GeekSugar

Geek Tip: Get Your Most Important RSS Feeds Via IM

GeekSugar — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:47:56 PDT

If you're closely following a subject that's important to you, and don't want to get behind in the news for a second, stay on top by having your most-watched RSS feeds delivered right to your instant messenger account with this web app. Say you're closely following the health care debate. Just enter in the feed you want to follow (The White House Blog is a good one to start with), and every time a story on that site is posted, it's delivered piping hot to your Jabber or Google Talk account.

Although there's no support for AIM or MSN messenger just yet, you can vote for new features to be added in their Feedback section so the rest of us can get in on the RSS/IM mash-up action.

Away From the Computer T-Shirt: Totally Geeky or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:45:18 PST

Yep, it's another piece of geeky apparel. This shirt calls to mind my college days of living on instant messenger, declaring, "I am away from my computer right now."

This shirt comes in both men's and women's sizes and is from the same company that makes another one of my favorite geeky tees.

I like this t-shirt, but do think it's best worn un-ironically - i.e., when you are actually away from the computer. What do you think?

Do You Set Status Updates?

GeekSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:00:12 PDT

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who recklessly ignore acceptable online etiquette and fail to start their instant messages with a friendly "Hi!"

What I do adore are status updates that let you know if friends are away from their computer and when my chat buddies put up quirky status notes or share the song they are listening to. Do you set status updates on IM, Google Talk, or another chat platform?

Cool Download: Digsby

GeekSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:01:24 PDT

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get lost when I'm forced to log in and tab through my multiple email accounts and instant messenger clients - all while trying to keep up on my Myspace and Facebook pages (not to mention Twitter that's a full time job in itself) throughout the day. What can I say, I'm addicted to staying connected!

So imagine my utter relief when I found Digsby - a life saving application that gathers up all those different accounts, and keeps them neatly in one convenient spot. No more expose-ing to find the right open window, browser tabbing, or multiple chat alerts to sift through. To find out why I heart Digsby right now, just

read more. Not only can I chat with pals on different accounts from one place, but Digsby will merge those who use more than one account - say Google Talk and AOL - into one contact, so I don't have duplicate buddies to deal with. Plus, I can view my emails and Facebook updates right from Digsby. It really is the bee's knees so to speak, but right now it's only for you lucky PC users. But hang tight the rest of you, the awesomeness of Digsby will be coming to Mac and Linux soon! Source

IM Gives Shy Guys a Chance

GeekSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:55:15 PDT

Do you know many guys who are socially awkward in person, but once they're in front of a computer they transform into confident ladies' men? Well for Roger Hobbs, a total nerd away from the computer, the Internet became his alter ego. This past weekend, the New York Times showcased the story of Roger, from the trials and tribulations of his Love 2.0 experiences, to the power of online conversation in allowing him to "escape his loser identity and become the super-cool cyber Casanova he thought he deserved to be."

With technology giving him the confidence boost he needed, Roger felt that he had mastered his love life, and knew the secret recipe for getting girls to like him - online that is. As soon as he got a girl's IM name, the words and seduction poured out on the screen.

He says: "Nothing was too challenging. I first seduced my best friend’s girlfriend and, when they broke up, I seduced his new girlfriend. I had a girlfriend in New York and one in Philadelphia. I had a girl I met on a train and a girl I met in a nightclub. I had a Republican and a Democrat, an artist and an engineer, a Christian and an atheist."

Have you heard of this happening very often? Are these the same guys who think it's OK to break up via email?

Source

Online Etiquette: Acceptable Instant Messenger Behavior

GeekSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:00:33 PDT

I got a cheap laugh out of the instructional How to Behave in an Internet Forum video last week, but soon realized there's never been any real etiquette on this wild Internet.

I've put together a list of tips for acceptable instant messenger behavior that addresses some of my biggest pet peeves. This one goes out to all you iChat, AIM, Yahoo messenger and Gchat regulars.

Start with a "Hello" or some sort of greeting: I am on iChat all day long for work and readily available to anyone who IMs me, but I still think you should say "hey!" to someone before you start asking them a question. Call me old fashioned, but it's like starting an email with "Can you please do this for me" instead of a nice greeting.

There are more rules, trust me! Just

Try not to trail off: It's always awkward when you are engaged in a conversation with someone on iChat and they suddenly stop responding to you. If you're chatting with someone and busy, just let them know with a simple "BRB" or "one sec." It will calm their insecurities that you are ignoring them.

Use your away message: Sure, you may have set your chatting preferences to make it look like you are always online to keep your boss happy, but that doesn't mean your friends know it. If you leave the computer or don't want to talk to people, put up an away message. If you use AIM for work be courteous to your co-workers by letting them know when you are in a meeting, grabbing lunch or at the gym. That way you won't return to your desk and have 16 unopened windows.
Back at your computer? Change your away message!: When you return from being away change your away message back to available. You don't want your boss thinking you took a six hour lunch break or your boyfriend thinking you spent four hours at the dentist. People might start to worry about you.
Be smart about screen name exchanges: Don't give your screen name to someone unless you want them to know it. And IM you. Often.
Don't want to be bugged? Go Invisible: Most chatting services allow you to set your online status to invisible. If you do, you will have to initiate contact with friends online but you won't have people bothering you when you're busy.
Some things are best said in an email or (gasp!) in person: If you have a lot of important stuff to say (particularly if it's for work or an important project) put it in an email. It's much easier to have all the information in one place for future reference than to go back and forth and try and make sense of a chat chain.
Let people know when you're signing off: Okay, so this one isn't as important, but if you have been chatting with someone for a while and are getting offline let them know! A simple "TTYL" (as in, Talk to You Later) will do the trick. You wouldn't just hang up on someone on a phone call, would you?

Carrie Bradshaw Learns to Email and IM . . . Slowly

GeekSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:00:55 PDT

My heart beats a little faster every day as we near May 30, the day the Sex and the City movie comes out. To that end, I've been posting the geekiest SATC clips to prepare, including everything from the motherboard failure to Carrie's Googling misadventures!

Our fearless and fiercely intelligent women proved they can tackle anything in the show, especially technology - but even a Mac girl like Carrie Bradshaw was mystified from time to time when she dove into a new geeky task. It's crazy to see now, but Carrie was pretty freaked out by email and IM when she first got it (even though this was in 2001!). Watch her ridiculous reaction to Aidan coming online. . .

Website of the Day: IM History

GeekSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:35:14 PST

I tend to use about four different Instant Messenger clients, and let me tell you, it can be a real pain when I need to find an address or URL a friend has sent me in one of our chats. To combat this problem, IM History is a new site that lets you save and sync your IM conversations for multiple instant messengers in one place. This free, useful application lets you access all your chat history from home, work, or your phone. It's safe, secure, and best of all, it looks good, too!
To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group,

read more.
I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Should AOL Allow People To See Your Location?

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:33:30 PDT

Gone are the days you can blow off anyone on your buddy list because you are "going out of town" because they just might be able to spy on your where-a-bouts. This weekend AOL unveiled it has launched a new plug-in that allows instant message users to see where people on their buddy lists are physically located. The plug-in will work by monitoring continuous wireless pulses emitted by all Wi-Fi transmitters and Wi-Fi-enabled computers, rather than more common satellite-based approach and will be available for free download, said the AP. The plug-in will be added to AIM's buddy list window called "Near Me" and will feature the names of any buddies who opt to share their locations and who are within a set distance from the AIM user. While I am pleased there is an opt-out option here I am still unsure if I think this is a necessary or responsible idea. How will we ever get out of anything if everyone knows where we are all the time?

Passwords: the Promise Rings of a Digital Generation

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:11:18 PST

Once you've gotten to a comfortable point in a romantic relationship, how do you recognize mutual trust and respect for one another? With our private lives stored within emails, Facebook photos, and Netflix queue preferences, many young couples now see the final pillar in solidifying trust in a relationship is sharing the password into a partner's virtual world.

The New York Times recently profiled what they see as a growing trend of teenagers showing their security in a relationship by sharing the passwords for email, Facebook, instant messenger accounts, even their phone with a girlfriend, boyfriend, or close friend. It's easy to get lost in the euphoria of a new love, believing they should be privy to your every digital thought. The hindsight of a relationship gone sour suggests that sharing a password can lead to a slippery slope where the no-longer-significant other has access to potentially embarrassing information on the former love.

If you've had either a positive or negative experience with sharing passwords in the past, chime in with your thoughts in the comments.