Digital Life Simplified
Posts tagged social networking
You too can have the whole world in your hands!
Sep 21st
In order to succeed in this over- stimulated society, we must learn to keep up with new tools, gadgets, software, and all sorts of products that are constantly being thrown at us. It becomes a hassle and a waste of time to manually keep up with each one. One prime example is my assortment of buddy lists. With different people on AIM, Gchat, MSN (Windows Live Messenger),QQ, and Facebook chat, it is blinding to see so many boxes blinking at me on the computer screen! Luckily someone must’ve felt the same way and had some super smart developers (like the ones here at Minesage [MeshTop]) whip up programs where it can aggregate all your contacts from different applications into one place! Yes, this makes our digital lives simpler. Although we haven’t been around for very long, we here at MeshTop want to provide some valuable tips to help you simplify your digital life!
I’m sure there are a lot of wonderful programs out there, but the two that I use and trust the most are Adium and Disby. I’ll give you a brief description of each one and you can choose for yourself 
For you Apple lovers out there, this is a great alternative to iChat (which you could download chax in order to have the same effect). In addition to the services mentioned above, Adium supports a variety of other services, aggregating everything into one list. You can customize it so that your contacts show up alphabetically, by sections, by groups, however you want them, wherever you want them! For more detailed information check it out here.
For those who are not exclusively Apple users, there is Digsby. Similar to Adium, it accumulates your contacts from various buddy lists so that it is all in one place. In addition, it allows you to check your email and reply directly from your IM window. Not only that, you can receive updates from your social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn. Now you can really say “I’ve got the whole world in my hand.”
Of course, the customization option is complete with both applications, giving you freedom to express yourself however you like!
Here at MeshTop, we are all about saving time and increasing productivity! We’ve integrated Facebook, Twitter and MSN into a Microsoft Outlook add-in so you don’t have to waste time opening all those applications separately. Optimizing your desktop space and your time!
Hopefully you found this post helpful in solving your buddy list clutter! Please check back next week for another tip to help make your digital life simple!
Facebook’s Open Graph API and Online Privacy
May 14th
A lot of information has been flying around the web for the last few weeks regarding Facebook’s privacy policy and Open Graph. My goal for this blog is to provide you with some sites that will help you bypass the volumes of information and get straight to the facts that concern the average Facebook user.
The main question is: Should you we worry about our own privacy? I mean, is our information safe in Facebook’s hands? I think it’s valid to question Facebook’s privacy changes, especially in relation to its new Open Graph API.
The New York Times posted an article criticizing Facebook for the complexity and length of their privacy policy. Accompanying the article is a map of all the Privacy Options in Facebook, which appear every bit as complex as The New York Times claims.
I’ll admit; it looks bad. But here’s the thing: there are so many privacy options because Facebook wants to allow the users to choose what they share. Facebook has offered a highly customizable user interface, so that we can select our own levels of privacy.
Facebook has implemented a really interesting program, the Open Graph API, which has the potential to enhance our online experiences. It can provide relevant information to marketers, who can in turn provide you with advertisements that are actually relevant to you, rather than random things you aren’t interested in. It can save you time by pulling information from your Facebook page to customize other web sites when you browse. Mashable provides an excellent summary of what Open Graph actually is.
One benefit I’ve seen is from the music-streaming website Pandora, as reported by Wired. With Open Graph enabled, Pandora can pull your music preferences from your Facebook page and create customized playlists based on your taste. You can then share music and recommendations with your Facebook friends.
The main thing I disagree with regarding Open Graph is the default setting that Facebook chose. Privacy settings are set to automatically share user information via Open Graph since Facebook put the new program into operation. Had Open Graph been implemented as an “opt in” system, I believe the media backlash would have been much less.
Inside Facebook posted a great review of the current issues surrounding Facebook, Open Graph and privacy. It’s pretty long, but if personal privacy on the internet is important to you, it’s well worth the read.
The bottom line is that as far as internet privacy is concerned, we all need to be aware of what information we’re sharing. It is each individual’s responsibility to know what he or she posts online. That being said, there is no need to close your social networking accounts immediately or to start using an alias. Just be responsible and cognizant of your online identity. Choose what content you want to share and customize your Facebook privacy settings. Use (or don’t use) Open Graph to create the web experience that you want.
The NEW Digital Life Simplified Blog
Apr 23rd
Happy Lisa and the lollipop!
Hi, everyone!
We’ve been really busy the last few weeks at meshtop. We are about to release a new version (details to come), which has required a lot of man hours! And we’re re-designing the website to better express the essence of MeshTop. As part of these changes, we’ve decided to take this blog in a different direction, one that you guys can relate to and will find beneficial.
The idea came from thinking about some of our favorite things. For example, a few of mine are Diet Dr. Pepper fountain soda, lollipops, and strawberry bubblegum (note: it must be bubblegum; chewing gum is not the same!). I realize that this may sound a bit silly to some of you, but it really proves the conclusion we made: Many of the things that make us happiest in this world are the simplest things around. This lead to our new blog concept: Digital Life Simplified.
We began thinking about how using computers and other technology is meant to make our lives easier. Unfortunately, things have been getting more and more complicated in some ways. For example, as an expat living in the big city, every time I leave the house, I need to have three things with me: my phone, my camera, and my mp3 player. It’s a real pain to have to carry all that around everywhere; even worse for guys because most have to try to fit everything in their pockets! Fortunately, Apple came out with the iPhone. Not only is this a phone, media player and camera in one, it has the capability to download translators, dictionaries and taxi cards in the native language. Having all these conveniences in one hand-held device is much easier: less to carry, less to remember when you leave the house, less to learn how to use.
This concept is exactly what we aim for at meshtop. Social Networking has become a huge part of the business world. Many of us rely on social networking concepts such as Twitter, Facebook and MSN to communicate with our customers and build leads. By merging the information from these sites into Outlook, you can quickly see status updates from your friends from all sites in one place, without logging into multiple websites and juggling several tabs or windows. meshtop matches the email addresses in your Inbox with your Facebook/Twitter contacts, so you can quickly check someone’s recent updates before replying to an email. Meshtop also automatically searches for an email address on Facebook to see if the contact has a profile if you aren’t already linked to that person (Note to Ye: does it do this with Twitter and MSN too? I only noticed Facebook before, but I think it probably checks them all. Please confirm.), helping you remember who you have forgotten to add as friends. As our new tag-line indicates, meshtop truly is Digital Life Simplified.
Over the next few months, we will be introducing some new products to make your lives easier. We will also bring you information through the DLS blog. We will tell you about new products and articles to make your life simpler through technology. We hope you like our changes, and as always your comments and questions are welcome.
