Use Gmail As Your Universal Social Networking Inbox

Labels only appear as
notifications are received.

To view your full list of labels,
click on the 'more' link.

The more social networking sites I join, the more notification messages I receive. It's an annoying fact of life. At one point I was so inundated that I actually unsubscribed myself from receiving email notifications from all of the services I use. It worked for a while but then I started to miss stuff. Messages would sit unread. Friends' birthdays would come and go. Opportunities would pass me by. Then I realized the power of Gmail. In just a few steps I was able to make a colorful, organized, functional social networking inbox by making use of Gmail's features.

Here's how you can do it...

Step 1: Create Labels

Gmail's label feature is a fun, colorful way to categorize your social networking accounts. My recommendation is to assign a color that closely matches the site's logo or color scheme. Create a label for each and every service you use. If you're concerned about overkill or clutter, don't worry. I'll explain later.

Step 2: Create Filters

In order to keep your inbox neat and clean, you'll want to have all of your social notifications bypass it and get filed away for later viewing. This is probably the most time-consuming step, but also the most rewarding.

Do this for every site you've joined:

1. In Gmail, click on 'Create a Filter'.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. In the 'From:' field, enter the domain name of the social site for which you're creating the label (do NOT put 'www' at the beginning). In the following example, I use 'facebook.com':
   
   
   
   
   
3. Select 'Skip the Inbox (Archive It)' so the notifications never get mixed in with your regular email.
4. Click 'Apply the Label' and select the service from the drop-down menu. This will automatically categorize the notification as it is received.
5. Check 'Also apply to __ conversations.'  This will assign the label to past notifications.
6. Click 'Create Filter'.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Step 3: Activate Google Labs Feature 'Hide Read Labels'

This is what makes it all worth it. Remember when I suggested creating a label for each and every service you use? Well, this step will keep all of those labels hidden 

1. 
   
   In Gmail, click on the little green labs icon up top.
2. 
   
   Scroll down to 'Hide Read Labels'. Click 'Enable' and then 'Save Changes'.

Once setup is complete, you have a fully functional, non-intrusive alert system - much like the way Google Buzz works. Your email remains untouched and your online social life is neatly tucked into the side bar.

Joe Says: This is by far the most extensive, customizable approach to managing multiple social networking profiles that I have come across. If this setup process seems like too much of a hassle, definitely check out some of the popular lifestreaming applications like Seesmic, Hootsuite, and Tweetdeck. However, keep in mind that these applications only support a handful of social networking sites and functionality is very limited (particularly with larger services like Facebook and LinkedIn).

This is Joe, signing off.

Android Apps That Make the iPhone Look Handicapped

The iPhone/Android war is certainly heating up lately. While many prefer the iPhone for it's simple interface and ease of use, there is one area where Android has it beat - and that's multitasking. For many smartphone enthusiasts (myself included), multitasking is a must-have feature. If you're still on the fence about whether or not multitasking (or running apps in the background) is important to you, these Android apps might help to sway your decision.

1) LOCALE
Locale automatically adjusts settings on your phone based on a number of factors including time, day, location, and battery level. That means you can set your phone to automatically enable WiFi when you're at work or have it disable GPS when your battery is low. There are also a bunch of great plugins available that build on the program's core functionality (like a Google Talk status updater!) Multitasking required.

2) SPOTMESSAGE
Using SpotMessage is kind of like setting text message land mines. The app allows you to set a message to be delivered to a recipient once he/she reaches a spot that you've designated on Google Maps. It can be used to trigger a reminder when you approach a particular location or to send a friend a surprise message (like "quit following me, stalker"). Multitasking required.

3) NEWSROB
RSS has been life-changing for me, so naturally NewsRob is the most frequently used app on my Droid. It is an RSS reader that offers two-way automatic background sync with Google Reader. In other words, it downloads blogs and news articles in the background while you're doing other stuff on your phone.  NewsRob is great for city-dwellers who take the subway because it saves up to 1000 news articles for underground viewing pleasure. Multitasking req... well, you get the picture.

What am I getting at? As mobile phones become a bigger part of our everyday lives, we're going to need them to do more than one thing at a time. The applications listed above are just a few examples of what the iPhone is missing out on in its current state.  With that said, who knows what Apple has up its sleeve for iPhone 4.0, which is expected to be released in June. Until then, I happily stand by Android as the mobile OS to beat. 

To be fair, the iPhone is actually capable of multitasking, but Apple has only enabled it for a select few native applications such as messaging and music. Aside from that, iPhone users are pretty much screwed.

Joe Says: Technology is about innovation. It's hard to be innovative when you can only do one thing at a time. Am I wrong or am I right? Let me know in the comments (and keep it clean!).

This is Joe, signing off.

Use Foursquare to Get Your Ass in Shape

I recently got some friends to join me on Foursquare and I'm not gonna lie - things are getting pretty cut throat. If you're unfamiliar with Foursquare, it's basically a location-based social network in which users claim their turf by checking in at venues to earn badges and mayorships. It's a lot of fun, but I have an issue with getting my friends to join - no it has nothing to do with with privacy - it's that we tend to frequent the same spots, so I find myself defending my hard-earned mayorships (eight and counting). But then it dawned on me. I could actually use the competition to my advantage - at the gym.


I'm going to be totally honest. I hate going to the gym. I'll look for any reason not to work out - but right now I'm the mayor of American Physique and I know my best friend is out to steal my title.  Just knowing she's there, checking in with that smug look on her face is enough to get me off my lazy ass and onto the elliptical. Call me a geek all you like. Spring is just around the corner. It's time to shed that winter weight and transform into a fit geek.


So there you have it. Invite your gym buddies to join Foursquare and you've got a way to hold yourself accountable. 


Has social media affected your fitness routine at all? Let's hear about it in the comments!


Joe Says: While Foursquare is currently the leader of pack, it's just one of a number of location-based networks available on mobile devices. Be sure to also check out Gowalla, Brightkite, Loopt, and others before settling in. Each network has its own style and feature set. 



This is Joe, signing off.

Declutter Your Living Space: CDs and LPs

We're at a point in the digital age where we really don't ever need to use CDs or LPs ever again. Ever. Yet, many of us still line our shelves with jewel cases or keep our records packed away in boxes. The truth is, once the music is imported to a computer or portable music player, the original disc is kinda useless. So why do so many of us choose to hold onto them? Do we want something tangible to justify the purchase? Do we like to show off our massive music collections? Do we all just have pack rat mentality? Whatever the reason, it's not good enough. It's time to declutter and make the move to digital!

Import your CDs

If you have a portable music player (like an iPod), you likely use a computer application (like iTunes) to manage your music. However, you've probably only imported your favorite CDs and downloaded the rest of your music from the iTunes Store (or *ahem* some other not-so-legal method). Why not just go the extra mile and import everything?

Try this. Every day while you're at your computer, pop in a CD and import it to your digital music library. As you import the CDs put them into a box. Once the box is full, sell it on eBay or at a yard sale. If selling the CDs is too much of a hassle (I know, I know - all of that importing was exhausting) then donate it. As one reader pointed out, it's not exactly legal to play the imported music once the discs are sold. Good catch! Thanks Sepp!

The great thing about using a digital media application like iTunes (or my personal fave, DoubleTwist) is that the album artwork is often downloaded for you automatically- that is, unless you're importing off a homemade mix CD - then you're out of luck.

Import your LPs too

Believe it or not, you can also import your LPs by using a USB turntable (for an option under $65, check out the Ion TTUSB Turntable). However, importing vinyl requires a bit more work. You have to actually play the LPs in order to record them. That means an LP with one hour's worth of music is going to take at least an hour to import. Depending on how much you love your music library, this process could be either a) fun or b) tedious. Also, your digital media application (like iTunes) is likely not smart enough to match the tracks up with the original album data, like artwork and song titles. That means you're going to have to add all of that manually.

Once you import your records, box them up and sell them. While you're at it, sell the USB turntable - you won't be needing it anymore.

Back it up!

Now for some damage control. Once you've imported all of your music to your computer or iPod, you definitely want to have a backup solution in case your hard drive were to ever crash or get corrupted. I highly recommend purchasing an external hard drive that does routine backups of your digital music library (for a solution under $100, check out the LaCie 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive).

Joe Says: Before jumping the gun and selling everything, you probably want to make sure you aren't letting go of any collector's items (particularly those vinyls). When in doubt, get it appraised. If by chance you discover that you're rich, please feel free to share the wealth.

This is Joe, signing off.

Declutter Your Living Space: Old Video Games

Whether you're a hardcore video game fanatic or a casual gamer, you've probably accumulated some hardware over the years. Maybe you still play it. Maybe it's packed away in your closet. Whatever the scenario, there's a space-saving alternative:  Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console.

The Virtual Console allows Nintendo Wii owners to download their favorite games on a variety of platforms including NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Turbo Grafx 16, Neo Geo and even Commodore 64! So instead of holding onto the original consoles and games, you can maintain your library in digital format.

The catch: In order to download the games you already own, you'll need to purchase them again ($5-$10 each). Why would you pay for a game you already own? Keep reading...

Download only the games you REALLY want.
Of all of the games you've collected over the years, how many do you play on a regular basis? How many have you played in the past year? Five years? If your answer is none or not many, you probably don't want to download them again as you won't miss them. You'll always have the option to download them later if you so choose. Note: Keep in mind, not all of your classic games may be available on the Virtual Console...yet. The database is constantly growing as Nintendo adds new games every week. Keep an eye out and your favorite will likely pop up.

Recoup your money. Sell the old stuff.
Seriously. This is your opportunity to break even or even make money on the deal. There are people out there who want to buy your old games. Ebay and Craigslist are your best bets for making a sale. As a point of reference, I sold my Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Genesis, and Gamecube (the Nintendo Wii supports GameCube discs) for around $300. While that amount doesn't come close to what I originally paid for all of those games,  I barely played any of them anymore - they were just sitting around collecting dust and depreciating in value. In the end, I had enough money to download my favorites from the Virtual Console with some cool cash left over... and room to breathe.

Joe Says: If you decide against selling your old stuff, please do not discard it in the trash. Donate it to charity or drop it off at a recycling center.

This is Joe, signing off.