martes, 30 de agosto de 2011

Mejor página de fans de Facebook: Consejos esenciales, aplicaciones y ejemplos

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Facebook has changed all of our lives. Whether you’ve ever had an account or even visited the website, it’s difficult to ignore the hundreds of Facebook’s “Like” and “Share” badges seen all around the modern web. The blogosphere is constantly buzzing with comments and shares over Facebook.

facebook fan page tips Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Knowing the popularity of Facebook, it’s commonplace to create a fan page for any community or website launch. This provides an outlet for your fans to get together in one place to share ideas, photos, questions, and reviews. This type of marketing works in any corporate or personal situation, thus it’s perfect for businesses and events.

In this particular post, I’ll be going into a few useful tips to put together an amazing fan page. This will help your website, community, or product sales garner a lot of attention! After all, Facebook is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on the Internet. Why wouldn’t you want your brand spread all over there?

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Before we go into creating a Facebook fan page, first we should explain what exactly a fan page comprises. Unknown to many is the fact that each fan page will be presented in public. While user profiles are generally hidden from search engine crawlers, fan page can be created and open to everybody. This is by default their natural state.

hongkiat fan page sharing Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Users are able to see your photos, updates, and latest notes published even without a Facebook account. With some newer features you can even import a RSS feed from your blog or Twitter account. Once you’ve created a fan page, you can set up discussion forums too. This is a great place for people to meet and share opinions about whatever your topic may be.

And the most obvious benefit? It’s 100% free of charge! Doesn’t cost a dime. This type of marketing only costs a little time to setup and configure, thus making it possible for you to invest more time and cost on marketing.

With fan page, you’re also able to upload photos and video content and store these contents remotely on Facebook’s server while sharing out directly to your fans. The promotional value is huge from any standpoint.

For the sake of this article we’re assuming you’ve already signed up Facebook and have an account yourself. If not, feel free to create one, or sign up under your company name with a fake personality.

facebook create fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

If you are logged into the site, scroll towards the very bottom of the page. On the right-hand side of the footer you’ll find a series of small links, one of which is titled Create a Page. Click and you’re brought right here to choose the type of page you’re looking to create. Facebook styles the pages differently based on your focus. Some examples include an event or charity, entertainment media, celebrities or bands, and local businesses.

You’ll have to fill in a bit of information and agree to Facebook Pages’ terms and conditions. It’s all fairly straightforward information, so you shouldn’t get lost anywhere in the process. However if you run into an obstacle, you can try to go back to the front page and start again.

If you’ve confirmed your details and everything looks good, congratulations! You’ve completed the creation process and your new fan page is up online. You can now edit settings, upload photos, and invite your friends to join.

There are some rudimentary steps you’ll want to customize before anything else. After your fan page is online you’ll certainly want to change your default photo. Often a company or brand logo works best. This is recognized quickly by potential fans and will be displayed across the network on their profile pages.

hongkiat fan page info Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

You’ll find an “Info” tab located on the front of your profile. This should contain information about your cause or event, video game, whatever you’ve chosen to market. Try generating unique web copy for your Facebook page as this tends to be very important to Google and other search engines. Even if you change up some sentences, this will go a long way in unique branding for your fan page.

You may additionally wish to create albums and upload more public photos. These could be photographs of your team, or photographs of your work space. They could even be screenshots from your movie or favourite video game title. Either way it’s great to include some extra photos as it’ll add some legitimacy to your page. Viewers also love the extra content and it’ll rope in some potentially wary group members.

Consider welcoming your visitors and explaining a bit about why you created the page. Or if you would rather stay out of 1st person, pretend you are not someone creating the page and write from an external source. Explain a bit about your fan page and why people should join. What information will they access? Can you offer any unique video or image not found anywhere else?

It’s very unfortunate that Facebook’s app directory has gone, but a better application searching solution is in the development. That’s not really a problem for you, as we will showcase some best Facebook apps here! If you find anything interesting it’s a simple process to include this new app onto your page in just a few minutes.

facebook apps Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples
(Image Source: E-EXPLORERS)

You can access the apps right from your fan page when you’re logged in. It’s worth to note that the content these apps bring will also be open to all visitors, as no information is hidden from a public fan page.

Truly the addition of apps was a brilliant strategy Facebook created. It allows extensible features to be added into any page, at any time, automatically! And these are turned off by default to keep things clean and organized. It’s only you as the administrator who can place additional content onto the page.

recommended app extended info Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Personally I’d also recommend the Extended Info app (included below as well). With this you can add another portion to your profile such as favourite food, TV show, life interests, etc. You can edit these to fit specific goals or recommendations. As an example a video game website may write about their favourite reviews or latest launches from 2011. If you own a blog you may also share your most popular articles or categories.

The process of creating a Facebook application is a bit convoluted, especially for those not grounded in the basics of programming languages and syntax. But for any tech-savvy individuals you may consider creating a few apps for your personal fan page. The Facebook developer center offers comprehensive documentation and examples. Check out their Getting Started guide for more resources.

It seems in-page apps are the most popular way to gain attention. Pages which are blank and hold no addition content do not stand well in the art of gaining fans. Spend some time browsing these apps and add the one that really helps. Also Facebook lets you disable and remove apps you don’t like or you don’t need any more.

Some of these are included in regular Facebook profiles too, so you may be familiar with the inner workings of the most popular page apps.

The RSS app lets you import any RSS feed and directly output the new content. This includes blog updates and personal website RSS feeds. Businesses and small corporations would benefit most from this functionality to save you time updating an online persona.

The customization options are pretty rich. You may choose to upload a custom photo or logo, include small template changes, and even adding multiple RSS feeds. It is truly a must have application for any aspiring fan page.

blog rss feed reader Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Twitter has taken off like a rocket since its initial launching in summer of 2006. Thus it makes sense that Twitter has kept updated with the most successful social networking website in the world. With their official app you can include tweets from any account you hold.

Additionally a small box is added onto your Facebook page with small Twitter icon. This is perfect for visitors to check up what profiles you’re attached with. There may be other Twitter apps located on Facebook as well, but I find the 3rd party developers often leave out functionality which the Twitter team never overlooks.

twitter Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

If you’re knowledgeable in HTML development then you may be surprised to realize Facebook has removed this entirely from fan page. Whereas MySpace initially allowed users to edit their content with custom images and links, Facebook has never even included this option. However with the FBML app you can work with HTML and FBML tags.

You can read more about FBML code right here at their developers’ documentation page. It’s simply a way to include tools and forms within your page without knowing any backend programming.

static fbml Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

For those who are less knowledgeable in web page development and HTML I highly recommend checking out this app. It works similarly as the Static FBML application above, yet the user interface is a lot easier to go through and doesn’t require lengthy HTML knowledge.

This app has been around for a while and has received a lot of positive criticism from users. It’s widely regarded as a great way to customize your profile page with unique forms, tabs, and input fields. Check out Extended Info if you’re just getting started and need some quick customizations done.

extended info Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

The SlideShare application has grown very quickly and is often referenced by techies. It’s a startup community used for sharing live presentations via the Internet. The Facebook app is just another extension of the site’s functionality. With this you may share popular documents and presentations to your entire fan base.

The application includes support for Microsoft PowerPoint and Word documents, along with iWorks and Pages. PDF documents and YouTube videos are also supported. If you’ve already got a SlideShare account with content it’s a simple process to connect and share your account’s content into Facebook.

slideshare Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Possibly the best way to garner user feedback is through the Reviews app. This app has been given almost 4000 personal reviews by Facebook users. It’s included in many fan pages, ranged from countless categories.

If you are not looking for critiques then I don’t recommend installing the app. My experience talk: as an user interface designer I am particularly interested with how my users feel about my designs. It’s very important for my users to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. However if you do not feel the same way try the custom contact form instead.

reviews Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Here we have some basic polling functionality which is just another way of gaining user information. If you have a large following on Facebook this app is a great way to bring in some honest feedback from your visitors.

poll Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

You may poll about anything and run for as long as you need. The results can be tweeted or shared onto your blog directly from the app. This requires moderator’s status, but it should not be a problem if you’re the page admin.

Active forums have been running on the web for decades now. These discussion boards are fantastic for sharing opinions and discussing important topics. If you find yourself caught with a large fan base interested in discussing your topic, this app may be perfect for your page.

Users who are logged into Facebook may immediately begin posting or creating topics. Encourage responses by helping the tab stand out, or include a brief link in your page description. If you can, include the app after you have at least 100 or more fans, else your forums will most likely appear as a ghost town and scare off potential fans.

discussion boards Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Users of the VoIP and IM chat software Skype will redeem this application as a must-have. Chances are you already have a personal account or have created a branded account under your fan page. Either way is fine, Skype offers an organic solution to meet and converse with your fans. You may hold chat sessions or disclose important release information via Skype as well.

skype me Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

This may as well be my personal favourite Facebook application. The Livestream app lets you tie into your account and start streaming your videos live onto Facebook. Streaming has become amazingly popular amongst the tech-savvy individuals running the Internet. You can share information a lot quicker and more directly.

On the installed Livestream tab your visitors will also be presented with a comment box. They may respond to your streams in real-time and chat with others viewing your content. A bountiful share button is also included so your fans may push out your page links to the dozens of available networks. A similar app Facebook Live has been launched, however it lacks many features where Livestream excels.

livestream Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Ultimately your fan page will grow once you’ve gained a small group of initial followers. Fans are just people who use Facebook and have “Liked” your page after finding it through some means. As you gain more fans your profile will gain more exposure, leading to a lot more followers.

facebook like Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples
(Image Source: fourfiveX)

If you have a famous Facebook account and know a lot of people then it’s easier to gain more attention. Facebook will include a link for your page once it has been created and activated. Update your status and share this link to all your fellow Facebook friends. You may gain some additional followers through this process, and many friends will “Like” and share your link in their network.

On your personal page or website it would be wise to include the same fan page’s link. This could be done in your footer area, or possibly via a small Facebook icon somewhere on the page. Ideally you’ll be pulling the most traffic for your product from the main website.

However if you do not have a website associated with your page that’s okay too, you can try creating a type of promotional media and distribute throughout your Internet profiles. Perhaps a graphic or digital flyer advertisement which you can share on Flickr or Twitter. Create a small introductory video and upload to the YouTube is another powerful attention-grabbing method.

If you’re running profiles elsewhere on the web, especially if you’re a personal company or blog, add external links into your sidebar or About section. It’s becoming increasingly popular for people to use multiple networks these days. It seems brands like Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Digg, and others are commonplace by modern day Internet users.

hongkiat twitter Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

If you’re on these networks, keep using them as this will increase your marketing potential and surely land a few more loyal followers.

At least creating profiles on some of the more popular networks will bring in more attention. Twitter and Tumblr seem to be growing out of control. I would recommend capitalizing on them if possible, but follow your intuition.

This rings true especially with the ease of importing RSS feeds. Since both Twitter and Tumblr can be set to auto-publish it’s a breeze to auto-include blog posts directly into your fan page. You may even reciprocate links back to your Facebook fan page for legitimacy.

The killer of almost all the brands I came across is they have too little activity. Infrequently checking into your project will not move anything. It’s important for you to set aside time and update with unique information you have.

keep updated Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples
(Image Source: Fotolia)

This process could be daily, biweekly, weekly, or even multiple times a week. You may even have enough content, like Mashable, to update multiple times a day! Just keep in mind that you probably have followers of your brand eager to hear about the latest news. Information is the flowing economy of the 21st century, this is true especially for networks like Facebook, users are hungry for more information.

Be sure to follow some basic guidelines for writing web copy. Don’t repeat updates or share the same information daily. Users tend to lose faith and become discouraged to your brand. Also ensure that each update can provide further links or external sources for more information. The power lies in your control of information flow. Go figure!

Below I’ve included a few screenshots for some very popular and professionally designed fan pages to get the inspirational juices flowing. These can be found all around the web with possibly hundreds of thousands of backlinks. It’s important to note many of these fan pages include a counterpart website or blog. This is a great strategy as fans will also visit their official website.

Starbucks

starbucks fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Skittles

skittles fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Threadless

threadless fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Daddy Design

daddy design fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Coca-Cola

coca cola fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Vitamin Water

vitamin water fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Vizio

vizio fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Adobe

adobe fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Dell

dell fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Lacoste

lacoste fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Dunkin’ Donuts

dunkin donuts fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Wonka

wonka fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Social Media Examiner

social media examiner fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Aflac Duck

aflac duck fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Inception

inception fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Sony Electronics

sony electronics fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Levi’s

levis fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

Pepsi

pepsi fan page Better Facebook Fan Page: Essential Tips, Apps and Examples

I’ve gathered some very handy links for you to get started on building a Facebook fan page. This is a sort of roundup collection containing provisions to get you started on the right path. Facebook is a big network and it takes some practice to get comfortable with. Whether you’re a newbie or average Facebook user, these links will certainly hold their value.

I hope this guide has driven you to set up a unique and trendy Facebook fan page. Following the steps explained above will get you well into the ranks of fan pages listed on the Facebook network. Besides, your account will also likely to be picked up by Google to transfer some great marketing attention onto your branding or event.

Stay focused and hold your intentions strong. Over time the process of creating a product or website can become stale and boring. It’s crucial to keep your head up and never lose sight of your ultimate goal. From what I’ve experienced a Facebook fan page can bring enormous benefits to those willing to spend enough time. Add your own personal touch along the way and have fun with it.

Jake is a social media enthusiast and an Internet entrepreneur. Having spent over 4 years working freelance web design, he frequently writes articles involving new-age design concepts and personal motivation. You can find him all around the web via Google Profile or on Twitter as @jakerocheleau.


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Carrera dilema: 5 debe considerar antes de decir "yo salir!"

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It used to be the case that a job is something that workers exchange their labor in return for money that’ll put food into their mouth. In the present time though, more and more people are looking beyond the fulfillment of their financial needs to satisfy other important aspects of their lives, such as health, friendship and achievement.

quit job Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

The truth is that while some of the workers can achieve their important needs while doing the work, some may rather failed miserably in pursuing their ideal life. In this case, the best solution is to consider to quit the current job that only feeds you with food and sadness. There will be several things to consider before you make this hard decision, and we will discuss them in this article. Full detail after jump.

Also, in the event that you decide to leave your job, do refer to my earlier entry – “7 Great Ways to Get Your Resume Noticed” to help you get that dream job of yours!

The question should be, when should you quit your job? Surely, you don’t just quit one because you don’t like some parts of the job (who doesn’t!). Every job has its issues, so it is important to balance the pros and cons before you make that decision.

For most of us, the primary reason for working is to pay our bills and survive. That’s legitimate. But do not forget that there might be a better job out there with an environment that you are more comfortable with, and yet still be able to sustain your lifestyle.

To make this discussion more objective and concrete, I will be applying a well-known theory proposed by renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For those of you unfamiliar with this theory, it is essentially a pyramidal hierarchical model of human needs.

maslows hierarchy of needs Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Wikipedia)

As human, we all are motivated to satisfy certain needs at different stages. Maslow believes that we will first strive to meet our most fundamental physiological needs. Only after we attain that will we actually move up the pyramid and try to reach for other goals such as safety, love and belonging, esteem and finally at the top, self-actualization.

Since our jobs take up a significant part of our lives, it is befitting to base the decision to leave or not leave the job on how much it can take us to reach to the pyramid’s top.

I guess you can say that this is an unorthodox manner of assessing whether to quit your job and seek a new path. However, my intention is to bring a new approach to the whole process so that people who are considering can look at it in a different perspective. In this case, I raised questions about whether your current jobs can meet your most crucial needs as a human being.

One physiological need that we often neglect is sleep. It’s not uncommon to have inadequate amount of sleep when we are rushing a project or clearing backlogs from work. But if we do it too regularly without respite, it will not only wreak havoc in your work, but also your personal life. Difficulty in concentration and being easily irritated are two common symptoms. Ultimately, the sleep debt will catch up to you and manifest itself in ugly ways.

sleep Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

In any case, so long as you say with all honesty that sleep isn’t affecting you too greatly, then it is probably alright. But if the lack of sleep becomes a chronic problem in your work, this might be an issue you would need to consider to find out if the job is suitable for you in the long run.

I’m sure that all jobs can make us feel secure financially; some of us work so that we can get some income at the very least. I guess the question here refers to the more extreme cases of whether this particular job allows you to get by everyday without having to starve or having to live on the streets.

financial grow Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

This is very important because if you don’t even earn enough for a living, chances are that you wouldn’t care about higher needs until you fulfill this first, and sadness kicks in when the job doesn’t bring you anything but food. So for every job, you have to ensure that you earn more than enough to not only feed yourself, but also enable you to pursue higher needs, or simply save the money to avoid financial crisis.

How much do you fit in with the vision and values of your workplace? Do you click well with your colleagues and boss? These are the questions that you’ll ask yourself to determine if your social need to be achieved and belongingness is met. Sure, you can get by without feeling connected with the organization, but it might be hard to thrive if you lack the trust to work together as a team.

work culture Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

Some people may argue that they can still do their work well even if they are being hated by everyone else in the office. Well, that may be so, but they would’ve to find love and belonging outside of work. These could be their families and friends who support them. Or, in the worst case scenario, one might turn to using Facebook at the workplace to satisfy such need!

However, in my opinion, the workplace is gradually transforming into a place where solitude is likely to be frowned upon. Almost all jobs require contact with other people, and most jobs these days emphasize on teamwork.

So, ask yourself would the incompatible work culture be an issue and limit your potential to search for other needs up the pyramid?

According to the pyramid, it is not enough to gain self-esteem through achievements and confidence; you need also to respect others and earn others’ respect. A shrewd executive may have backstabbed several colleagues in order to climb up the corporate ladder, but he or she would not gain that self-respect, and definitely not respect from others.

In other words, this is how good you feel yourself to be in this job. First, you would need a supportive environment where you feel loved and belonged before you can be respected for your work.

respect Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

Second, you need to have a job that empowers you to achieve and build the confidence within you. Interestingly, you will also be humble enough to respect others. Only then will you be able to reach this level of self-esteem. Respect for none other than you is an inflated ego.

Does this job give you opportunities to expand yourself and build up a healthy self-esteem at the same time? You would also need to ask yourself if you will eventually be good at what you do at work.

Ultimately, this is what Maslow refers to as the key to happiness in life. This is the final stage where one would feel the ultimate life satisfaction and will be able to realize one’s potential at work. According to him, this is a rare occasion; less than 1% of adults actually attain this level of enlightenment.

enlightenment Career Dilemma: 5 Needs to Consider Before Saying "I Quit!"
(Image Source: Fotolia)

If you manage to fulfill all the other lower level needs except for this one, then it is at the point in time that you have to consider where your passion lies in life. Given that you have a job that provides you enough money, good social relationships, personal achievements and respect from others, you need to find what you are meant to do. All of us are good at something, but do you love what it is that you do?

Once you found your passion, you can then decide if it is viable to quit your job and switch to where your inclination lies and dedicate yourself in that career. You must consider that the needs from the lower levels remain to be met after the shift, lest the new job hinder your path to the top of the pyramid. Remember that each lower level needs have to be fulfilled before the higher level ones can be sought. That is the tricky part.

Michael is a freelance blogger and regular contributor for Hongkiat.com. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a double major in Psychology and Communications & New Media in 2011.He believes in the power of written words to influence and inspire. Other than being an enthusiastic video gamer, Michael is also actively engaged in various physical activities in his spare time.


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Más caliente Web Apps del mes: agosto

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Welcome back to our latest web apps roundup. We had some great suggestions for apps in last month’s roundup, and we’ve found a bunch more that we think are very handy and useful.

hottest app august 2011 Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

This month our selections include web app that helps you get into shape and eat right (yes health is no.1 for everyone), a really pretty CRM tool, a couple of web apps to help you produce the perfect resume/CV, and apps for programming online, talking about diversity!

Don’t forget you can also suggest apps for the list by commenting below. We’d love your feedback on the types of apps you’d like to see, and your favorite apps. Full list after jump!

Oobafit is a really neat tool to help motivate you to improve your fitness, lose weight, eat better and meet any other goals of that nature that you might have.

When you first sign up to the app, you simply choose your goals – getting toned, losing weight or whatever it might be, and drag some sliders to specify certain areas of your body you would like to focus on. Oobafit then automatically generates a plan for you with both exercises and meal plans to help your reach your goals.

If you have a Tesco supermarket in your area, you can even order food online through the service. If not you can simply print off a shopping list to take with you next time you go shopping. Pretty neat. The service is still in its infancy stage, but it’s a really great concept and looks to have a strong future. Check it out.

oobafit Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

PocketSmith is an app for managing your finance, which it does in rather a unique fashion. The main view is a calendar view where you can enter all of your recurring events – payday, rent and so on, as well as one off events so you can quickly see how your finance is working out.

My personal favorite feature is the graph that shows you exactly how your finances are panning out, with a forecast of where you will be in a year time as well of how you are progressing currently. Seeing your finance in this way is really motivational and makes you think a lot more about where your money is going. Pretty cool.

pocketsmith Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

Pipedrive is an innovative CRM tool that is mainly designed around managing your sales flow. Its interface is super simple, super fast, and it’s really a pleasure to use.

Pipedrive is one of the more modern feeling CRM tools that I have seen (although I’d welcome any suggestion on this front), and the fact you can easily drag and drop deals around is really a plus. It’s hard to describe how slick the interface is, but if you’ve got any needs for a CRM tool it’s really worth a look. It’s currently in beta, but it sounds like improvements and features are coming, so it’s a good time to get onboard.

pipedrive Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

The Birdy is similar in some ways to OhLife, a tool we recently featured. It sends you a daily email to which you reply with your daily purchases, with totals, descriptions and hashtags (like Twitter). It then automatically sorts them out and presents you a great overview of what you’ve been spending your money on.

I think this is really a great concept – I’ve tried using a number of tools to track my spending before, but I’m terrible at keeping constant track of where my money has been going. The Birdy is great because all you need to do is reply to one email a day. Within that one day period it’s fairly easy to remember where your money has been going, and anything you forget isn’t likely to be major issue anyway. It’s really a great approach.

thebirdy Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

280Slides is a web alternative to PowerPoint and Keynote, which is both easy to use and really good looking at the same time. All from the comfort of your browser window.

It got a load of great features which make it really powerful – you can import your current presentations from PowerPoint, you can choose from a number of very pretty themes, you can take it anywhere (that’s why we love the cloud, right?), and you can even publish your presentations straight to the web. It’s the future of presentations.

280slides Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

Beanstalk claims to be the easiest way to manage code, collaborate and deploy.

It got version control, collaboration and deployment features all baked in, and it integrates with lots of your favorite web apps (Basecamp, anyone?), it automatically backs up to multiple off site locations, and it looks great while doing all of this. If you’ve got a team of developers working together in the cloud, it’s really a wonderful tool – take a look.

beanstalk Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

LazyMeter is a to-do list for lazy people, which is great because most people I know are too lazy to keep up with to-do lists.

The key to this app is its simplicity. Entering and scheduling tasks are really an one click activity, and that means you are much more likely to set up and follow through the tasks you have listed. It has a really simple chart/graph system which shows you immediately how many tasks you’ve done, how many you have to do, and how many you’ve paused (put off to another day). It’s quite motivational and makes you want to get your tasks done.

lazymeter Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

ResumeBaking is a great app for anyone hunting for a job. It got a really slick interface, and makes building a resume a breeze.

I always find putting together a resume a huge chore but ResumeBaking quickly and easily helps you list all the relevant information, share your new resume with potential employers, view stats about your resume and more. And did I mention it’s free? It’s pretty fantastic, and the small amount of effort you need to put into it will be paid back in no time when you get some great job offers. (Suggested by Hammad)

resumebaking Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

You can’t mention hot web apps this month without talking about the launch of the Kindle Cloud Reader from Amazon.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Kindle – the Cloud Reader is the latest in their huge range of ways to access your books. It’s really cool because it syncs your last read page to all of your devices, updates automatically with all of your purchases, and best of all, the web app even supports an offline mode so you can read your books in the web app without being connected to the internet. Pretty awesome.

kindle Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

Penzu is a great option for anyone interested in keeping a diary or journal with all sorts of neat features.

With the web app you can write and share with whoever you like, import your photos from Flickr, email entries and more. I like the fact you can set up different journal types – I’ve used it as a travel journal, and sharing it with others is really simple. Worth a look. (Suggested by Anca Bolocan)

penzu Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

Zerply is another neat tool for creating an online resume. It’s really social, and makes the process very simple.

It’s pretty cool because it links up with all of your different social network accounts. You can sign up with Twitter or Facebook, and then import all your work details from LinkedIn before going on to share it and get recommendations from people around the web. It got a great design to it, and the resumes you get out look top notch.

zerply Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

Cacoo is a tool for creating diagrams of all kinds online.

It comes with a wide variety of stencils, a cool history features so you can move backwards and forwards to see what changes you’ve made; it has sharing and collaboration features built in so you can work together with a number of different people, it lets you export in PDF and SVG as well as PNG and has a range of other features to explore. If you need to do some diagramming and sharing them out, this could be what you need.

cacoo Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

News360 is an online aggregation tool that learns by who you follow and what you subscribe to the kind of stories that really interest you and the things you are interested in.

It exists on almost every platform you can think of including iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7. I really like these kinds of tools as the more you use them the more value you get out of them. I’ve been using it for a few weeks, and it’s really starting to understand my interests – I get lots of Tech/Apple/Google news and keep finding a whole lot of interest stories to look though. Pretty great.

news360 Hottest Web Apps of the Month August

That’s all for this month, but we’d love to hear your suggestions for next months’ list, as well as your comments on the apps we’ve featured this month.

What is your favorite web app? What kind of web apps would you like to see more? Be sure to let us know in the comments below – we’d love your feedback.

Be sure to subscribe to our Newsletter or RSS feed to keep up with all the latest and greatest web apps, and all the other great content we offer.

This is a monthly feature, so if you have any great app you’d like to suggest for our next month’s round-up, here’s what you can do:

Jacob is a usability geek at IntuitionHQ.com - a simple usability testing service by designers for designers that's quick and easy to use. When he's not indulging his passion for the internet, he is probably studying Chinese (having spent three years in China) or reading about design.


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