Web Worker Daily

Internet-based communication is changing so quickly these days that there seems to be an endless stream of beta releases. Yesterday, Simon wrote about some of the latest browser betas; let’s look at a few products and services for interacting with social networks, Twitter and instant messaging.

I don’t generally like living on the bleeding edge, but some betas are very usable, and I’ve already incorporated them into my daily workflow. Others look promising, but are not stable or are lacking too many features right now. But all of the following are worth trying, and watching as they develop. We’ll review them more thoroughly as they mature. Read the rest of this entry »

I spend a lot of time each day communicating with colleagues and clients, by phone, email, on social networks, and via the occasional fax. But when I need to have a short conversation and get an answer right away, instant messaging is hard to beat. Unfortunately, there are several IM protocols, and most of them don’t talk to each other. That’s why I use the multi-protocol IM software Adium on the Mac and Pidgin on the PC. I can also use a web-based alternative like Meebo or the new Imo.im.

VoxOx wants to take multi-system communication several steps further. In addition to the various IM protocols, it supports social networks (Facebook, MySpace and Twitter); SMS texting; faxing; private email; file sharing; video conversations; and voice connections. VoxOx also supports Skype messaging, although you have to have the Skype software running, which sort of defeats its purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been using Google Voice since it was GrandCentral, and have been quite impressed. But it’s still in beta, and while invitations to the beta are finally becoming available, I understand that they’re still hard to come by.

3jam is billing itself as an alternative to Google Voice, and it’s available today, so I’ve given it a quick spin. This is not a complete review, as there are some of 3jam’s features that I haven’t tried, such as SMS messaging, forwarding to Skype, an API that lets you write your own applications to interact with their service, and “group” numbers that allow multiple users to share voice mail and messaging. Read the rest of this entry »

Google Voice wants to be your phone manager, SMS and voicemail provider. The service is rumored to be almost ready for public access.

Google Voice germinated after Google acquired GrandCentral almost two years ago. The service was relaunched earlier this year as a private beta for GrandCentral users. I’ve been using it for a while, and am generally impressed. Google Voice offers a number of features that should make it popular with web workers. Read the rest of this entry »

Voicemail, useful though it is, is pretty unsophisticated: you record a greeting, caller leaves a message. YouMail aims to improve the voicemail experience, making you more productive in the process. It allows you to record per-contact and per-group greetings, receive voicemail via cell phone, email and web site, and get your voicemails transcribed.

Signing up with the service is a breeze. Just enter your cell phone number into the YouMail web site to receive an activation code sent to your phone. Copy the code into the web app, and you’re in. YouMail provides excellent setup instructions specific to your phone (complete with screenshots for my BlackBerry Curve). After setup, YouMail lets you select how you want to receive alerts. Read the rest of this entry »

I hate carrying business cards. There, I said it. While so much of my work-time is spent on-line or at various Wi-Fi shops with coffee coffee shops with Wi-Fi, carrying business cards is a necessary evil in our world. Seems like each time I don’t have any is the time I need to have them, so I don’t leave home with out a half-dozen or so.

Earlier this month at the Mobilize conference, I must have passed out a hundred cards; doing so reduced my weight by about 3 percent because I have the heavy stock card type. Towards the end of the event however, I witnessed “business card nirvana”. Andy Abramson and I were chatting about mobile technologies over drinks when all of sudden he whips out his BlackBerry to send a text message.

Note: we don’t recommend nor condone drinking and texting here at WWD.

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Here at Web Worker Daily, we talk a lot about how we can use web technology to work more effectively and to be more productive. We think it is important work and we hope that you find our insights and reviews helpful. Occasionally though, we come across an example of just how powerful the web can be, and how it can do even more.

Today, group text messaging provider Tatango is announcing a partnership with eMail Our Military (eMOM) that will allow United States troops deployed overseas to easily connect with and update their friends and family at home. By using a customized web interface, military personnel can send SMS messages directly to their contact group who will receive the updates on their mobile phones. Replies to their text will also be routed back to their web account for viewing.

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I don’t know about you, but I vividly remember the day I learned HTML. I took my first HTML course in the fall of 1994 for $10 given by a guy who was building Web sites in Santa Fe for local artists. The entire world opened up to me and that alone was worth every penny of the ten bucks spent.

Now, the whole world is going to be made compact enough to fit on my mobile phone or device so a book like Mobile Web Development (by Nirav Mehta, 2008 Packt Publishing) is a useful read even though it has been a long time since I’ve rolled up my sleeves, squinted my eyes, and dug into code. Read the rest of this entry »