Blog

Twitter Launches Hovercards

Chris 418 Comments

Twitter has just announced a new profile preview feature they are rolling out called “Hovercards.” Hovercards are cards that display additional information about an individual when you hover over a username or avatar in your timeline and will also allow you to interact with the individual without having to navigate away from your Twitter Web page. Hovercards will display basic information about an individual such as their location and whether or not you follow them. However, there is an expanded view of the card that will display their Web site, bio, latest tweet, number of tweets, number of people they follow, number of people that follow them, lists, and a dropdown menu of options. According to the announcement posted on Twitter’s blog, the new feature was developed to make it a simple process for users to access individual’s profile information without having to spend time visiting their profile page. If you access Twitter via Twitter.com then this new feature should make your experience a lot easier when you are interested in gathering information about another Twitter user.

This new feature is being rolled out in stages over time so it is not active for all Twitter users yet. Keep in mind that this feature is only useful if you are using Twitter.com.

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Foursquare and Bravo TV Join Forces

Chris 12,802 Comments

It appears Foursquare has landed yet another media partner, but this time it’s not a newspaper, instead it’s the major cable TV network Bravo. According to the New York Times’ Bits blog, Foursquare and Bravo TV, a division of NBC Universal, will announce a new partnership today that will allow users to unlock Bravo-themed badges when they visit more than 500 Bravo-tagged venues and also have the opportunity to win prizes. Bravo is currently in the process of leaving tips and tagging venues on Foursquare that relate to some of their shows such as “The Real Housewives,” “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” “Top Chef,” “Top Chef Masters,” “Shear Genius,” and “Kell on Earth.” These shows will be incorporated into the gaming aspect of Foursquare which uses the real world as a backdrop.

Foursquare Co-Founder, Dennis Crowley, told the New York Times:

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Think Twice Before Accepting Friend Requests On Foursquare

Chris 649 Comments

Have you kicked around the pros and cons about whether or not to accept friend requests on Foursquare? When you receive a friend request from someone you know in real life it’s probably a no brainer to accept their request, but if the request is from someone you only know from other social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, or perhaps FriendFeed then you might want to think twice about accepting the request. I’m not suggesting that you should never accept a friend request from someone you met through social media, I am only suggesting that you choose wisely and always remember that the person behind that cute and fuzzy avatar might not be who you think they are in real life.

While Foursquare is a lot like other social media sites in that it is a great way to facilitate connections, keep in mind that it is a location-based service and using such a service will leave a digital trail of your every move. Granted, location-based social media is a lot of fun and it is becoming quite popular these days, but there are a lot of things to consider when it comes to your privacy. For starters, when you use location-based service apps you are forfeiting your privacy to gain a social media experience. You need to ask yourself if removing the online privacy layer is really worth it to you. You see, location-based apps such as Foursquare use your smartphone’s GPS to get your approximate location so you can view a list of nearby venues and check-in. However, when you check-in to a venue, the Foursquare app broadcasts your location to all the friends you accepted on Foursquare. This could be a potential problem for users if they don’t know who is monitoring their location so this is why you need to choose your friends wisely. Some might argue that linking Foursquare to Twitter and Facebook is no different than accepting friend requests from strangers. While there is some truth to this argument, the difference is that you get to choose when you want to broadcast your Foursquare check-ins to Twitter and Facebook. Unless you choose “Off the Grid” within your Foursquare app, all your friends on Foursquare will see your check-ins regardless if you update your status on Twitter and Facebook.

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Foursquare Releases BlackBerry Beta App

Chris

Foursquare, the location-based social networking service, rolled out their BlackBerry beta app on Christmas Eve and I was thrilled to receive one of the invites. The company sent out an email to about one thousand people who made the VIP list of beta testers so they could download the app to their BlackBerry and take it for a test drive.

Unlike iPhone and Android users, who were already familiar with a Foursquare app, BlackBerry users were forced to visit the Foursquare mobile site (m.foursquare.com) to “Check-in” to venues so I was stoked when Foursquare released the BlackBerry app. I was ready to download the app, fire it up, and give it a go.

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How to install PHP on Windows Home Server / IIS 6.0

Chris 8 Comments

While there are several tutorials on the Internet that explain how to install PHP on Windows Home Server (WHS) / IIS 6.0, I noticed that many of these tutorials are not precise and some even miss important steps in the process that could benefit the average user. Those who know their way around IIS and have basic knowledge of editing code would not have any trouble following the instructions that are currently out there in “www World.” However, a good portion of WHS users, especially HP WHS users, are not advanced users and need a step-by-step guide that will allow them to install PHP without jumping through hoops and over hurdles. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or waste the *online-ink* by writing yet another tutorial on this topic, but I feel it is necessary to cover every step in the process so the installation is flawless. I am going to cover the steps that I believe are the most efficient so we can knock this out.

It is extremely important that each step in the installation process is followed exactly as outlined below. If you read everything carefully you will have PHP running in no time. Although the installation process seems lengthy, it will not take too much time once you get the ball rolling. I went a bit overboard when writing this tutorial, but I rather be thorough so everyone has a shot at a successful installation opposed to cutting corners in my tutorial and leaving people hanging.

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Google Voice gets ready for Prime Time

Chris

Google announced the release of their new service “Google Voice” on Wednesday. The service appears to be an expanded version of GrandCental, which is a service acquired by Google in 2007. Although this release is a preview (beta) and currently available to existing GrandCentral users only, those who are interested will not have to wait long for the full release. Google expects to have the service ready for new users within weeks, but in the meantime you can submit your email address to Google and they will notify you as soon as Google Voice is available to new users.

What is Google Voice?
Google Voice is an application that improves the way you use your phone. The service provides a single phone number for all your phones and this phone number is actually tied to the user, not to a phone or location. Although Google Voice is not a phone service, it allows you to manage all your phones. The cool thing is that Google Voice works with mobile phones, home phones, work phones, and VoIP phone lines. What’s more? You can actually access and make calls from the phone as well as the Web. Those of you who have multiple phones will enjoy the luxury of having a single number to reach each phone individually.

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