Five years ago, when newscasters and journalists began talking regularly about something called the “blog-o-sphere,” it wasn’t always easy to find the blogs you might enjoy reading. You might love getting the scoop on environmentalism and education, but aside from Googling these topics and hoping that one of the listings among the articles, commercial sites, and personal pages was a blog or online newspaper on the right topic, there might be no easy way to find regular updates. Continue reading this article —>

How much is your house worth? Is it worth as much as the neighbor’s house? How does it compare to houses across town – or the hot pink duplex at the end of the block that seems to have had a ‘for sale’ sign in the lawn for the past six months? Whether you’re planning on selling your home, buying your first home, or just curious about the status of the house down the street, Zillow may be the tool for you. Continue reading this article —>

When it comes to decision-making – whether that decision is for the prom committee, the PTA, or the marketing department of a large corporation – two heads are better than one, and a group often trumps a pair. Still, collaboration can be tough, especially when it must happen electronically. Email conversations are difficult to track – and making decisions via email with a group of any size can be even tougher, as you try to keep track of who agrees, who disagrees, and how to keep the process in motion. A new web application, Zapproved, integrates with your email to help organize and encourage firm decision-making, taking the mess out of email approvals. Continue reading this article —>

MySpace and Facebook have become cluttered with ads, applications, and millions of users. While these social networking sites might be good places for friends who know each other or adults to network with colleagues, they aren’t the safest online space for kids to meet new friends. A new site called Weplay has a more specialized and less cluttered social network—one designed specifically for young athletes who play baseball, football, and softball. Like most social networks, users on Weplay can post pictures, videos, and connect with each other by “friending” one other on the site. Continue reading this article —>

It’s finally vacation time, but before you can pack your bags, there’s much to do. You’ll need to find a charming bed & breakfast, book the flight, and decide what sights you’ll be visiting. If you’re traveling abroad, you’ll need to arrange for visas, exchange money, and figure out if the hair dryer is going to work in the outlets. There’s also life at home: arranging the pet sitter and holding the mail, not to mention tackling the portion of your to-do stack that just can’t wait until you get back. Continue reading this article —>

When did you say you’d call Jim back? What did the insurance agent tell you about the number of days to file a claim, and when were you going to send that report? It can be hard to remember the details of the conversations in our lives, especially with all the emails, phone calls, meetings, and conversations we may have in a day. Workers in sales have known for decades the importance of remembering the details of a past conversation to keep track of a client’s order or what happened when Bob called last Thursday. Continue reading this article —>