In this series we looked at the feedback applications Get Satisfaction, Uservoice, and SuggestionBox.com, which let customers give feedback and companies respond. All of the applications offer a variety of features for professionals, including the ability to track discussions. Read More »
As we covered font applications we kept in mind how fluid the world of fonts is; new fonts are created everyday, and keeping track of new fonts, as well as finding the fonts you want requires more than a search feature. The applications in this series, FontStruct, MyFonts, and dafont, each provided tools, and as we'll see in the chart and wrapup below, each is a strong resource for finding fonts. Read More »
These past few weeks we took a look at the newsletter applications MailChimp, MadMimi, and LetterPop to get a better idea of how these applications handled the task of sending out email newsletters. Read More »
For this set of reviews we looked at the dating applications Psismic, okcupid, and Crazy Blind Date, keeping in mind that there’s more than one way to meet that someone special. Since each of the applications has a different take on the dating process, users will find that each has its own set of ups and downs. Read More »
This past week we compared several tools for musicians and music professionals, but each of the applications we looked at provides a unique service, and music professionals, especially bands and musicians, should consider using more than one of the music applications to reap the most benefit from them. Read More »
When comparing book applications there's one thing to keep in mind: what's the purpose. Say you've got a manuscript and you want to put it out there, bring it to the world, for that you may want application that can print it, slap an ISBN on it, and send it out for distribution as widely as possible. What if, though, you have a personal project? Or a few poems but not enough for a book? This is why the applications that we've reviewed this week each have a benefit to their own. Read More »
Any organization, and some individuals, need feedback to determine what their next course of action should be and for those who need it, no method is as informative as the survey. Web survey applications have made the survey process faster and more efficient than before with real time results and 24 hour access, so it's only natural that Listio covers some of the best web 2.0 applications in surveys. Read More »
Whether you are looking to manage your expenses as an individual or a business, web 2.0 has something to offer. This week we took a look at applications that help track expenses, with a mind to how easy they were to use, what features they offered, and what kind of user would benefit from them. Read More »
This week we did our homework for New Years - online drink recipe applications. If you would like to a primer on the subject, there is our post, Taking In The New Year: Web 2.0 Cocktail Recipe Applications, and links to the full reviews are below. We'll talk more about CocktailDB, Drinksmixer, Extratasty, and Cocktail Builder after the chart, but we should begin with saying that all the applications this week returned results on ingredients and by name. Read More »
When thinking of what you might want in a recipe application, you are likely to want more than what a cookbook offers; recipes, descriptions, and suggestions, all with the speed of a search engine. Recipe applications provide these, and as we see with this week's applications, a bit more. Read More »
This week we looked at flashcard applications that are designed make studying easier. Each of the applications,FlashcardDB, SocialDecks, Quizlet, and Flashcard Friends, have features that are superior to index cards, from searching and tags, to widgets that can be used on any site. Read More »
There was a time when publishing your own magazine, even online, was more the territory of magnates and media moguls, but as the web continues to develop, having your own magazine is accessible thanks to some innovative web 2.0 products. This week we looked at four such applications: MagCloud, doXtop, Issuu, Calameo. We paid particular attention to how easy they are to use, what features they offer, and how many networks they can reach. Read More »
Whether you are a retailer with moderate volume, or just looking to sell a few items, there are applications in web 2.0 that make your life easier. We are talking about creating an online store, and doing so through one of the e-commerce applications that provide hosting for your store, including products, descriptions, and payment handling. This week we took a look at the e-commerce applications ShopIt, Shopify, Cartfly, and FlyingCart with the user in mind; what could the applications do, how they supported the selling process, and whether they had tools for promotion. Read More »
This week we took a look at online travel journals, a type of application that can be useful for anyone who travels. When comparing travel journal applications it is important to think of what the purpose of the application is; in this case the purpose is to share a virtual itinerary, complete with maps, photos, and experiences. Read More »
Producers of videos and advertisers may have more in common than they might think - both want to distribute video content across the web, and both rely on services that distribute videos across multiple networks. At one time these services were expensive, used only by professionals or businesses to promote themselves, but as web 2.0 has developed, these services have become accessible for everyone. Read More »
As we looked at the event management applications this week we were impressed by how simple it was to create an event and manage it - each of the applications could do this - yet there were some that stood above the rest. Navigation-wise, all of the applications were easy to move around, but Eventbrite, with its straightforward graphics and spacing was the most appealing. Read More »
Frequent visitors to Listio will attest to the feeling that the whole world is going web 2.0, and office productivity is no exception. This week we took a look at several productivity applications in web 2.0, specifically the word processing applications Zoho Writer, Springnote, Buzzword, and Writer. We judged the applications on what kind of features they have, how to export and which export formats are supported, and their overall presentation. Each of these applications allowed users to take the creation and editing of word documents online, and each had features for different kinds of users. Read More »
Companies and individuals alike have been transferring their merchandise printing online, and as they do, new options in web 2.0 have made printing easier and more accessible than ever. This week we looked at the applications Zazzle, VistaPrint, SpreadShirt and CafePress. Read More »
Whether you've missed your show or the deadline for high definition TV coming in February is looming over your head, you may want to consider what web 2.0 has to offer. Watching online entertainment has never been as easy as it is with the applications we looked this week. With limited commercial breaks and a library of old and new titles, users with these online TV applications can see movies, TV programs, clips, and in some cases music videos, all for free. Read More »
In a business climate where costs are rising and there is an increasing reliance on the web it is not surprising that companies are finding that web 2.0 applications such as help desks are a cost efficient way to keep satisfaction high and alert them to potential product flaws. This week we took a look at some of the help desk applications on the web. Each offered customers the opportunity to submit help tickets and businesses the chance to manage them. Email was the primary method for this interaction, though each of the applications allowed agents handling the tickets to enter in tickets manually. We evaluated the applications on the ease of use, the options available, and whether the applications were suited to heavy or light users. Read More »
With hundreds newspapers, magazines, blogs, and sites it has become even more difficult to keep up with the latest stories. So what's the best way to handle the information overload? Web 2.0 has a tool for the job, letting users compile feeds from their favorite sites and sources into one easy to handle application. We are, of course, talking about RSS feed readers, which can be used to not only keep up with the news, but in some cases organize and archive them as well. Read More »
As software costs rise and companies need more mobile solutions for productivity tools businesses look increasingly to web 2.0, where a new generation of tools allow companies to conduct their business anywhere, at low cost. This is true of all aspects of productivity, including time management. Businesses know that keeping a handle on time is one of the great challenges, and that companies who can rein it in are able to get more out of every project. This week we covered several of time management tools, judging them on their ability to track time, how easy they were to use, and which features they offered. Read More »
Organizing events, either social or professional, can be complicated, but here to help you manage the guest lists and the information flow are a few invite and RSVP applications. Designed to create invites and keep a tab on who's coming, these applications offer services to help you keep it under control. All of the applications we reviewed for this comparison had the basics to manage guest lists: you could craft an invite, email it, and see who responded. Where they differed and where we judged these applications were on the how they let us do these things, and how what kind of features they added. Read More »
Web based applications do more than capitalize on their ability to be accessed from anywhere - they also relieve their users from the pressure of maintaining hardware and updates. With online invoicing applications not only is there a tool for invoicing for companies on the go, but also there is a solution to some of the problems of invoicing. By allowing users to recreate invoices, making sure that they are paid out in a timely manner, and uncomplicating the tracking process, online invoice applications provide a tool for the modern business. As we looked at the applications that focused on invoicing, we first selected a group that reflected the simple needs of most businesses, setting aside the applications that provide additional accounting or time tracking features for a separate review. We judged the applications on the criteria we would want ourselves for a simple invoicing application; customization, ease-of-use, and tracking. Read More »
Microblogging platforms such as Twitter are becoming more plentiful every day, but for each person won over by the simplicity of their interface and function, there is another that has wanted more. Such is the case with Twitter, which has thrilled users with a simple microblog platform yet has users (and sometimes developers) turning to new tools to enhance their Twitter experience. Read More »
Whether you are managing a personal or business project, the need for organization is ever-present. Fortunately there are a number of web 2.0 applications that can help with organizing and tracking your projects. Called project management applications, these online organizers come in a variety of complexities and styles. Over the week we've talked about some of these project management tools and judged them on their interface, what features they offered, and how effective they were. Read More »
Let's face it, humans are very visual creatures. So why should we settle for text only search engines? We won't have to any longer. Visual search engines offer the results of your query visually, presenting a graphic oriented interface that, depending on the type of search, shows a large snapshot or a thumbnail-size image of websites or products. Most will offer text results as an aside or as a substitute, but the primary tool these new search engines offer is a visual interface. The benefit of visual search is that it allows for a whole separate layer of information, as well as making the search more entertaining. Read More »
This week we talked about music applications, specifically web 2.0 applications that help us find and discover new artists. All of the applications mentioned refer to themselves as "radios," one way sources of music - but that's analog radio. Radio web 2.0 is interactive, suggestive, and able to cross music genres at the click of a mouse. We judged the "radios" by how they suggested music, how easy they were to use, and how much we discovered about new artists. Read More »
For artists, designers, and web professionals showcasing your work has become easier than ever, thanks to a number of tools available in web 2.0. As we went over some of these new tools one thing became immediately obvious. Not all online portfolio managers are designed for the same reason. As we put the portfolio managers through their paces we kept a number of things in mind; how customizable they were, what tools they offered, and how easy it was for the portfolio to be found. Read More »
We've written up some of the desktop file synchronization applications available, and today we'd like to share what we've discovered. We chose these applications for their versatility and integration of web 2.0 features, and though we did not choose these applications for their file sharing ability, it quickly became apparent that the developers valued that ability. As you can see from the chart, we judged the applications on usability as well as function, always with a mind to reliability. Measured for security, sync, and which applications have unique functions for photos or sharing, we'll be taking a look at the applications that connect you. Read More »
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