracks from Spotify with friends, or on Twitter, and adds a video from YouTube. Whether or not you want to share the track it’s also a joy to choose favourite artists from Spotify then use Webotify to enjoy them with a surprise video automatically selected. It could be the singer performing, the words to let you sing along, or a set of images that go with the track – something fitting will be chosen.
The website consists of just one page where you enter the link to the Spotify track, and this is where the design could be improved. There are no instructions, just a picture of the Spotify screen with the menu choice highlighted that you would use to copy the URL. There’s a brief description of what Webotify does and space to enter the URL of the track on Spotify, so it really lacks a simple instruction to guide users. The process is straightforward: select tracks on Spotify then right click on them and click on the menu to either Copy Http Link or Copy Spotify URI. Paste this on the Webotify website and enjoy the track and video.
Webotify provides a URL you can copy and paste to share the track and video with friends whether or not they have Spotify. There’s also a one-click button to let you post it to Twitter and Webotify generates a message to show what you’re listening to. This is a website I’ll be using regularly and I hope to see some brief instructions as Spotify isn’t the most instinctive website to use either – and it’s another good one.
FamiliLink – Easy Internet for Older Relatives
While many older people have become internet enthusiasts, there are also many who won’t even use it for the simple things like email. FamiLink provides a simple way to get your relatives online, making it easier to stay in touch with them. This seems like an invaluable service as it’s the older family members we need to keep a check on and internet connection could also help them avoid feelings of loneliness and isolation. It’s a pity when they don’t use it, so this approach will help younger family members include them in the loop of online communications.
The way it works is by making everything easy to use and also by making it all accessible from the Famililink website. A younger relative can sign up for their older family members, and then show them how to find the site and log in. Then they will find their emails, calendar of appointments, picture and video sharing, and even indicators to show which of their friends and family are online, all in the same place. Emails are in large, clear text, and to see photos there’s no need to click on links or downloads. Instead there’s a clear tag labelled ‘Pictures’. Other tags let the user find messages, contacts, and a calendar where they include family events, doctor’s appointments and medication. While more able elderly users will be able to do all of this themselves, it would also be possible for younger relatives to set it all up for those who are less capable.
There’s even a ‘Send Urgent Message’ button which will alert a group of people you can select as trustworthy to help in case of emergency. The Contacts page displays all friends and family in an attractive way, with photos, an online indicator, and the weather in their location. Pictures and videos can be shared from other popular sites, and FamiliLink makes them all easy to view using its straightforward tags and buttons. Phone numbers are listed with the contacts, but as many older people prefer to talk rather than type a voice connection would make it even better. The service is free for the first 2,000 users and it seems like the type of service that should be available without cost.