Connected Well

Google’s really laying on the additions to GoogleVoice. It seems they’re really moving forward with things at a rapid pace. The latest addition is a gMail Labs add-on that will have GoogleVoice voicemails show up in your mailbox, and you can play them on the spot:

Previously, clicking “Play message” opened a new page in your browser, but starting today, you can play voicemails right in Gmail. Just turn on the Google Voice player from the Gmail Labs tab under Settings and whenever you get a voicemail notification, the player will appear right below the message itself.

Best of all, your message status will stay synced: messages played from Gmail will appear as read in your Google Voice inbox and won’t be played again when you check new messages via your phone. If you already use Google Voice, try it out and let us know what you think. If you don’t have a Google Voice account yet, sign up for an invitation and we’ll get you one ASAP.

Read the article at the gMail Blog

api Apps, Tools communication, google, googlevoice, telephone, voice, voip

For a while, SMS heaven seemed to rest lightly on all users of gmail and it’s in-browser gtalk client. keeping up with people who were not “online” but mobile was as easy as pie.  Changing between SMS and gTalk chat was clear and simple. All was well in the universe, until the SMS gods at google removed their goodwill in March of this year.

But, what is this?  Could it be possible that we have been found worthy of their blessings once again?  It appears so.  Check the screen clips.  Do you see this in your gmail, too?

Below, see that your contacts in Gmail’s chat sidebar, who have a mobile number, show up with a mobile phone icon when they are not online.



Clicking “Send SMS” in the window above, pops open the chat box where you can send and receive SMS messages from the user:

If the user comes “online” (signs into gTalk) then you have the option of switching to Instant Messaging, and no-longer sending your messages via SMS.

*It would be nice if I could redirect SMS that goes to my phone’s number to gTalk… and if I am not online, then it just goes straight through. Interesting possible app there…

api Apps, Tools, mobile Apps, communication, google, gtalk, IM, sms

Overhearing a few conversations yesterday drove home the point to me that Twitter (or identi.ca or pownce, plurk or even email) is really simply a way to have conversations.

Kumbaya, and all that

This screenshot from my twitter feed shows @cachedout bumming about his speeding ticket (bottom image). Seconds later, @littleidea replies in-kind (see top image). Misery loves company. Speeding ticket recipients are not immune from this most-basic human desire.

What you say is irrelevant.

Who you say it to is highly relevant.

And, the network will pwn you if you say things too far out of context, or without consideration of who you are talking to.

Yet, the network will <3 you if you show up real, human, and relevant. Using twitter for business? That’s a lot different than just using it to catch up with friends on Friday night, or to keep tabs on your family.

Crossover posts? No problem sometimes, but beware the implications. Sharing a great insight from a book to your friends isn’t dangerous. But, joking with your friends about how out of control Friday night got, and your co-workers are listening in… might come back to get you.

Rahhb Networking, Social Networking, Tools communicating, communication, conversation, funny, human, identi.ca, listening, plurk, pownce, pwn, sharing, talking, twitter

Yeah, twitter is addictive. It’s fun. It’s compelling.  Here’s a few tips to help newbies to twitter get the feel of it a little faster:

• SheGeeks’ Twitter 101 post gives pretty good clarification on following other people. In short, give people a reason to follow you before following them. The difference between a friend and a stalker is that you know who your friends are
  “When you first start Twitter, you should build up your stream first. Send out about 20 messages that actually mean something. Talk about your interest, something cool that you like, or something you found out about today. This way, people can get a better feel for how beneficial you’d be to them if they followed you in return.”
• Sarah Hurd points to Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang). as a great example of twittering “right”:
  “He uses a great mixture of providing helpful and relevant content, championing others, networking, asking questions to generate conversations, providing rundowns of events he’s attending, and laughing about life.”
• Charlotte-Ann Lucas, a journalist, says it this way:

  “Twitter is community.It can be like sitting with your friends on a coast-to-coast couch, eavesdropping on a national conversation.”

Rahhb Networking, Social Networking, human being social, communication, friends, listening, networks, social, talking, twitter

I don’t have any idea why this was launched nearly a month ago and I am just finding it, but I think Facebook Chat is a pretty cool idea… and NOT because it’s “CHAT”.

Nevermind that TechCrunch somehow knew about Facebook Chat and I didn’t… must have been that day twitter was down..

First a few screenshots:

The first shows my facebook homepage, with a new “toolbar” along the bottom and a notifications window that pops up:

The second screenshot is a closeup of the status box, showing 9 online friends… 3 active, and 6 idle… and their statuses:

End of the day, I like this tool simply because its providing a drop-dead simple way to:

• Touch in with people simply
• Find out what’s happening in my network
• Communicate with people as-needed in the same place I find them (it is inefficient to use one tool to locate someone and then another tool to communicate with them when you find them!)

I don’t know if FB CHAT has additional features, but I would like it to:

• Integrate with my existing IM client… let me be online via FB chat or another IM tool, and let people find me through their own vector of accessing it.
• Integrate with twitter… or at least FacebookMobile. send me a FB chat and DM it to my twitter client or FB registered cell phone.

Rahhb Social Networking, Tools awareness, chat, communication, facebook, facebook chat, FB, IM, location, Social Networking, status, Tools