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Plugin enables useful social features in Outlook


Spell “inbox” backwards and you get “xobni”.  It is a creative name for a company that develops an increasingly useful Microsoft Outlook plugin.  Xobni indexes all the e-mail stored locally within Outlook and remotely in Exchange servers.  It then makes connections between recipients and social portals like Facebook and Linkedin.

Lets say John Doe is one of your contacts.  You will be able to view John’s Facebook profile picture and additional public information by simply highlighting an e-mail received from him.  You will also get a listing of past conversations. Continue reading “Plugin enables useful social features in Outlook”

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Flipboard, an electronic social magazine for the iPad

The makers of Flipboard devised a very clever way to present media content from numerous sources in a “magazine” format.  Magazines are easy to read because of layout of text and pictures.  The format is more appealing than the traditional social networking or blog website.  The Flipboard application for the iPad also provides an elegant way to navigate through content from Twitter and Facebook as well as pictures and other digital media.  The content is then easy to comment and even share.  Pages are passed just like in a magazine.  Page transitions are smooth and the content is easy to read.  The “virtual slate” application is free and works very well.

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Keep your bookmarks organized

I used to use a bookmark management site called Backflip since the late 90’s.  After the Internet bubble burst some years ago, the offering was discontinued.  Presently, there are several other great services that can store all your bookmarks and make them accessible form different devices and computers.

Google has a comparable service as part of their plethora of web applications.  The bookmarks are easily accessible if using Firefox and the Google  Toolbar.

Delicious happens to be one of the most popular “social” bookmarking sites.  Delicious makes it easy to share your bookmarks and also lear what other people are bookmarking.

If you use a Mac and an iPhone, Apple’s .Me service keeps bookmarks synchronized between devices.  These include any MacOS computer, iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad.  Synchronizing is automatic.  In other words, you will be able to access that great website your friend recommended in your home computer after bookmarking it on your iPhone.