Newest Addictions – Social Stuff and More

Ever since starting Mommas ReviewI’ve grown an even larger addiction to social networking sites or cool little tools for improving me. I used to be a Myspace hag and that was my bread and butter of networking. Now I’ve realized there is so much more out there for me. I’m on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, The Blog Frog, Twitter Moms and a couple Ning communities.

Well, thanks to my friend Speedy from Eighty MPH MOM I realized how much more there could be out there she pointed out the number one on this list to me which helped spur this post.

Best new place to share you and your ideas:

1. Blippr- this site is similar to twitter in the respect that you only have a short message you can place. It combines a tweet length with a product review. What I ended up doing was spending hours looking at every ones reviews and finding some cool new sites.
2. Yelp – forget large scale product reviews this site allows you to review your local haunts. I searched for my town (by not including what I was looking for just typing location) and found reviews of the local pizza place, restaurant, and places to visit with the kids. Largely addicting!
3. Plurk - truthfully, I don’t know if I like Plurk. No one I know is on there so it kind of defeats the social aspect of it. And the layout is whack (ha! I said that). But the concept is fun where you basically are doing a time line of what’s going on with you as you go. You can incorporate photos and even YouTube videos. It’s intriguing.

Coolest new business tools:

1. Twaitter - I cannot wait to spend all day using this. Twaitter is a web-based tool that allows you to schedule tweets! I can prepare announcements for Mommas Review or remember to share my best friends birthdays on Twitter. The pre-scheduling aspect is fantastic. They are also working on automatically tweeting a link to all blog posts (like RSS feeds on Twitter) so I can’t wait to try that either once they roll out with it.  You can also set recurring tweets if you like to toot your own horn. This is FREE (my favorite word) up to 500 tweets.
2. Gimp - No, gimp is not new. I know that. BUT I have decided that i can’t afford to purchase software like Photoshop and I know people like Jen my bestie, use Gimp for all their blog header/button making. It worked out great for her. I need to start figuring this out since I’m so fickle and always wanting change. I can’t keep bugging Amanda for it.

Best new app for your cell phone:

1. Skype Mobile- yes, I just downloaded Skype onto my cell phone. This might seem odd to everyone since why would I need a phone service on my phone. I use Skype ever since joining Extraordinary Mothers, it is where alot of the women get together and chat. We use it for conference calls, sure. But mainly we use it as a chat application. Now I can chat with my EMSS ladies on the go. I can even call my Skype girls – and I don’t think I’d be wasting cell phone minutes. I definitely need to learn more but it’s exciting right now!

Do you visit any of these sites frequently? Are there any other cool ones that I must know about? Do tell, because I’m always interested in making a larger social footprint and having fun virtually.