Archive for December 2009

The folks at Smashing Apps have put together a list of the 69 Coolest Web Apps Of 2009. I found quite a few that were new to me that looked interesting including:

• HootSuite
• Color Scheme Designer
• CeeVee
• Wix
• Kuler

If you’re considering a website redesign in 2010 you may want to check out these 35+ Usability Resources for Web Designers. Steven Snell at DesignMag compiles a handy list of both premium and free usability resources to test out your new site. He also lists related websites and blogs, checklists, and articles.

Olly Farshi at The Apple Blog has put together a list of The 11 Best iPhone Apps of 2009. The post provides a selection of the best applications across 11 categories along with 2 runners-up for each. Here are the categories:

1. Best Game
2. Best Social & Communications App
3. Best Use of Push Notifications
4. Best News App
5. Best Use of Content
6. Best Video App
7. Best Photography App
8. Best Sound App
9. Best Productivity Tool
10. Best Lifestyle App
11. Best Utility

Take a look back at notable 2009 trends with this interesting post from Chris Allison at Mashable. He rounds up the most influential topics of the past year in 2009 As Seen Through Twitter Hashtags. If that’s not enough Twitter goodness for you, also check out their article listing the most discussed topics on Twitter.

Seth Rosenblatt rounds up The 10 best new Firefox add-ons of 2009 for CNet’s Download Blog. Here are his top five recommendations:

1. Personas
2. Jetpack
3. Weave Sync
4. Multi Links
5. FastestFox

Stan Schroeder at Mashable analyzes How Twitter Conquered the World in 2009. Here are his main discussion points:

• Who’s Doing All This Tweeting?
• It’s Everywhere!
• New Features
• The Growth Suddenly Stops
• The Importance of Real-Time

Vivek Gite at NixCraft has put together a list of the 10 Greatest Open Source Software Of 2009. Here are his top five:

1. Inkscape ( Vector Graphics Editor )
2. 7-Zip ( Archiver )
3. VLC ( Media Player )
4. VirtualBox ( Virtualization )
5. Miro ( Internet TV )

Should you share your link on Twitter or on Facebook? Which users click more and which spend more time once they’ve landed on your site? Digital Inspiration provides the answers in their post Sharing on Facebook vs. Sharing on Twitter which discusses new ShareThis statistics.

Lifehacker rounds up the Most Popular Free iPhone Apps (and Posts) of 2009. This post not only provides 12 of the best free applications for the iPhone, but links to detailed posts with screenshots and instructions.

Christina Warren at Mashable has compiled a list of 10 Must-Read eBooks for Social Media Lovers. Each list entry includes a brief synopsis, cover art, and format details. The World According to Twitter by David Pogue and Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith look particularly interesting.

SocialMouths has a tutorial on How To Produce Video Interviews For Your Blog Using Skype. The article breaks down the process into 6 steps which include helpful screenshots and software recommendations.

1. Record A Little Intro
2. Screen Capture
3. Skype
4. Editing Your Video
5. Video Sharing Service
6. Embed To Your Post

Whether you’re putting together a conference presentation or a designing website, there’s always the question of how to create an appealing color scheme. SmashingApps has done a great job of rounding up 50 Best Free Tools To Create Perfect Color Combinations. Each one of these applications will give you much needed guidance when visualizing your color palettes.

ProBlogger has an article about 13 Types of Posts that Always Get Lots of Comments by Darren Rowse. The author discusses each of these different types of blog posts and links to illustrative examples:

1. Competitions
2. Personal Stories
3. Show Off Posts/Share a link
4. Creative Posts
5. Hacks
6. Meaty Posts
7. Relatable Posts
8. Question Posts
9. Debate or Controversy Posts
10. Opinion Pieces
11. Humor
12. Group Projects/Challenges
13. Mega Lists/Resources

Ritu at FreelanceFolder discusses 5 Ways to Better Engage Readers on Your Blog. These are all helpful tips which blog authors will want to check out. Here are his recommendations:

1. The End Is the Beginning
2. Give Your Readers an Incentive
3. Make It Fun, Make It Worthwhile
4. Be There
5. We Are In It Together

Leah Betancourt at Mashable shares 10 Rules for Increasing Community Engagement. If you’re launching a social media initiative you’ll want to check out these quick tips for encouraging user involvement. Here are her 10 recommendations, be sure and read the post for the full explanations:

1. Make It Easy to Participate
2. Be a Leader
3. Interact With the Community
4. Welcome Newbies
5. Identify and Nurture Power Users
6. Showcase and Cross Promote UGC
7. Reward Contributors
8. Be Timely About Posting UGC
9. Allow Profile Creation
10. Engage With Popular Existing Communities