brightkite many glitches but – itsReal

What is Brightkite?

Brightkite is the simple way to keep up with friends and places. It lets you see where all your friends are, so you can spend more time with them. You can also discover places in your neighborhood and meet other locals along the way.

What Does APLINK Think?

Brightkite reminds me of the early facebook days and then also Twitter – I could at first see little use for both of the before mentioned social platforms, however today I mock that I spend 36 hours a day in facebook and now manage around 8 twitter accounts.

But unlike facebook & twitter. Brightkite has many – let me call them – glitches but after re-attempting different things it seems like magic brightkite does what it is kinda meant to do. The best thing about brightkite is its ability to connect facebook & twitter to your travels via your smartphone, I have an HTC Hero which is android based and there is a brightkite app – hey and it works !!!

So, what do I think – APLINK can’t help but be on as many social platforms he can find and that make sense. Brightkite seems to make sense for now & with an alexa rank of 12,581 – alot more people than me must seem to think itsReal too.

note: to find me on brightkite my nick is OZAWESUM – that’s one of the glitches I can’t seem to fix. I forgot my APLINK password and can’t seem to generate a reset – so have had to re-register with a new account.

TIP: if you have a business especially a venue, restaurant or bar – register and create your business location – it’s free and yet another signpost to your doorstep courtesy of SOCIAL MEDIA.

TwitterWatchDog – A Pair of Helpers – itsReal

If you are hoping to get into twitter in a big way – I would follow these guys at TwitterWatchDog.com – it appears they know what they are doing ! Very soon I will be publishing my own Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Twitter – till then here are direct comments from the guys from TwitterWatchDog and why they do what they do !

About the guys behind TwitterWatchDog

About Al Ferretti and Skeeter Hansen

Al Ferretti

Hi~ My name is Al Ferretti and I’m a proud Co-Founder of TwitterWatchDog.com

I have always been a seeker and a provider of ways to connect people with each other, so everyone involved can benefit.

This is where my core personal and professional values of engaging, building relationships and providing value come into play…

These core values may seem like common sense yet it’s amazing how many people are unaware of, forget or simply take for granted.

I discovered as an entrepreneur, servant of corporate america and throughout my personal life, that my success virtually always surrounded a sense of community that included the core values of engaging, building relationships and providing value.

With that being said, it is my belief that Twitter is a true once in a lifetime opportunity that equalizes the playing field for everyone that fully embraces those core values.

Follow me while I help teach and train you how to maximize your experience on Twitter…I promise to serve you with the utmost integrity and look forward to getting to know and learning from you too.

-Your Pal Al Ferretti

Skeeter Hansen

I have always had a passion to help people live a better & higher quality of life. After spending 15 years in the Networking Marketing industry as a trainer & motivator, working with 1000’s of people from several similar companies I had decided to retire. I wanted to do something different. Still wanting to work with people, my good friend (Al Ferretti) recommended I build a business on the Internet.

In November of 2008, I decided to take action by starting my Internet journey. Within my first month on the Internet I discovered Twitter. Within a few months I was called a Twitter blogger & had co-founded TwitterWatchDog.com. My goal is focused on providing systems easy to follow to help people understand Internet marketing & social media through the use of Twitter.

-Skeeter Hansen

An interesting post from the duo is here: Employers Block Twitter & Facebook – http://twitterwatchdog.com/2009/08/29/employers-block-twitter-facebook/

to follow me on twitter – head here: http://twitter.com/aplink & of course facebook http://facebook.com/aplink

Media Release: Twinity opens for global PUBLIC beta – itsReal

Mayor Opens Virtual Berlin – whilst Twinity becomes open beta

Metaversum GmbH, developer and operator of the 3D online world Twinity, today entered its public beta phase. At the press conference in Berlin, Berlin’s mayor Klaus Wowereit opened the virtual counterpart of Germany’s capital city in Twinity. Singapore, London, and many other international metropolises are set to follow in the near future.

Singapore, 07 September 2008 – At a press conference in Berlin Metaversum GmbH gave the starting signal for the public beta phase of its virtual world Twinity. During this test phase, internet users can venture out and explore virtual Berlin from anywhere in the world. Singapore, London, and many other international metropolises are set to follow in the near future.

During the launch event, Berlin’s mayor Klaus Wowereit was presented with the symbolic key to the virtual city. “Innovative projects from Berlin like Twinity enable people from all around the world to experience the creative metropolis of Berlin on the internet. This opens up a whole new dimension to Berlin. We’re especially happy to see how many new international visitors and inhabitants virtual Berlin has already gained in the last few days,” commented Wowereit.

Germany’s capital is the first city to be rendered in the virtual world. Twinity members can now experience virtual Berlin first hand. From the Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt, members can visit virtual galleries, bars, and clubs, go shopping, meet new people, and even move in and furnish their own virtual apartments. During the public beta phase, Twinity will be constantly tested and updated, new content will be added, and the platform will be optimized with the help of member feedback.

“Our vision is clear,” said Jochen Hummel, CEO of Metaversum GmbH. “This is a trusted environment within a virtual world, lifelike, and based on real metropolises. People can live, work, and have fun here. They can also beam themselves straight into the world’s most attractive cities with a single click. With the launch of our public beta phase, we have laid the foundation for Twinity’s international rollout.”

Pictured: Jochen Hummel, Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit & Mirko Caspar

All those interested in visiting Twinity can now register for the public beta at www.twinity.com.

Google Chrome – Sexist Bannaza for Google, Madonna not included – itsReal

What appears to be an accidental announcement about CHROME a week earlier than expected has turned into a Bannazza for GOOGLE and judging from the massive immediate response to APLINK – itsReal then the accident about the new google browser must have been pre-meditated…the response on my blog is as if MADONNA actually was live … hmm in 3D on my blog …

titanic raised – in UNREAL – itsReal

Joe Rigby a member of the Association of VirtuaL Worlds hooked me up on skype recently and did a live demo of his virtual world – based on UNREAL a gaming platform. What hit me as amazing was Joe’s passion for what he is doing – of all the AVW members he could have contacted he targeted me (maybe he knew i would blog about his efforts) and so I feel compelled to blog about his endeavours.

joe’s company is called MellaniuM, but please don’t judge his website – They are in EARLY early start-up mode similar to my client Twinity, but i guess Twinity is further along – for MellaniuM their focus is spot on – Education, archeology and  architects – they don’t want to be a second life or twinity, they want to create 3D virtual experiences that people can learn and profit from. Their company tagline is – Widening your horizons by simulating the world

From my perspective, I applaud Joe for contacting me, and in return here is my blog post – the Virtual Worlds industry whether startup or like second life and its ups and downs is innovation that can only become more powerful in the decades ahead – watch the titanic video on Youtube from MellaniuM  – itsReal

altsearchengines.com is all about search – itsReal

Google is THE dominant player in search and with its vast resources it is no wonder. Google’s rise almost overnight is spectacular and from last nite’s Vinton Cerf’s presentation organised by The Digital Movement (TDM) they already have an IPv6 version ready for major release when the time is right. But as you will read there are literally thousands of search engines out in the market like my client’s recruit.net, which are useful and are making market niches for themselves.

Thanks to Charles Knight of altsearchengines.com more of us consumers are able to know about these inspired search companies – His amazing blog style site can keep you abreast of the latest in search technology and the market players battling it out to crave a slice for themselves in the lucrative search market.

Charles just became even more famous with his interview on AcessMyLibrary.com, an excerpt is below

AltSearchEngines

SYNOPSIS

AltSearchEngines is a blog that provides news, reviews, and analysis of specialized and emerging search engines. It’s a fascinating window into the non-Google search engine world, and it’s a necessary hangout for search engine fans. We’re not sure that the next Google is here yet, but the pretenders are an engaging lot nonetheless.

PRODUCER

AltSearchEngines, http://www.altsearchengines.com

So you think you know all about search engines? OK, you use Google all the time, and sometimes you use its specialty engines including Scholar or Blogs. You occasionally use Yahoo! or Ask.com. And admit it, you’ve become quite fond of YouTube, and some of you even have MySpace or Facebook profiles. Finally, you’re probably adept at a few proprietary online services. Basically, you think you have this online search thing figured out.

But not so fast. Are you using QueryCAT and factbites.com for targeted fact retrieval? Can you analyze the respective metasearch capabilities of Intelways, Ixquick, Sputtr.com, and TurboScout? Is KoolTorch a better visualization engine than Liveplasma? Well, maybe you don’t know as much as you think you do.Maybe you’re not a Master of the Search Engine Universe after all. Maybe you need to spend some time at AltSearchEngines (www .altsearchengines.com).

No Google Here

AltSearchEngines is a combination directory, news service, review source, rating agency, job post, and general blogosphere for alternate search engines (ASEs) operated by Charles Knight. He describes himself on the site as an “industry analyst and former SEO.” On AltSearchEngines, he’s the manager of a lively site that ASE users and developers visit frequently.

Read more at AccessMyLibrary – (to read the full story a simple rego is needed) – itsReal

APLINK republished at AltSearchEngines

want to see something NEW in the Social Media Space – itsReal

Invite initially came from twitter…

You are cordially invited to watch and participate in a LIVE web demo of XID at http://ustream.tv/channel/brianshaler, starting at (about) 1:00pm MST/Arizona Saturday 2/2/2008….

What is XID?

The XID project is intended to provide a free, open, and decentralized method of sharing your online presence with your friends.

The most important thing about social networks is being connected with your friends. By storing and filtering your friends’ XID information, you will easily be able to see which of your friends already have accounts on any given social network. No email address book importing. No searching for each of your friends’ names. You don’t need to rely on the web site’s friend-finding mechanisms if you have XID.

What will be Demo’d?
XID is a platform, and when the platform is launched, so will a set of complementary applications. The applications involved are not yet complete. I will be showing and explaining what has been completed so far. Currently, there is an optional web application that is intended to allow new users to quickly and easily set up an XID card without looking at any code. There is also a Firefox extension that allows users to import and manage their friends’ XID cards.

Web Application
The web application consists of these key features:

• Registration/Login: Create a card and come back to edit it
• 3-step process of creating an XID card: Save basic personal information (Name, Location, etc), contact information, and profile URLs (all optional)
• Profile URLs: People who use the same screen name on multiple sites can add them to their XID card with one click
• Public URL for XID card: Give this URL to their friends

Those features have been at least partially implemented and they can be previewed right now. There will be more features in the near future.

Firefox Extension
The Firefox sidebar extension consists of these key features:

• Add: Paste a friend’s URL and the extension will retrieve the friend’s XID card and add it to a local/client-side database
• Friends List: Display all friends and show how many social networks they are on
• Networks List: Display all networks friends are on, in order of popularity
• Friend Detail View: Display all social networks a specific friend is on and provide links to the user’s profiles
• Network Detail View: Display all friends on a given social network
• Recent Activity: Shows if friends have added or removed any social networks

Again, those are features that are at least partially implemented and there will be more to come.

NOT Just a Tour
There is no scheduled end time for this Live web demo. After an initial tour is complete, I will discuss current and future features with anyone in the UStream chat room (UStream account NOT required to participate!). I will also work on writing code to implement features while discussing them. Live.

At the expense of a little productivity, I will attempt to multi-task.

For Singapore and Asia interested people here is the time it will be in Singapore !

Phoenix (U.S.A. – Arizona)	Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 1:00:00 PM	UTC-7 hours MST
Singapore (Singapore)	Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:00:00 AM	UTC+8 hours

Get more updates details here: on Brian Shaler Blog

APLINK will be there !

Messge from CEO of Recruit.net Maneck Mohan to Singapore Bloggers – itsReal

Messge from CEO of Recruit.net Maneck Mohan to Singapore Bloggers

At Midnight tonight our Recruit.net Creative Feedback Challenge closes….

The Worlds Billionaires – itsReal

forbes missed my name, o i guess i make the list in 2008 – Happy New Year – Everyone who reads Aplink… Keep Dreaming – itsReal

clipped from www.forbes.com The World’s Billionaires The World’s Richest People Edited by Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass It’s been a busy year in the fortune-hunting business. Paella Party Matthew Swibel and Christina von Zeppelin Spain’s sizzling real estate market creates nine new billionaires. A Quick Buck Tatiana Serafin The Fortress Five are outed as billionaires. Billions — But Largely On Paper Michael Freedman and William P. Barrett The growing corps of ten-figure tycoons is mirrored by some interesting registrations at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Timeline: Two Decades Of Wealth Chaniga Vorasarun Since 1987 Forbes has scoured the globe tracking the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest people and uncovering new faces.