Share the internet without emailing links! SocialBrowse

I stumble on a lot of interesting articles, web services and other websites. I don't email them around to people all the time because I don't want to be a bother and clog up inboxes. So, I share on google reader and del.icio.us/bballan. I think this allows people to selectively pay attention to me. My only problem is that all of these services are one-way streets, I have no idea what other people are interested in.

I've recommended del.icio.us, google reader and social median as good services for sharing what you're reading with friends (see here, here and here).

It's hard to argue against the value of social recommendation sites. The major problem with them is getting friends use them. I share invites with the hope that some people will get involved. With that in mind, there is a new browser plug-in that can help you discover and share cool websites. It's for Firefox only (but you should be using Firefox 3 anyways).

This new service, socialbrowse, got a great review from Techcrunch. I've got 10 invites to share and am offering them up free to anyone who leaves a message in the comments. (Leave your email address in the form, it doesn't get published, except to me).

This plug-in falls short of getting a discussion going among friends, but it gives points based on the popularity of shared links among your fans, which will at least make it clear what people find interesting. At the very least it can get us sharing links and discovering interesting new things. So, jump on board.

My Apartment Search Part 2

Apartment searching in New York is a pain in the ass. There are a lot of things that landlords and brokers do to make the process difficult for anyone working full-time. I think every landlord should have a lot of photos of their apartments as well as a detailed floorplan. That could save everyone a lot of time (and further reduce the need for brokers).

I can think of a few reasons why they want to make it harder to find good apartments:

• When it's difficult to find an apartment on your own brokers can charge more (up to 15% of the annual rent in some absurd universes)
  
• Brokers are lazy and can earn a living by basically doing nothing but carrying a clipboard
  
• They want to make it more difficult to compare apartments and frustrate you into either paying more or taking suboptimal housing stock off the market
  

As you know, I am on my own apartment search. I'm happy to report that it's nearly over. My application was accepted on a 1br in the East Village. (Aside: I ended up trading some space for location, but was well below budget, which was unexpected. And, no fee! But, that's a different post)

The reason I'm telling you about this is because I tried really hard to identify any and all tools that would help in finding an apartment without paying a brokers fee. I really believe that brokers should be a dying breed and that maybe we only need maybe the top 10% of them (which is why I thought RentClub could be a good idea). During my search, I spent a lot of time browsing Flyrig, Streeteasy and NYBits looking for no fee apartments. I even entertained a few negotiated fee places. (I came really close on a Garden 1br for $2800 in Chelsea, with a 1 month fee). I looked at Stuytown where it turns out that the apartments are amazing but the price is too high and the location not good (they wanted ~$3200 for a 1br on 20th and Ave B). But, after all of this work, how did I find my place? Craigslist. Amazing. I'm not sure if anyone will ever be able to beat it. The big advantage that it has is that it's easy to use for individual landlords. And, the value it provides to apartment seekers is the wealth of listings. I think I'll be checking craigslist for years to come.

What about you? How did you find your last place?

Firefox 3

Image via WikipediaI downloaded Firefox 3 today. They were trying to set a record. Anyways, I'm actually shocked at how noticeably faster than Firefox 2 it is. So, I highly recommend making the upgrade. It worked like a charm for me. Even looked for updates to my plug-ins for me (and installed them).

I never thought that my web browser was the choke point in my browsing experience. Just goes to show you how much potential there is in just improving the technologies we have, rather than going out and re-inventing the wheel.

I give it a 'far exceeds expectations'.

Related articles

• Firefox 3 Sets Download 'Record' - Are You Using It? [via Zemanta]
• The Hype Worked: Firefox 3 Downloaded 8.3 Million Times In First 24 Hours [via Zemanta]
• The Ultimate Guide To What's Good In Firefox 3 Final [via Zemanta]

Also, this is my first post with Zemanta, a blogging tool that helps put links and images in the posts. Initial impression: totally useful, though it doesn't let me search my own previous posts, yet.

Getting Calendarized

I almost always write about using the new tools of technology to improve your life. I also have written several times about smartphones. I think they are fantastic. Even regular phones have tons of features that are overlooked on a daily basis.

One of the most useful functions that I have recently embraced is my calendar. For as long as I've been getting homework, I've needed to remember it. I generally did OK without writing most of it down because I had daily reminders from teachers and classmates to prevent me from forgetting to do the work. In college, all assignments were posted to the class website and given out on the syllabus well beforehand. Now, in real life, I have real events to keep organized and no one to remind me about them. There are all kinds of events: meetings, dinners, drinks, gallery openings, plays and, my favorite, birthday parties.

To keep track of all of this, I use Google Calendar (of course). I use it because it is integrated into my email and it is pretty easily integrated and synced with my Blackberry. Google Calendar is also integrated with Jott (which I wrote about recently) and Remember the Milk, which I use sporadically to organize my todos (mostly grocery lists, though). I also really like this fbCal facebook app that imports all my events and friend's birthdays to Google Calendar (I read about it here).

With all of this, I'm still not fully organized in my personal life. But, I think I've discovered some powerful, free tools that should help me make more progress and achieve more in my lifetime.

Do you use a calendar program? How do you keep in sync? I'd love to hear what my friends are doing. Reading what people who are professionally organized for a living do is more beneficial to someone who rates higher than a 3 out of 10 on the organized scale. So, let me know in the comments. And get more information about the wonders of Google Calendar here.

Coming Home

Justin Bias, one of the up and coming stars of tomorrow just released his debut album, Coming Home. I've gotten my hands on an advance copy and already ripped and posted it to the internet on another cool website, called muxtape. It's literally a website where you can go and create mix tapes.

There's even another website, called muxfind that helps you search for people with taste similar to yours (assuming you posted a muxtape).

Anyways, go check out Justin's work. Then, when you decide you like it, go pick up a copy!

Unfortunately, you'll have to get a physical copy rather than download it because Justin is totally indie (as in independent) so you can't get it from the Amazon music store or iTunes, yet. One day, distribution could be centralized. That is, after the labels figure themselves out.

Buy Handmade!

So, I've been on this 'green' type kick. I've been thinking about my carbon footprint, trying to eat less meat, reusing (or not using) shopping bags when I buy little things, turning off the lights, and taking off my shirt instead of running the air conditioner.

Speaking of shirts, I recently bought a totally sweet shirt from this new online marketplace called Etsy. It's a marketplace where small vendors can make and sell their wares. It's got a lot of stuff. From cufflinks to knittings to art to pottery. I'm not sure where I come out on the whole little guy vs. major corporation thing, but I'm pretty sure that I side with the little guy.

Now, let's not get out of control here. The main reasons that I use Etsy are that it's really easy to find some shirts that are interesting and the goods are typically pretty high quality (handmade in the USA after all). Plus, there's a human touch. When I buy a shirt, it often comes with a little note from the craftsperson thanking me for my purchase. (Typically, the artisan will buy a blank shirt from American Apparel and print their design on it.) Plus, I'm not sure where else you could get this shirt or this tie.

I feel like it's a bit greener to buy shirts manufactured in the US rather than China because you save all of that shipping. A side effect might be that some jobs may be created in the US. But, I have no real evidence that there is actually any benefit. And, who knows if American Apparel is less polluting compared with China, I'd have to guess yes, but maybe they make up the difference with sexual harassment.

So, about the interface, it's a typical shopping website with search, categories for browsing and create favorites of both items and of sellers. You can also choose to 'Shop Local', though I'm not sure if that means you pick it up rather than have it shipped. Like every other website launched in the past 3 years, it has a social aspect. I'm bballan if you're interested in seeing my favorites.

Let me know what you think of the site. If you get something cool, I'd love to hear what it is. I think I'm about to buy this shirt from one of my favorite sellers.

I just recommended:Etsy

Jott Update

I came across this link about a cool update to Jott. It integrates RSS feeds into Jott, by having Jott read your feeds to you. You know I'm a fan of this idea because of my love for RSS and for computers doing things for me. However, I'm not sure if I'll actually use it, given that I don't do much that would reqire listening rather than reading my feeds while on my mobile. But, again, Jott may be more useful for people with old school cell phones and cars rather than blackberries and subway commutes.

What do you think?

New News Aggregation Site

I have a few Alpha invites for a new news aggregation website called socialmedian. I haven't actually be using it as much as google reader. However, I will admit that the social aspects of socialmedian seem to have potential to be far superior to google reader.

Anyways, if you want in, just post in the comments here and I'll send you an invite code. I think if we get a bunch of people we know on there, it could be really cool. Think I'm making it up? Remember when I got you pre-invited to Hulu?

My Apartment Search: Part 1

I've spent a good deal of time looking at apartments (both listings and actual apartments) in NYC (see my list of resources here). I'm having a hard time deciding on what my price range is for my next place. And I'm not exactly sure what's most important to me.

Here is my current list of considerations:

1. I want to be near the places that I go out: Walking home from a bar is far better than trying to hail a cab and then stay awake for the ride. Not to mention the cost of riding 70 blocks and the inevitability of me trying to ride the subway home one night and waking up sans valuables at a subway stop in Brooklyn. Which neighborhoods are those? I think LES, East Village/Alphabet City, West/Greenwich Village and Soho/NoLita. Almost certainly south of 34th St, ideally south of 14th.
   

2. I want to be near a subway that gets me to work: I currently work in Midtown West, within commute-walking distance of just about every subway line (1,N,R,W,B,D,F,V,C,E; basically all local trains except the 6, which I can use to connect pretty easily on the E). So, this one shouldn't be much of an issue. It includes basically all of Manhattan, Long Island City, Brooklyn
   

3. I want to be near a good grocery store: As you may know, I cook a lot. So, I like to have good selection of grocery stores. I was previously living near Union Square, which is probably the best grocery store situation in the City with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods within a few blocks. I think this limits me to the Union Square/East Village area or the UWS, or potentially LES. Though, I guess I could survive anywhere there's a whole foods.
   

4. I want a good sized apartment: I'm not looking for a 900 square foot apartment. I think I could survive on 650+, but more space is obviously better. Obviously, this limits most apartments, though I found a place in Soho, which generally has the smallest apts, that would have been a good enough size for a reasonable price.
   

5. I want a nice kitchen: So many listings are newly renovated with brand new kitchen appliances, including a gas stove and lots of counter space. I guess those are luxuries I'd be willing to part with.
   

So, that's what I'm looking for. Now, I think I've listed them in order of importance. But, the weighting is the hardest part. I would probably trade some space to be in a cooler location. I don't want to live in a shoebox though. I feel like I spend too much time in my apartment, so I'd like it to be pretty big. I'm not going to pretend that I could incentivize myself to go out more if it was too small.

Rents in Manhattan are absurdly high. Though word on the street is that the rental market is coming down. That said, living further away from things will cost me cab rides late at night, which are suboptimal (see above). Up until now, I had been considering anything and everything, but I think I'm not yet ready to make the move to Brooklyn (unless all of you want to come with me at the same time). The Upper West Side could work because the prices are better and even though weekend nights would involve lots of travel, weekend days wouldn't because I'd be near Central Park, where people would come to visit. Also, a few people already live up there and potentially more would move uptown as the years go by.

I still have no conclusion to where to really focus, so I'll be all over Manhattan from UWS to LES, but ignoring Midtown, UES, and Chelsea west of 7th Ave. What suggestions can you give to me? Where should I live?

[Quick postscript: I am still convinced that brokers are scumbags and due to most people's busy lives manage to not only push up prices, but charge absurd 15% commissions. But, that's a topic for another time]

Smartphone Update: Voice Enabled Services

I hope that you own a smartphone. The time when your mobile communication was limited to SMS or a phone call is behind us! Embrace smartphones and the internet in your hand. Instant message via AIM, gChat, Blackberry Messenger. The fact that it lets you know when your friend is typing a response makes waiting for an SMS reply seem like putting a message in a bottle. It's the main reason holding me back from the iPhone, big time. There are of course a ton of other benefits of the smartphone. Access to the internet from anywhere is truly game changing, even if it's just on your couch. (Aside: I'm looking to build a service on top of mobile instant messaging, so I may be a bit biased, but I hope that more of you do get yourselves into it.)

I read a lot of blogs (see blog roll at left), and I sometimes use google reader's mobile web site to do it. It's not perfect. You have to have an internet connection, which is unfortunate, because I really want to use it on the subway. There should be a google gears enabled version where I can download the unread blog posts to my device and read them whenever I want.

One thing that I've done with my Blackberry is download programs that take advantage of my voice. There are two that I use from time to time. Yahoo! Voice Search and Jott are both useful services. Voice enabled products can be tough sometimes because lots of words sound alike. However, these two are still useful.

Jott is especially useful because you can integrate it with other web services like Remember the Milk or Twitter. You don't actually even need a smart phone, because it has an 866 number that you call to interact. I don't use it as much as I should, but I really do like this service.

Yahoo Voice Search is less useful because my phone has a full keyboard. If you have an oldschool phone, both of these services might be much more useful. Though, you might have to deal with paying the data charges to download them originally.

So, this isn't a really in depth review of any of these services, but I wasn't sure what to write about today. Anyways, take advantage of the services and please please please get yourself a smartphone and get on mobile instant messaging.

What other programs have you downloaded to your mobile device? What do you use that you couldn't live without?