E-Marketing Associates

Color Note Notepad for Android (Review)

David Sotelo by
on May 25th, 2011

Notepad apps have been around ever since the android market was started and there is no shortage of them. There are quite a few good notepad applications but I will be discussing a free one that I have a considerable amount of time using. It is called Color Note Notepad by Notes. It is a free app which is really nice considering there are dozens of other free notepad application on the market that it has to compete with.

Creating notes comes down to two basic functions; you will either create your note as a text or as a checklist. When you create it as a text you give your note a title and below the title you begin typing away and that’s it, pretty simple right? If you leave the page or hit the back button your note automatically gets saved. The checklist option works in a similar way. You create the title and then add each checklist item one by one. Once you create your checklist you and you complete a task on your checklist you can tap that task and it fades out and you see a faint line and a check mark to show you have completed it.

The options for your notes are useful. You can organize your notes by color; sort them by time, alphabetically, and by reminder time. You get to view them by list view or grid view which can be a nice feature if you like to see most of your notes all at once. When you are on a specific note you have several options. You can edit the note, send it via email, text and twitter, set a reminder, archive and delete your notes. You also have a feature that lets you back up your notes to your sd card for retrieval.

The settings option gives you the ability to customize the application including changing your screen size, color, font size and order. A couple really nice features are the sticky note widget and the password lock/unlock. The widget can be placed on any home screen and can give you shortcut to your notepad or checklist. The password lock is a great feature to keep somebody from reading your notes if you don’t want them to. There are other notepad applications on the android market that have more bells and whistles but if you are looking for a simple and easy to use notepad then you really can’t go wrong with Color Note.

Categories: App Reviews,Blog,Dr. App — Tags: , , , , ;

Let your Facebook Friends Help Plan Your Next Trip with Gtrot

Jacquelynn Mendez by
on May 24th, 2011

Gtrot, a new way to share travel plans, find friends in your destination and collect advice from people you trust… or don’t trust… the most.

Now that social networking is a main source of communication, there have been a number of websites popping up hoping to use this valuable resource to create the go-to network for social travel planning. So far, no one has quite gained enough traction to be deemed the hot spot for this particular service, but that hasn’t kept competitors from giving it a shot and entering the ring. The latest website that I’ve seen with real potential of grabbing the attention of this untapped audience is Gtrot. This website uniquely combines data from Facebook and deal-a-day websites like Groupon to help travelers seek advice from friends and plan their itineraries well in advance.

What Makes Gtrot Unique
Gtrot started out as a class project at Harvard University and after winning the Harvard Innovation Challenge, the creators received money from venture capitalists, eventually turning this assignment into the latest startup in the social travel planning arena. Like Facebook, the website first launched as a private beta for college students, but it is now open to the general public as of Monday.

What makes this website stand out from the competition is the unique set of data it pulls from Facebook, giving more relevant and valued information than others. It accesses an array of information from friends’ work history, school location and checkins to help users find every friend that is associated with their desired destination. This is all done with the hope that users will be able to easily connect with Facebook friends who live in the area they’re visiting, seek advice from those who have visited the city in the past or find out if others are planning a trip to the same destination. Although the ultimate judge of the site’s relevancy will have to be users themselves, I can easily see how social travelers may choose this website over others.

I think the most differentiating aspect of Gtrot is its ability to aggregate daily deals from websites like Groupon and Living Social to deliver users discounts based on their destination. The daily deal offers are sent via e-mail starting five days before a trip begins and end once the getaway is scheduled to be over, giving users enough time to plan ahead. According to co-founder Zachary Smith, beta users have been highly responsive to the daily deals e-mails.

Will Social Travel Planning Catch On?
With so many companies, such as Tripadvisor, Gogobot and Tripit trying to steal the spotlight in the social traveling sphere, it can’t be easy for anyone new to enter in this field. As of now, I’m still a little skeptical as to whether or not social travel planning will catch on, but if it does, it will definitely take a website like Gtrot to win the hearts of travelers.

How do you all feel about social travel planning websites… will they ever catch on?

Categories: Blog,Facebook,Social Media — Tags: , , , , ;

Smart Keyboard Pro for Android (Review)

David Sotelo by
on May 18th, 2011

Typing on a smart phone can be both a wonderful and frustrating experience at the same time. It can be wonderful when you are able to type sentences at a blazing speed and have words auto corrected but it can also be very frustrating when that same auto correct populates the wrong word or you keep hitting the wrong key. Smart Keyboard Pro is a keyboard application by Dexilog that aims to solve those problems or at least minimize them. There are quite a few keyboard applications on the android market that are good including Swiftkey keyboard, SlideIt keyboard and Flex T9 to name a few. Having tried all of them I like Smart Keyboard Pro the most and will give you a review of why I like it.

The biggest reason I prefer Smart Keyboard Pro is simplicity and ease of use. It is a multi-touch keyboard that offers multi-language support and it is the fastest and easiest way to type. I know there are a lot of people who say the speed can’t compare to an application like SlideIt or Swype but maybe I am in the minority here but I typed faster than those applications and found it easier to use. I will talk more about why that is later. There are multiple skins to use including all of the skins used by the major phone manufacturers and others you can download from the developer’s website. I actually use the iPhone skin because the keys are spaced out well and I like the layout. Another great feature is the voice input. I really like this feature because it does a great job of deciphering what you say and gives you several selections based off what you said and 9 times out 10 the statement I said is in there. This is due to smart dictionary that is available in dozens of languages.

The options are endless with Smart Keyboard Pro. You can customize it in many ways including using t9 or compact mode, changing the transparency of the keyboard, have it learn new words you often use, vibration duration when you type, gestures such as swiping and countless text prediction options.  There is hard keyboard support including custom auto-text when you use a QWERTY keyboard. You can backup settings and dictionaries to your sd card as well import and export user dictionary. One feature that helps tremendously is the calibration. This is why I prefer Smart Keyboard Pro over Swype and SlideIt. You basically type out short sentence and it will calibrate the keyboard to improve accuracy and adjust to how you type. It makes a big difference. Before the calibrating it I would experience constant lag when I typed too fast for the keyboard, after the calibration it kept pace with every letter I typed and the more you use it the more efficient you type.

Thankfully the android market has evolved enough that there are keyboard applications that will fit your style and needs. Swype and SlideIt will probably be more suited for screens 4 inches and bigger but for a smart and simple to use keyboard I really like Smart Keyboard Pro and the functionality it offers. The application is reasonably priced at $2.83. The developer is from outside the United States but they are very prompt and good at addressing any bugs or feature request and the support for multiple languages is great.

Categories: App Reviews,Blog,Dr. App — Tags: , , , , , , ;

Say Cheese! Facebook Users Can Now Tag Pages in their Pictures

Jacquelynn Mendez by
on May 17th, 2011

These days it seems like keeping up with Facebook’s newest features is just about as easy as keeping up with Donald Trump’s latest antics…in other words, nearly impossible. This is why I’m here to keep business owners informed.

Last Wednesday, Facebook added a new feature that now allows users to tag Pages in their pictures. This means that brand fanatics can now tag that awesome Pepsi tower or those perfect fitting Levis, giving the brand and its image an extra boost of recognition. When I first heard about this new update, I was stoked because recently I tried tagging a local band, Lady Danville, in a few great shots I took at a live concert, only to find out that Facebook did not allow this option. That is until last week of course. But now, after taking a second look at how this update works, I can see why some businesses might not be excited about letting users share their branded pictures with the Facebook world.

How it Works
Wondering how it works? Well, users will be able to tag any Page the same way that they can tag friends, regardless of whether they “Like” the Page or not. The pictures will then show up on the “Photos” tab of the Page rather than the infamous Wall. And for any administrators that will like to keep control over their pictures, they can easily keep users from tagging their brand by following these simple steps: Edit Page > Posting Options > and un-checking “Users can add photos.”

Should Businesses Be Careful With this New Feature?
As of now there isn’t a way for businesses to know what kind of pictures users may tag, which is why this new feature has the potential of both helping and hurting a brand. This brings me back to my original story. On Thursday, when I got around to finally tagging Lady Danville’s pictures, to my dismay, I found out that I still couldn’t add them. Although this could just be a Page that isn’t available to tag yet, there’s also a chance that the band changed its settings so that users won’t have this option. In my specific case, the pictures probably would have been a nice addition to the band’s Page and a flattering gesture from a fan, but since this particular musical group has a young following, I could see why the members might want to keep tagged pictures away.

This got me thinking… I wonder how many brands would actually be on board with letting Facebook users tag their Page in pictures. If you are an admin, please let me know if you would be open to letting users tag your Page and why?

Categories: Blog,Facebook,Social Media — Tags: , , , ;

Craigslist Notification Application for Android (Review)

David Sotelo by
on May 11th, 2011

Craigslist is an interesting service. It has tremendous value and is used by millions of people and yet it looks like a wannabe developer in the 6th grade built it. Don’t get me wrong, I love using craigslist to both buy and sell, and I think it is a great service that is simple to use, however, a makeover couldn’t hurt. Craigslist Notification is an application for the Android operating system that has turned craigslist into a breath of fresh air for smart phone users. The application is made by a developer that goes by the name “Notification” and is very prompt with updates and fixes.

Craigslist notification does exactly what it says, it notifies you of any Craigslist postings that you want to know about. It does this in a very easy and intuitive way by having a very user friendly interface. You create notifications by entering the keyword(s) of what you are looking for and then select the category where your product or service will be in. You can also add area regions to look for what you want in different counties. For example, I tested it out and added the keywords “mlb show 11” for a baseball game on playstation I want and added Los Angeles County, Orange County and Inland Empire. I checked the actual website and it filtered and pulled exactly what was on each craigslist website. You can also do a region search by city, state and zip code.

There are other useful features that are included on this application, such as an option to search for titles or postings with images and of course the option to be notified of a new posting. You can have multiple saved searches and for each search you have an option to view any post that has an image and delete whichever post you don’t want anymore. The preferences option allows you to receive updates in the background, define your region, and become notified by a sound alert, vibration and by blinking led light on your phone. There are networking options such as how often to update through wifi and non wifi, updates on roaming and auto loading of extra data and thumbnails. You can cache ads data so you can save ads if you want to read them offline and save your searches to your sd card. One of my favorite features is the mark as favorite and share function, you can easily save any postings and view them all though the favorites tab on the menu page and share any posting effortlessly via email, SMS, Twitter and Facebook.

There are two versions of the application. One is the free version that comes with ads and the other is the paid version that gets rid of the ads and has some advanced features. The app is somewhat expensive at $9.99 and more than it cost when I bought it originally, but if you like using craigslist and want to contribute to the developer for a job well done then you really can’t go wrong with Craigslist Notification. Once you use it, you will love using craigslist even if the website looks like it was created in 1992.

Categories: App Reviews,Blog,Dr. App — Tags: , , , , ;

Find Out What’s New with Klout

Jacquelynn Mendez by
on May 10th, 2011

The reputation economy is here and Klout is at the forefront of this new influential change.

Being today’s most trusted source of influence measurement, Klout has recently stepped up its game with a number of major changes that are expected to help every individual better understand and leverage their scores. From a brighter color scheme to a more sophisticated algorithm, you’ll immediately notice that there wasn’t a section left untouched. And with a growing number of businesses now using Klout to make hiring decisions, strategize outreach efforts and offer extra perks, this is definitely the makeover that was needed to take this platform to the next level of professionalism.

What You Can Expect From the New Klout
As you’ll see when you log into Klout, the website’s new changes give users a more transparent look into the key factors that determine where their scores fall, making the system a little more trustworthy. According to an interview with Joe Fernandez, CEO of Klout, the algorithmic alterations add more weight to conversations and actions that actually constitute influential behavior. This helps invalidate individuals who try to trick the system using robots. A major plus in my book! Additionally, the new website also gives users a sneak peek into upcoming additions that just might strike your interest.

Users can expect to find the following changes:

  • Redesign: Klout’s new profile design is easier to read and provides more insight into an individual’s Klout score. Although many of the sub-sections remain the same, the new graphs and in-depth analyses give users a better understanding of their influence.
  • Ability to Compare Your Klout: Users can now easily compare their profile to more than 75 million other people. This is a thorough analysis that examines specific stats, including unique re-tweeters, number of Likes and unique mentions.
  • Change in Analysis: Klout displays more relevant influencer data to help users better understand their score.
  • Showcase of Perks: There is now a section that shows off the variety of perks offered to users with high Klout scores, giving everyone more of a reason to strive for a higher ranking.
  • Sneak Peek into Upcoming Changes: Under the “edit profile” section, users can see that they will soon be able to add their LinkedIn and Foursquare profiles to their Klout account. Also, there is a new “achievements” section, hinting that there will soon be special milestone badges for influential efforts.

As seen through the sneak peeks, there are still quite a few changes that will be made before the new website makes its official debut. So in the meantime, you should check it out for yourself. You may be surprised at what you find. Although I tend to have my reservations about this new way of measuring influence, I agree with most scholars who believe that Klout is the best influence measurement system available today.

Categories: Blog,Social Media,Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , , ;

Are You Sabotaging Your Business’ Social Reputation?

Jacquelynn Mendez by
on May 6th, 2011

With Facebook at the forefront of social media, businesses throughout the US are scrambling to earn their rightful spot on this popular platform and can anyone really blame them? 500 million users is hard to pass up.

In today’s social-crazed world, it seems nearly impossible to pass a street of billboards, get through a set of commercials or read an entire magazine without seeing an ad that ends with, “Visit us on Facebook!” Don’t get me wrong, being a digital marketer I encourage the use of social media, especially Facebook, but what I don’t understand is why so many companies are sabotaging their own social reputation. They’re doing this by spending thousands of dollars to bring traffic to their page without hiring the staff needed to actively update, post responses on or monitor their social space.

If You Don’t Want to Play, Then Don’t Join the Game
Unless you’re Charlie Sheen, fans aren’t going to flock to your social media page when you have nothing to offer. So business owners should keep in mind that when you’re marketing your company’s Facebook page, you will be expected to actually use the platform as a means of two-way communication. For a social network user, there is nothing more frustrating than asking a question through Facebook or Twitter, only to find out later that the company posted five more updates without ever responding to the inquiry. If this is a space that you don’t want people to communicate to you on, then don’t create a page!

Ok, maybe that last sentence was a little harsh, but I just want to emphasize to businesses that internet users are much smarter than you give them credit for, and they spend enough time online to know the difference between the companies that genuinely care and those that set-up profile pages just to have an online presence. And trust me, with the speed at which news spreads today, the last thing any business should want to do is upset the wrong person. This is why businesses that are inconsistent or set up automated responses are only doing a disservice to themselves, this kind of disregard leads to negative sentiment toward the brand and unhappy fans (or soon to be ex-fans).

Avoiding Self Sabotage
If you haven’t figured it out by now, social media is about more than just creating status updates, finding followers and promoting your page. From blogger outreach to community contests, there is so much businesses could be doing in the social space. Facebook is just the beginning. So for anyone looking to join this platform, a good start at building a following of fans begins with at least a minimum set of tasks, like updating your page regularly, answering customer inquiries in a timely manner and adding a differentiating element. Most importantly, don’t join the conversation until your willing and ready to make a commitment to your fans.

Have any of you seen any ads lately asking you to visit a company’s Facebook or Twitter page, only to find out that the company was not actively updating their space?

(Here are a few examples of businesses that have figured out the social game)

Categories: Blog,Facebook,Social Media Marketing — Tags: , , ;

Dolphin HD Browser (Review)

David Sotelo by
on May 4th, 2011

I have been testing out the mobile web browser for the android operating system called Dolphin Browser HD for awhile now and I have to say that is a pretty solid browser. I have tried a few other browsers that I am basing my comparison including Androids stock browser as well as Opera Mini and Mozilla Firefox Mobile. Mobile browsers have come a long way since they have started but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I want to go over the main overall experience and features that Dolphin provides.

The biggest standout of this browser compared to the android stock browser and one of my favorite aspects of this browser is the ability to have multiple tabs open on one screen. The reason I sought out a different browser was for this very problem. I was tired of selecting the menu button to access another window or tab and having to a go through extra steps to just view a different web page. There is a multi-touch pinch zoom feature on here that allows you to double tap the screen to zoom as well as zooming in and out of any page. In the beginning the zoom feature was not up to par with the stock browser but that is not an issue now. The multi-touch pinch zoom is responsive and smooth now.

There are plenty of add-ons, extensions and themes for you to choose from although it is definitely a hit or miss with them. I have tried a few add-ons such as ad blocker, save bookmark to sd card and a few rss feeds however I felt they were not ready for primetime yet. I prefer to have a simple user interface and a quick and responsive browser. Speaking of quick, the dolphin browser it is pretty quick, I have not noticed much of a difference between it and android’s 2.2 stock browser which is snappy. There are different colored themes that are free to add some color to your browsing experience. The bookmark feature is something I hope they improve. If they can make bookmarking a site and accessing a bookmark on the actual webpage without having to go through the menu option then that would be a big plus.

Those are the main functions that I noticed with the browser but there are some nice features and ways to tweak your browser. There is the smart address bar which automatically completes your input by searching from your bookmarks and browsing history to help save you some time. There is a gesture command that I never really got into but you can create your own gestures with your unique pattern and decide what you would like it to do such as have a page go forward or back, etc. There are so many other settings and features that you can control with Dolphin you will probably be able to change the browsing experience to suit your needs. It is at least for now my go to browser.

Categories: App Reviews,Blog,Dr. App — Tags: , , , ;