We've talked about a few of the font applications that have set themselves apart, yet there are some applications users may also want to see, such as Fontifier, Fawnt, fontcubes, and the entertaining Fontpark 2.0. 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 »
Font applications have a great many uses, from finding, sharing, and buying fonts, but Fontstruct adds one other feature that is sure to appeal; with Fontstruct you can create 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 »
Mailchimp is a full service newsletter application that handles your email list, enable you to craft custom letters, and track them. For businesses, nonprofits, or any organization wanting to keep people in the know, MailChimp offers one stop service. Read More »
As organizations look to the web for outreach and sharing, it's only natural that they would want to include newsletters in their campaigns, and MadMimi offers a full service platform for them. Read More »
With a range of pricing options to please customers, Letterpop gives users a chance to publish newsletters with ease. Online and email campaigns are handled with a step by step process that gives individual or business users a chance to create newsletters as they like. Read More »
As organizations grow there comes a need to share information with their customers and interested parties - for promotion or mission - which is why email newsletter applications are so welcome online. Easy to use, accessible (anywhere the web is), and full of options for all sizes of organizations, newsletter applications such as MailChimp, MadMimi, and LetterPop are tools that are an asset to any business. 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 »
Well known in the self publishing market, Lulu has made a name for itself by offering small print runs and an easy-to-use interface. Simple, clean, and efficient, first time authors will find that Lulu offers more than a chance to publish a novel - it can print photo books, manuals, and calendars. Read More »
Seeing Blurb for the first time, it's hard to ignore the fluid and clean design of the site. From their opening pages to their marketplace with its Flash previews of books, the impression is that Blurb will take good care of your project. Read More »
With a service such as Qoop, users can print a variety of products, ranging from apparel to books. What Qoop offers in book publishing - hard and soft covers, spiral binding, ebooks - is done through a simple upload process. Qoop requires that users have a pdf that is print ready - there is no layout tool with Qoop. Advanced users may find this a quick alternative to the layout process, while users without layout experience are likely to be frustrated by the lack of support. Read More »
Not all publishers take your book as is - there's a new kind of publishing - one that's very web 2.0. Social, interactive, and all online, WeBook brings your friends and the community together to publish. Read More »
For centuries the printing process was an exclusive one, the subject of only those who could afford it or could move people who could. With the reduction in price printing became accessible to more people, but with publishing applications going web 2.0, publishing a book can be cheaper than going to a movie. 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 »
Zoomerang is an application that lets users do more than create a survey - it keeps it all organized, from the creation, managing, and response - all from a dashboard. Read More »
One thing is sure about SurveyMonkey - there are a lot of features to be had. Though many features aren't available until users cross over into the paid plan, SurveyMonkey has enough to keep even the users using the free account content. Read More »
The first thing you notice about fluidSurveys is a spare but vibrantly colored design, which makes getting around the application easy. The next thing you notice is how simple the layout makes everything from dragging and dropping questions into your surveys to administering changes within your survey. Read More »
MySurveyLab recognizes that there is a relationship between surveys and tests - they're both looking for feedback, only one gets graded. Towards this end MySurveyLab has created an application to create surveys and tests. Read More »
No matter who you are or where you work there's always a need for other peoples' opinions. Whether you are a small business that needs feedback on a product, or a major charity that wants to see what people think of your next campaign, there's a need for feedback, and the best way to get it is with a survey. Read More »
Online publications don't do well on their own. At least that's the thought behind Calameo, the international online magazine publishing application. Calameo offers web-based publishing for a wide variety of formats, each with their own directory heading, and a chance for users to express themselves or find new materials. 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 »
Selling services or products online has been made simple with Shopify, the e-commerce site with customization and selling options to appeal to any seller. The customization begins with the setup, which offers the chance to select a theme which can be edited later with a theme editor. Read More »
Users with the desire to sell products and services do not always want a simple e-commerce application - there are times when they want one with tools for promotion, something that FlyingCart does well. Read More »
There are times when the things we sell are not only products but personal items too, and for this there are applications such as Shopit. With Shopit users can capitalize on social networks and a user friendly directory to sell their wares. Read More »
At first glance Cartfly appears to be streamlined to oversimplicity; its administration is handled through the basic tabs of Products, Appearance, Payments, Sharing, and Orders, and no tab has more than a few options. Yet the basic e-commerce page that is created by Cartfly belies the real strength of the application - the embeddable Flash shopping widget. Read More »
Just as with any business, there are various levels of online commerce: low sales, moderate sales, and heavy sales. Low sellers - ones that have only an item or two to sell or with small quantities - may want to use one of the online locations like eBay, Etsy, or Craigslist, and heavy sellers need the infrastructure and control to build storefronts on their own websites, but what do sellers with moderate sales do? 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 »
Not every user needs a feature-complex application - some just need simple functionality with a couple features. That's just what Writer offers - basic functionality with as little distraction as possible. Read More »
With the design sensibility of Adobe and a streamlined function bar, Buzzword is a visually attractive word processor with the requisite number of features to create, edit, and save documents online. Read More »
The first thing you notice after signing in with Springnote is a dashboard in white and blue, an appealingly simple design that gives you the facets of Springnote at a glance; your personal notebooks (your private documents), your group notebooks (shared), an inbox for messages and invitations to other documents, and comments. This first page also gives a you an understanding of how Springnote thinks of word processing - they view web 2.0 word processing as a collaborative process, where other users can comment, and add content as needed. Read More »
If you're a user that is looking for full featured online word processing, you'll like the options in Zoho Writer. From the moment it opens the application has the look of its well known software rival, with buttons for special features, and a writing space with a ruler. Read More »
With software costs rising, web 2.0 users have been increasingly turning to applications online to manage their word processing needs. What you really need, say most users, is a way to edit on the go, format the text, and output to a printer or digital format. The applications we chose this week do this and more; offering full text editors and web 2.0 experience. 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 »
It takes less than a second to understand CafePress, and that's because it puts it all up front; buy, sell, and create your own merchandise from a long list of products, including stationary, clothing, home decor, and promotional items. They can print on nearly anything they've seen in a store, and with their new product, InfiniStitch, they can create custom embroidery on shirts and hats. Read More »
Specializing in clothing, SpreadShirt offers online printing and promotion for individuals and companies. Anything from T-shirts to undergarments are available to design, sell and buy at the cleanly designed SpreadShirt. Read More »
While admittedly weak on apparel and skateboards (they don't offer any), VistaPrint is a capable printer for stationary and paper goods, allowing users to use existing templates, use downloadable templates, or use VistaPrint's design tools to create customized products on the spot. Users may be put off initially by the site that appears too promotional (like a Sunday coupon sheet), but VistaPrint offers affordable printing from the comfort of the web. Read More »
Zazzle is a print on demand solution for the individual, but don't let that dissuade you from considering the potential for business and marketing. With several unique customizable products and a rating system to make it fun for the Zazzle community, Zazzle is an application that could make more people aware of your brand. Read More »
Promoting your business isn't easy, but as anyone that has walked a convention hall or two knows, the difference between remembering a company and not is sometimes that promotional item when you pull out when you're home. But how do you create customized products without spending a fortune? Read More »
When you think of web 2.0 you may not think about drawing applications, but just as music and search engines have found new life and new use on the web, so have web based drawing tools. From the large desktop based drawing programs to the paint programs that came with the operating system, there are now online versions that allow users to create their own drawings from any place at any time. Read More »
Online drawing programs come in all varieties and functions, but sometimes you just want to send something quick to a friend or colleague. For that there is Imagination Cubed, a drawing tool and whiteboard offered by General Electric. Free and simple to use, Imagination Cubed is an online drawing application that records your drawing progress for playback. Read More »
So you're looking to send an image to a friend, or do a little doodling without filling your wastebasket full of paper. So where can you go to draw online and show off what you did? Queeky is an online drawing application that lets you draw in two ways: one is to create your own drawing through QueekyPaint, and the other is to share your drawing in one of the virtual rooms where you can draw and chat with other artists. Read More »
Most drawing applications require the ability to draw, but there are times when you want to create something more abstract, say a pattern of colors or simple lines. For that one of the drawing applications that is based on the user's ability to draw may not be the best choice, and you may want to use an unconventional drawing program that has tools to let you create the image you like. If you are looking to generate something more abstract, Bomomo, the online drawing application has a range of tools to help you create what you like. With Bomomo there is no paintbrush or pen - you begin with a blank canvas and a set of tools that generate different patterns. Read More »
The internet has given the opportunity to reach new heights in productivity, so why shouldn't we also look to it as a tool for our graphic needs? Aviary is one such application, letting users create their own works from originals or scratch. To call it a web-based drawing program is to label it poorly - Aviary is a online graphics tool, one that soon may give Adobe a run for its money. Read More »
HP Labs has been working overtime to bring some innovation to publishing, and they seem to have found another area to mine in the DIY and self-publish field.
MagCloud is a tool for publishing magazines on demand, which enables small presses and publishing hopefuls an opportunity to realize what could have been an expensive dream; their own magazine. Read More »
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