So a dating application is great for setting the mood, flirting over the web, and so on, but what do you do tonight? If you're in one of the major US metros, Crazy Blind Date is an application that can put you into a date - that evening if you like. Read More »
Psismic uses an unusual approach to matching - they use user content to narrow potential partners. Unlike many applications that use a database (I like fries, she likes fries) approach, Psismic encourages you to post content you like and see if others like it. 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 »
Bands and musicians looking to make the jump between the garage and the music industry will benefit from the music platform ReverbNation. While not designed for collaboration, ReverbNation is an application that lets music artists create an identity page with a variety of promotional tools, and letting fans sample or find music. Read More »
Indaba is designed with the collaborative musician in mind, not only providing a community for musicians, but an outlet for them to share their wares. Read More »
Musicians need more than just a place to post songs - they need to connect to professionals and music lovers alike, while increasing their visibility to labels and business opportunities. Slicethepie aims for just that, giving users a chance to sample artists, connect music professionals, and invest in 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 users land on CocktailDB they may well feel that they have arrived; the application that features a large database with the ability to suggest by mood and ingredient has been lovingly prepared, and made bartending simple. Read More »
If there's one thing that complements cocktails well, it's friends, which is why ExtraTasty's approach to a social drink database makes sense. Look up the recipes you want to try, share favorites with friends, and even send it along to your mobile with ExtraTasty. Read More »
Hosted by the entertainment site CraveOnline, users looking for cocktails may mistake the ad-heavy DrinksMixer for only a promotional tool, but the recipe application has one of the largest collections of cocktails, from the homespun to the famous. Read More »
While simplistic in appearance and layout, cocktail builder has the range of function that the home bartender would want. Get recipes and suggestions while rating your favorite cocktails, or using an ingredient list to come up with new cocktails with cocktail builder. Read More »
Thanks to a number of recent web 2.0 applications taking in the New Year has never been easier, and users looking for more refined intoxication can find recipes for cocktails at any time with a connection online. 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 »
Looking at Foodari, you may think it to be a bit cluttered - even its tabs seem cramped - but Foodari's cramped because it's trying to do it all. Recipes, books, videos, forums, and food related feeds (blogs and stories) from the web. Read More »
The first thing you notice with OpenSourceFood is the clean and modern design, bringing a high contrast layout with large, full pictures. Navigation is easy - links are quickly found, and the tab layout (Overview, Recipes, Voted, Following, People) lets users get to the area they want quickly. Keyword search is on the main page and the recipe tab will show suggestions. Read More »
Clean, easy-to-use, and with a large number of recipes possible (250,000 they say), Supercook is an application that takes recipe searching from a different angle -- what ingredients you've got on hand. Read More »
When it comes to recipes you want more than a tool for finding recipes - you want to save them, organize them, and maybe even create a menu for an event. Reci-P lets you do this and more, by providing a recipe book that's entirely online. Read More »
With the holidays fully upon us and the economy going through its fluctuations, more web 2.0 users are bringing their meal closer to the hearth. This week we'll be looking at one way that users are doing that, with recipe applications. Read More »
Internet users have long been used to the idea that they can publish themselves into blogs, but many may not realize the possibility that new publishing applications online offer, and how web 2.0 has given them new ways to express themselves and enjoy the work of others. 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 »
When thinking of how you want to remember your trip or how you might want to discover new destinations, a map is what you'll most likely visualize, and it's a map you'll get with the travel journal Driftr. Designed with a simple to understand and visually pleasing interface, Driftr uses a large world map as one its navigational tools. The map is everywhere in Driftr, even on your page, where it will show all the places you've been and are going to. Read More »
The most appealing part of GoAbroad may be seen when you first get to it - a pleasing and engaging interface with embracing colors. GoAbroad quickly sets apart two types of users: Travelers are the majority users, the people who want to discover new locations and share the ones they've been to, and Advisors are institutional or special interest users that want to create a group of travelers. Read More »
Users looking for a more narrative form of travel journal may respond to MyLifeofTravel, which focuses most of its attention on blogging. Unlike some applications that break down travel information into tips and places, placing your trip details in prominence, MyLifeofTravel puts the blog first, with trip information becoming only a detail to the page. Read More »
Traveling is one of life's pleasures, but as we all know the following Monday, it's over too quickly. So how do you keep those memories alive? Share your memories, advice and tips for friends, family, and other travelers with Web 2.0 and a type of application we call the travel journal. 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 »
StumbleAudio is for the music searcher. It is a music database that lets the user "stumble" across titles in a genre and vote for what they like. Incredibly easy to use and visually appealing, StumbleAudio is a great engine for the user who is randomly exploring for new music. The first thing to know about StumbleAudio is that it is album oriented. Whenever you stumble on an track, you are presented with the entire album of that artist, and able to navigate through it. Read More »
One of the major elements in web 2.0 has been the application of social networking, and we've seen it integrated into anything from blogging to politics. iLike, the web 2.0 application for music discovery, uses the favorite tracks of the community - specifically friends - to bring you music recommendations. Read More »
Let's jump in. From the beginning Jango is off to a good start - there's no download, and you don't even need a login to get streaming music with suggestions. Jango will let you create a "station," which is to say a starting point for your music playlist, and will cater the streaming music to that choice. Vote up or down with the emoticon icons near the top or forward to the next song with the track controls at top left.
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Pandora, the online radio station that is driven by community input, is as ambitious as it is addictive, and worthy of its mythological Greek namesake. Named by ancient gods as the "gift of all," Pandora has changed the way people think of radio, turning a one way listening experience into an interactive experience. Read More »
Software design, development and consulting. We fuse minimal design with rich utility and content.
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