May 7, 2008
Now here is an interesting and innovative way to explore videos! Leveraging the CoolIris 3D browsing technology, PicLens is able to explore videos and photos via a wall of videos. PicLens allows users to search Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook and recently added the ability to search YouTube in this same 3D fashion - among others.
So next time you get bored with traditional search metaphors for videos or images you might want to install PicLens and search in 3D.
Sphere It
April 21, 2008
Do you remember when online forums were the cutting edge in online community building tools? While forums still have a place on the Web there are so many richer community building experiences. Forums are still being used and Twing looks to bring them up to par by aggregating online forums. Twing offers a forum search and adds community features to surface the 'hot items' in the forums.
Sphere It
April 19, 2008
You have probably seen the Lijit search widget on a number of sites around the Web. It has been the search option for SOMEWHAT FRANK and TECH cocktail for sometime as it offers some great site search analytics in a manageable and easy to digest format. I even get a weekly statistics email from Lijit keeping me updated as to how search is performing every week and what people are searching for.
Frank Gruber as a lijit search widget When I visited Boulder, Colorado back in March 2008 for our first TECH cocktail Boulder I got a chance to visit the Lijit Networks headquarters and I captured it on video. Thanks to Tara "Tarable" Anderson for the impromptu guided tour and for turning me into a Lijit search widget (shown to the right).
Sphere It
April 15, 2008
My first day working at AOL back in the fall of 2006 I had the pleasure of having lunch with Tony Conrad as he was visiting to start working with the AOL. Since then, Sphere which I covered previously when it launched in May 2006, worked with both AOL News and myAOL Mgnet Recommendations. It is a pleasure to see that AOL has finally acquired Sphere for an undisclosed amount.
Sphere It
March 26, 2008
Finding the best place to eat, get a haircut or buy groceries in your local neighborhood can sometimes be a daunting task using the Web. While there are some sites like Yelp that lend a helping hand they don't cover everything you might be looking for and they certainly do not have all of your friends recommendations.
Loladax, a Washington, DC based startup, which just officially launched today is looking to offer prioritized search based on recommendations on Facebook friends. Loladex, founded by Laurence Hooper and Dan Goodman both formerly of AOL, is looking to offer true word of mouth by creating a compelling local search engine experience for just about anything in your area.
Sphere It
March 14, 2008
Looking for something new to read, watch or play? blippr, a startup created by Tag Team Interactive, offers a social utility which aims to facility social recommendations about books, games, movies, music, and (soon) TV from your friends. With blippr users can compile lists of things that they love and "blip" them which is similar to voting for an item (i.e. digg).
Sphere It
February 27, 2008
Looking to explore and find a few new blogs on the Web? Blogged is blog directory launched earlier this week to aid discovery and exploration of the blogosphere. Blogged is self-funded by founders Kenneth Yeh and Gladys Kong and is powered by readers and also employs a full-time editorial staff to maintain the integrity of the directory.
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February 11, 2008
ZocDoc, the New York-base d startup that I previously reviewed, offers an easy way for patients to find and schedule appointments with doctors and dentists. Primarily focusing on New York, ZocDoc has been adding new doctors and dentists everyday for the last five months. Recently dubbed "OpenTable for healthcare appointments", ZocDoc looks to make it easy to find an appointment. Patients can visit ZocDoc and find a doctor and book an appointment all in one motion.
Unfortunately, this service is not available in all areas but additional doctors are welcome to sign up to have their information and open appointments available for ZocDoc patient users.While I understand that there are lots of doctors to sign up for the service and it is probably a time consuming effort, I cannot wait to hear when this is available in places other than just New York.
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January 30, 2008
After another eventful evening, this time at the traditional DEMO Jam Session event, day 2 of DEMO08 was another intense day of product launches. Once again, rather than reviewing every single company that launched a product I will offer some tidbits and analysis from day 2.
Sphere It
January 24, 2008
Ask.com rolled out Ask 3D search in June 2006 and I was pleased by its simple, beautiful design which enables users to select from a couple of skins or backgrounds for the search experience. Ask has just enhanced the feature to offer users the ability to create their own skins for the Ask 3D experience. Users can now simply add there own skins to customize the Ask search background to any photo that they like. It takes about a minute or less to do and is actually quite fun.
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January 7, 2008
Somewhat Frank Editor's Note: I am pleased to mention that my recent Somewhat Frank health 2.0 roundup article has made its way onto the Read/Write Web Network by appearing today on the fabulous Alt Search Engine blog. In case you are new to the blogosphere, Read/Write Web, Read/Write Talk, last100 and Alt Search Engines make-up the RWW Network and have been contributing excellent content to the masses everyday for years. I am a big fan of the RWW Network and I am honored to be a special guest contributor. Thanks to Charles Knight & Richard MacManus for showcasing some Somewhat Frank content.
Give the article a read here on Alt Search Engines.
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January 3, 2008
I am a terrible speller. So when spell check is not available I turn to Google for dictionary options to ensure I am spelling them correctly. I recently found a simple and fast alternative called definr. Definr, just as it may sound, is an incredibly fast dictionary.
Sphere It
December 23, 2007
Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits from around the Web gathered by Frank Gruber for the week ending December 23, 2007.
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December 19, 2007
If you have not made a wish list yet your time is growing short but don't fret. Imagini, not mentioned previously in the wish list round-up, might be able to help you both create personal wish lists in a flash as well as help you come up with gift giving ideas for others.
Sphere It
December 7, 2007
If you are selling your home or condo you probably know that photos and virtual tour are extremely important to the presentation of your prized real piece of real estate. A good virtual tour of photo set can make all the difference as buyers scour the Internet looking for a place to call home. Zipvo, a Boston-based startup, recently launched into beta to take this scenario to the next level with full video real estate listings. What do I mean? Think YouTube meets your real estate listing.
Sphere It
December 4, 2007
Ever been in public when nature calls and you have no idea where to go? We all have been there at some point and have scrambled to find a restroom. MizPee, a creation of Yojo Mobile, launched this past summer to try to alleviate the issue by empowering people to contribute and find toilets nearby. MizPee has been busy the past six months and will soon be launching some upgrades with MizPee 2.0.
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November 28, 2007
RedZee, a Tampa, Florida-based startup, tries to take advantage the old proverb "a picture is worth a thousand words" by displaying a single still image for the normal text based search results and calling it Search 2.0. RedZee also leverages your potential love for claymation animals like Wallace and Gromit or Gumby with its little Red Zebra mascot. Who can argue with a little red zebra?
Sphere It
November 23, 2007
False alarm, I don't need a medic but sometimes I have medical questions, like what is "Steakhouse Syndrome", "Chronic Pain" or "Blurred Vision." Of course you can check out Web MD or HealthLine but there are a few new medical searches that offer more of a Web 2.0 approach. This article will examine a number of the new health and medical sites on the Web.
Sphere It
November 19, 2007
Dawdle, a Chicago-based startup, recently launched to offer video game lovers a new place to buy and sell games, gaming systems and accessories. Dawdle tries to take the hassle out searching for items online by devoting the site to matching buyers with sellers via an innovative matching engine.
Sphere It
November 13, 2007
Have you ever been watching the news and wanted to get a copy of a particular segment to play or embed online? While the latest DVR technology has made it easy to record television, it is not all that easy to get a copy of your recorded items for use on the Web. RedLassso, a Philadelphia-based search company, offers a service and search technology unlike any other I have seen thus far making it easy to search for TV and radio content to then clip and share on the Web.
Sphere It
November 9, 2007
Finding people on the Web can sometimes be difficult. Many people turn to Google to search for people but unless someone is very active online it can be tough to find people. In addition, there are so many social networks that do not index well on Google. Wink, a Los Altos, California based startup, tries to make it easy to find people online.
Sphere It
October 11, 2007
Putting a name with a face can sometimes be a rather taunting task in public. However, online Polar Rose is looking to help solve this problem by leveraging facial recognition technology and the power of people online.
Sphere It
October 8, 2007
Naymz, a web profile aggregator that I highlighted previously, offers some interesting reputation metrics services. While you could setup web alerts via a number of services Naymz aggregates these services into one dashboard.
Sphere It
October 3, 2007
Video Value a music recommendation site that I recently came across that suggests music videos that you might like. Video Valve gets smarter as you play and rate additional videos. Though Video Valve resembles as a startup in reality it is a product of Viacom International.
Sphere It
October 2, 2007
BAAGZ launched this past week at the DEMOfall 2007 conference to offer a social take on the personalized home page or startpage built on search. Built on the idea that "baagz" are a collection of sites, feeds, notes, videos and photos, Baagz enables users to organize and share their favorite stuff.
Sphere It
September 16, 2007
Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits from around the Web gathered by Frank Gruber for the week ending September 16, 2007.
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September 5, 2007
Grayboxx, a Silicon Valley-based local search startup, has been in stealth mode for quite sometime but recently surfaced by kicking off a tour of United States cities last week in Burlington, Vermont. Grayboxx bases its local search results on recommendations of neighbors coupled with some snazzy algorithms to assess user behavior.
Sphere It
September 2, 2007
Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits from around the Web gathered by Frank Gruber for the week ending September 2, 2007.
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August 31, 2007
Even with a drawer full of take-out menus finding places to order food can sometimes be a tough task. GrubHub.com, a Chicago-based food delivery and menu startup, looks to help you find a place to order food and has been making some moves to improve. Placing over $1M in delivery orders per month in Chicago and have now focused their efforts on expansion.
Sphere It
August 26, 2007
Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits from around the Web gathered by Frank Gruber for the week ending August 26, 2007.
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August 25, 2007
Truveo, a video search startup which was acquired by AOL in 2006, recently redesigned the site and I have to is super. It offers a new layout that slices and dices its aggregation of videos from across the Web so users are bound to uncover videos that would have previously remained buried.
Sphere It
August 22, 2007
After driving a used Toyota Avalon that I nicknamed "greenie" for obvious reasons for the last few years, I finally figured out what vehicle I wanted to buy and made the move on Sunday at Infiniti of Tyson's Corner and I am now a proud owner of a Diamond Graphite Infiniti FX35 (shown below). This article will summarize some of the online resources I went through to purchase my new vehicle.
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August 14, 2007
MetroProper, a Chicago-based startup founded by Philip Tadros, will soon be launching into the public beta, after an extended private beta period which started in July 2006. MetroProper is a social network for business or personal profiles with citizen journalism in cities around the world.
Sphere It
August 10, 2007
SeeqPod, a "playable search" product born in the UC's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, offers music search that scours the Web for music in both audio and video formats. Upon finding music you can play it immediately and add it to a playlist which can then be embedded into other pages like the playlist I quickly pulled together below. Songs and playlists can be shared via email or embedded into other sites. In fact, I learned about SeeqPod from a friend of mine, David Robinson after he shared a playlist and was enthusiastic about the product.
Sphere It
August 1, 2007
Looking to make it easier to for people to keep track of the items that they want BoxedUp.com offers a place to help users shop and share for items that they may want. Founded in London by Chris Osborne and Jeremy Baines, the three employee team has recently morphed and...
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July 29, 2007
Photo of the Week: This photo was taken by Brian Solis of bub.blicio.us at the TechCrunch event in Menlo Park, California on Friday evening (Suits Suck tee shirt photo explained in first story below). Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits: 07.29.07 TechCrunch 9 & A Funny "Suit"? I was in attendance for...
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July 24, 2007
Uncover offers a community-powered site for local venues and people. Recently released into public beta by three twenty-somethings, Spencer Fry, Jason Nelson and Dave Gorum, aim to deliver a social network for people looking to go out and meet people at night. Similar to Digg or other community powered sites...
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July 18, 2007
One Llama, a product of six employee Champaign, Illinois-based startup One Llama Media, leverages audio analysis, search and discovery systems to offer a place for music lovers to discover, listen, share and buy new music. Though in the music discovery category, One Llama differs from Last.fm, Pandora and MyStrands by...
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July 16, 2007
Gleamd, a product created by pixelspread and design student Matthew McInerney, recently launched into private beta to offer a place to highlight, search and rate people. According to the site: "Gleamd is a place to highlight interesting people doing interesting things on the Internet." A quick glimpse of Gleamed might...
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July 10, 2007
Today myAOL, a personalization product suite, has officially been released to the beta. As the myAOL Product Manager, I feel like our team just gave birth to triplets, as myAOL offers up three applications into one integrated dashboard experience with various levels of personalization. We hope you like it. I...
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July 6, 2007
Do you have questions about your latest gadget purchase? If so you can always take a look the instruction manual that came with that particular product. However, you still might have questions which is where FixYa comes in. FixYa offers free tech support and technical help for gadgets, electronic equipment...
Sphere It
June 27, 2007
Are you looking for a solid image search? xcavator might be able to help as it offers a couple of interesting image search options. Unlike other image search engines, xcavator enables users to search stock images by selecting an image color, tag or keyword. Using an innovative color selector users...
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June 26, 2007
Spock, a people search engine, that I previously highlighted has been making some slightly questionable moves to grow its user base. Though I am a fan of Spock, I have been informed by a number of my friends and contacts that they were contacted by Spock on my behalf. An...
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June 10, 2007
Photo of the Week: Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch from Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom by Josh Hallett was taken this week with the successful launch of the space shuttle. Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits: 06.10.07 Major Relaunch For Ask: Ask3D It looks very sharp. I like the way they allow users...
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June 7, 2007
Searching for people online is pretty common however some people have no digital presence. Spock, a Menlo Park-based startup, aims to make it easier to find people online. Spock debuted its new people focused search engine at the Web 2.o Expo (April 2007). Spock blends automated and community profile building...
Sphere It
June 6, 2007
I have been driving the same ole' four door sedan for awhile now and it is just about time for a change. I am definitely due for a new ride. Something a little more fun to drive would make my hour plus commute a little more enjoyable. So the question...
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May 28, 2007
Looking for free music available online from any computer? You might want to give JiwaMusic a try. JiwaMusic enables users to search for an artist or a track, load a track originally composed by them on the JiwaMusic servers, create and share playlists. JiwaMusic is a Paris, France based music...
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May 22, 2007