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For the past 2 days I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Blissdom Conference in Nashville, TN. Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones brought me out here to speak with some wonderful women about technology, blogging, and social media. However, what I found and shared with these women was an experience that started with a connection, but ended with something deeper that you should be reaching for in your online connections.

Disclosure: I hate disclosures and I’m very thankful that the ladies of Blissdom paid for my travel and housing. Sorry, if you feel some sort of way about it. I’m not a millionaire yet.

Starting With A Connection

Technology allows us to make these wonderful connections with people. I’ve been meeting some of those connections in person like Liz Strauss, Jenn Fowler, Lucretia Pruitt, Kelby Carr and Jessica Smith. Wonderful right? The thing about following people on Twitter is that you really feel like you know them. But you don’t. You’ll never know someone from a single tweet. You learn from them, but never about them. You know of them, but you don’t know them.

Deepening Connections

At Blissdom, I noticed something different about these ladies. It wasn’t clear to me at first. After taking the time to converse, joke, laugh, and brainstorm with these women, I realized that I didn’t know them. Why? Because I’d never seen them smile. I’d never heard them laugh. I didn’t know the depth of their knowledge until I engaged with them.

Definition of “engage”

to occupy the attention or efforts of a person or persons.

I occupied a lot of their attention, but more importantly I tried to make their efforts worthwhile. Twitter can’t capture the experience and brilliance of engaging with these women. There are not enough characters, or time, to truly engage with people online. That doesn’t mean Twitter isn’t worth the effort. If anything, your connections wouldn’t become an engagement if not for Twitter. But these tools are just an introduction.

I have to thank Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones for providing an amazing event and avenue for me to deepen the connections I’ve made.

Discuss It

Are there any differences you’ve noticed when meeting an online connection at an offline event? I’d love to hear what you’ve learned and experienced.

How often do you check the native weather app for the iPhone? Probably not very often. It just leaves you wanting a little more. The features of the native weather app are very basic. The UI is no better considering the capabilities of the iPhone. Now there’s an iPhone weather app for travelers that’s a little more enthusiastic about its job: Outside.

Outside: Animated Weather

Outside is an amazing designed iPhone weather app for travelers. It brings back memories of the times you looked outside your window to see what the day would be like. Outside displays smooth animations to compliment the weather results. It gives you information about:

• Current temperature / “Feels like”
• Sunrise / Sunset
• UV
• Humidity
• Cloud Cover
• Wind

and more of course.

For more iPhone app reviews check out the Mobile section of SheGeeks.net.

iPhone Weather Notifications

Outside has become more than just a weather app. It is now a must have iPhone app when traveling because of its awesome notification features.  As a conference speaker and Intel Insider, I try to take on the bulk of opportunities given to me to make a difference. In doing so, things can get hectic. When they do, some things are bound to be forgotten and it’s usually the weather. So I barely pack what I should. Outside’s notifications help me with that.

Want to know if you should be packing t-shirts or gloves? That’s one thing the Outside weather app can help you with. The notifications feature lets you set alerts for:

• T-shirt weather
• Cold weather
• High UV
• Rain
• Snow

Set the temperature and time to be notified and you’re all set. All days and forecasts that fall under the alerts are noted with a small icon in the app.

Give Your Weather Alerts A Makeover With Outside

You receive alerts via push notifications for 30 days when you buy Outside. Afterwards you’ll have to subscribe, which is really cheap:

• 90 days notifications $.99
• 300 days notifications $1.99

This isn’t a dent in your wallet and I’d advise going with the 300 days subscription. Outside shows up to 4 days of forecasts, which isn’t a lot, but enough for most travelers. One downside to the app is that you cannot see the weather for multiple cities at once. So you’ll have to remember to make some changes. All in all, Outside is worth the for a fantastic design, going beyond the standards of the native UI, all for less than a gallon of gas in Atlanta.

For more iPhone app reviews check out the Mobile section of SheGeeks.net.

Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to beautiful California for the Intel Youth Rock Stars Summit at Intel HQ. Some fantastic teen tech bloggers will be joining me for a full-day of Intel gadgets and insights. I’ll be joined by:

• Teresa Wu of College Candy and By Teresa Wu
• Chris Lesinski of Hack College
• Kelly Sutton of Hack College
• Daniel Brusilovsky of Teens in Tech (tentative)
• Serena Wu of Social Geekette (tentative)
• Julia Rubin of Under the Button
• Arielle Patrice Scott

FTC Discloser: Intel is covering my travel and accommodations. I will also be receiving a Dell Mini netbook for my participate in the summit.”
      

The Intel Youth Rock Stars Summit is an all-day event where we discuss the latest developments in Intel technology. We’re taking a look at Intel’s new Core 2010 processor family, mobile gadgets for students, gaming, and tons more. Have you seen some of the cool things Intel? I recommend checking out the Intel AppUp Center For Netbooks pictured above. Think of it as the future app store for your current netbook.
       

Stay Updated The Easy Way

Be sure to subscribe to SheGeeks.net and follow me (@Corvida) on twitter to stay updated on the day’s festivities. I’ll be blogging, reviewing, tweeting, and twitpicing as much as possible. We’ll even be joined by Intel’s very own “Rock Star” Mario Paniccia. Stay tuned!

Apple is taking over the world, one iStore at a time. It started wth iTunes Store and skyrocketed with the App Store. Now some of us are waiting with curiosity and anticipation of the iBook Store. Apple announced the new Apple iPad to  were many praises and pauses across the web. We’re waiting to see if Amazon Kindle’s ebook reader crown is something the Apple iPad might look better in.

The Apple iPad

The iPad stands at:

• 9.7 inches, .5 inches thin, and 1.5lbs
• Multi-touch
• Holds up to 64GB of flash storage
• Powered by Apple’s very own 1Ghz Apple A4 chip
• 10 hour batter life / 30 days standby time
• Starting price: $499 (Kindle starts at $259)

It also runs just about every iPhone app available for download. Yes, iPhone apps! There’s 140,000 of them and you might be looking forward to curling up with the iPad and a few faves. That is unless you’re Amazon.

The iBook Store

What’s the deal with Amazon? Not only did Apple release a new device, but a new ebook app directory called iBook Store. The iBook Store will allow for browsing and purchasing of books directly from the iPad. It will support ePub formatted books, which is are supported by the Sony Reader and Adobe Digital Editions for desktops. It makes the iPad one of the biggest potential competitors for the Amazon Kindle, which really had no competition up until now. Apple also enlisted five large publishers to join in on the world domination:

• Penguin
• Harper Collins
• Macmillan
• Hachette Book Group
• Simon & Schuster

Suites like iWork have been completely revamped for the iPad and iPhone app developers will be allowed to take advantage of the extra real estate. The event begs the question, will the Amazon Kindle survive?

Apple iPad VS Amazon Kindle

There’s no denying that Apple is encroaching on Amazon’s grounds with iBookstore and the iPad. Apple is playing catch-up in field of ebook readers, but they already have an advantage considering the platform that the iPad is built from. The transition is a natural one for iPhone owners. Plus, the iPad would probably get picked up more often than the Kindle on looks alone. If iBookstore spreads to the iPhone the Amazon Kindle will be in serious trouble.

But Amazon has firm following of die hard Kindle owners. Plus, almost everyone goes to Amazon to buy books at discounted prices. If we’re going by Apple’s music model, ebooks might be dirt cheap. Cheaper or on par with the $9.99 cost of most Kindle downloads.

Look, I only want to know one thing from you:

• Will you even buy the iPad?

What started off as small talk last year is now being heard loud and clear in social media and technology circles. Mobile technologies are not only taking over your average joe’s life, they’re taking over the business industry too. Things started to heat up in 2009 with Brightkite. Now we’re watching the explosion of location-based mobile services, wireless mobile internet devices, and app stores and more spill over into businesses.

The mobile business trends and products I’m going to tell you about are technologies that are popping up like popcorn and everyone’s hungry for them. Just look at how Facebook and Twitter have become standards on nearly every mobile platform. From smartphones to cars made by Ford, mobile technology is changing lives in ways that affect your business. They are becoming a must have tool and product for businesses to adopt in their day-to-day social media strategy. Here’s a look at the mobile business trends and products that you don’t want to be out of the loop about:

Location-based Mobile Services

Are you checking in? If you’re not, you’re doing a horrible disservice to your friends and the places you love to visit. How many times have you called someone while you’re out only to find out that you just missed one another? Location-based mobile services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Gowalla, and even Waze are helping businesses make connections. Take Foursquare for example. Foursquare is changing the world and reinventing how a customer loyalty program really works. Their services can help improve almost any business’ customer service ratings.

So why would you want folks checking into your business on these services? You separate the newcomers from your those you love your services. If your business is smart you’re keeping track of these folks. They’re  not just a regular of your business. According to Foursquare, they’re the mayor of your business! Would you turn down the chance to talk to the actual Mayor of your city if she came into your store? Didn’t think so. The same should apply to the mayor of your business on Foursquare. Just ask Intel, Bay Area Transit, Metro Newspaper, or Guidewire Group’s VP of Community Strategy & Engagement, Carla Thompson.

Always Wireless Internet

The Verizon MiFi (amazon affiliate link) was my favorite device at CES this past January. It’s a wireless hotspot running on the fast Verizon Wireless network. The MiFi is the size of a credit card and connects up to 5 devices (my iPhone and iPod Touch never worked). I was on the internet everywhere:

• at my neighbor’s house
• in a hotel
• at a restaurant where wifi wasn’t free

What was I doing? Just about everything I can think of. I really pushed it to it’s limits with downloads, video streaming, and more. Yes, I know about the data caps Verizon has, but this is a great tool to have if you’re workshifting as Chris Brogran calls it. Mobile usage dominated 2009 and will continue to grow in leaps. The MiFi is only the beginning and Verizon is leading the push for excellent wireless coverage everywhere. Clear is another wireless internet provider expanding the limits of wireless internet.

Application Stores & Marketplaces: There Are A  Lot Of Apps For That

You cannot deny the convenience of applications stores on your mobile devices. That convenience is about to move past mobile devices and into mobile PCs.  Application stores are quickly become an industry trend. We have:

• Intel’s AppUp Center for netbooks
• Acer’s app store for Windows, Android, and Chrome OS.

I”m excited about these stores and look forward to digging into them in the future. I can see people quickly catching on to new apps and trends on the web if companies can keep their app stores up to date.

Mobile Web Optimization

You can blame streaming for the mobile broadband surge. If your site isn’t mobile web friendly version, then you need help. Your site needs to compatible with popular mobile devices. Here are the facts:

• Facebook’s mobile web usage tripled in 2009.
• The mobile internet market will be twice the size of the desktop internet in the near future.
• Have you read about the 34% spike of mobile web usage fueled by women, teens, and seniors alone?

You’re wasting a great opportunity if you’re not on this train. There are plenty of free and easy ways to accomplish mobile web optimization. Take a look at SheGeeks.net on your iPhone or maybe Chris Brogan’s iPhone app for better examples.

Stay Tuned!

Today’s rapidly adapting offerings of smartphones are empowering these mobile movements  by making GPS a near standard these days. Ford is doing the opposite as I noted earlier.  App markets are patiently waiting for companies to finally “get it” and for developers to make a switch.  But there’s still some issues to work out here. These tools are meeting the growing needs of everyone. It feels like we’re learning them, but really, they’re learning us. As we use them we find just how convenient they are to providing better service. You can’t lose. You just have to keep up, which is easy if you’re subscribing to SheGeeks and following me on Twitter.

Last summer, there was a big pow-wow between Google and Apple over the Google Voice iPhone app. It didn’t get approved, but Google found a quick work around by optimizing Google Voice for mobile browsers to make a web app. This had major limitations that prevented use of the best features in Google Voice. There’s still no iPhone app for Google Voice, but Google’s latest update brings the features you’ve been waiting for.

What Is Google Voice

Google Voice is a great service that everyone with more than one phone number should use. It allows you to:

• Use one number for all of your phones
• Get voicemails automatically transcribed via email or sms
• Block unwanted callers
• Manage your calls and contacts

Typical phone offerings, but all of this can be done right from the web….for free! You can also choose which of your phones all calls should be directed to. Now your friends and contacts can stop calling 3 different numbers just to reach you. Most calls made through Google Voice for free and international calls are cheap.

As you can see, Google Voice has plenty of perks. If you don’t have an unlimited phone plan Google Voice can save you a ton of minutes. All you need to do is dial your Google Voice number, enter your password, press #2, and enter the number you want to call. This is very tedious and a process that the GV app would’ve solved all. Despite Apple’s destruction, Google found a worthwhile solution with their web app.

What’s New With Google Voice for iPhone

The latest update to the Google Voice web app can make calls through your Google Voice number from your iPhone. The Google Voice web app has been redesigned to look more like Gmail and Google Calendar in Safari. Aside from the new makeup, you can:

• Send SMS to friends
• Dial a number
• Playback voicemails

Yes, all of this can be done right inside your mobile web browser. The only serious downside is that you can’t access your phone’s contact list. Google Voice has a separate contact list you can manage and it’s stored in the cloud (or the internet).

Image Credit: TechCrunch

Access Google Voice Via iPhone

You can access Google Voice by heading to http://google.com/voice/m on your iPhone. GV will also be available for Palm Pre/ Pixi owners. The new version of the Google Voice web app is being rolled out today. So don’t panic if you can’t see the new features right now. They’re coming!

If you’re a new owner of the Motorola Droid or Google Nexus One, then your research for a twitter Android app has led you to king Twidroid. Twidroid is featured in the viral Youtube video Nexus One: “Web meets phone” and has been downloaded over 400,000 times. Twidroid’s crown might be fitting, but Seesmic for Android still packs a punch that you don’t want to miss as a great twitter Android app.

Motorola and Android: A Powerful Mobile Network

Previously, I noted Seesmic for Android as one of 24 reasons to buy a Droid. The Motorola Droid (Amazon Affiliate) stands out by itself. Time’s named it their Top Gadget Of 2009 and it’s stats are impressive:

• 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen (480×854 WVGA resolution)
• Google Voice App
• Facebook Contact Synchronization
• Voice Recognition
• Advanced Google Maps App
• 5 Megapixel Camera
• 16GB SD Card included

The Android Market has a great selection of starter apps, a growing developer community, and the Android OS is amazing. It’s easy to see why Droid gained 1.44% market share less than a month after launch. However, my favorite app about the Droid was Seesmic for Android.

Seesmic for Android Shines

As apart of Seesmic’s first venture into the mobile apps, Seesmic for Android packed a punch right out of the box. Uploading Youtube video’s via the app was a plus! A month after launching, Seesmic released an update that supported lists, twitter search, and trends. The update notifications on Android blew the iPhone’s push notifications out of the water. Bundled with Verizon, Seesmic for Android handled my mobile lifestyle like a veteran.

What’s Missing From Seesmic

Everything that glitters isn’t gold and Seesmic for Android is by no means perfect. I’m spoiled by Tweetie 2 which lets me start my timeline were I previously left off. Seesmic goes straight to what’s new, which is a hassle when trying to catch-up on older news or reread tweets after a restart. The app also doesn’t support multiple accounts. There’s no Seesmic widget for the homescreen, while Twidroid has two of them.

Why You Need To Have It

Seesmic is right up to par with other free twitter android apps. With an easy to navigate interface, advanced media sharing features, and trusted brand to back it, Seesmic is well on it’s way to success in the Android environment. Let’s hope they can continue their success with the impending release of their iPhone app and a few more tweaks to their Android App. Subscribe to SheGeeks to make sure you don’t miss the reviews!

Seesmic is wiggling itself out of a tight spot to become the number one Twitter client for everyone, not just early adopters. Not only does Seesmic have to compete with Tweetdeck’s desktop domination of 12.58% share of users (3.76% of folks on Twitter use Seesmic), but also against Tweetie’s 8.29% mobile domination. It’s an uphill battle that Seesmic’s new client, Seesmic Look, is already handling very well.

Seesmic Look

Aimed at mainstream Twitter users concerned with what’s trending, Seesmic Look gives you a TV Guide look with a tablet feel for diving into Twitter. With nice large fonts, and an emphasis on search and filtering, Seesmic Look is delicious eye candy of real-time information. You can sort tweets by time and name or play them in slideshow presentation style. All of Twitters new features including:

• Retweets (Automatic)
• Lists (Edit and delete options)
• Photosharing (Tweetphoto only)
• Link Shortening (TinyURL only)

New tweets indicators are sprinkled in just the right places. Spelling checking is a feature, but you can’t add new words. “Seesmic” doesn’t register as a correct word (suggests “seismic”). On a brighter side Seesmic Look does come with two themes: Dark and Light. This is obviously nothing compared to TweetDeck’s customization options.

Who Should Use Seesmic Look

According to Twitstat, Seesmic Look is already ranked as the 46th most popular Twitter client gaining just 0.19% share less than 5 hours after launching. But who are these users? Seesmic Look is aiming for mainstream and TechCrunch says Seesmic Look is for the Oprah Crowd. Yet, after a quick Twitter search for “Seesmic Look” I’m inclined to disagree about who’ll actually use it.

There seem to be more techies promoting the service for starters. Though Seesmic founder Loic LeMeur let Robert Scoble know in advance that power users might hate Look, I feel there are some benefits for power users in Look’s layout and filters. For example, over the next week I’ll be using Seesmic Look for monitoring my private Twitter lists. I find Twitter’s UI cumbersome for not only keeping up with my lists, but managing them.

Reading my lists in Seesmic Look is easier on my eyes. The design of Look is better suited for me to digest the information from my lists quickly. Look also puts important list management actions right at my finger tips. I have to do a bit of scrolling and too much clicking on Twitter’s site.

Seesmic Look Q&A

Check out Scoble’s post which includes reasons why Seesmic Look doesn’t add up. For those that have tried Seesmic Look, please share your thoughts on the following:

• Do you think Seesmic will take off with mainstream users?
• What uses can you find for Seesmic Look?
• Who can benefit the most from using Seesmic Look?
• Is this Twitter client really necessary?

I’m a huge fan of Drop.io, a real-time sharing, presentation, and collaboration service. Earlier this year, Drop.io released Conference.io, which offers more flexible features for sharing media with crowds. However, I use Drop.io more than not for sharing files with family and friends and for tech support in some cases. Because of this, I was excited to run across the Dropme.it Adode AIR app.

What Dropme.It AIR App Can Do

Dropme.it is really simple app: just drag and drop a file and have it automatically (and rather quickly) upload to the Drop.io service for sharing. Dropme will display the shortened URL for you to share with others after the upload is finished. You can cancel an upload in progress, queue multiple files at once, or even upload a folder to share.
       

A Beautiful AIR App

The Dropme.it AIR app has a clean, clutter free, and gorgeous interface. It doesn’t get any prettier than that. This means less time for you to spend worrying about the little stuff, and focusing on a beautiful app that does it all for you. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and most options for uploading images are nicely displayed in the app.
          

App Improvement Checklist

My only wish for Dropme.it is to display a little more information about my uploads and also store a backlog of them. Once you close the app, the shortened URLS are no longer available via the app. When file transfers get out of hand, users can benefit from a better way to manage them.

What if you accidently upload a file? A delete option in the app for mishaps would be nice. Heading to the url seems to be the only way to solve these problems for now. 
        

A Must Have Tool For Web Workers

All in all, I think Dropme.it is a great tool for any web worker, not just Drop.io users. If you’re looking for a quick way to share files with others, look no further than Drop.io. Be sure to add Dropme.it to your desktop tools for web working using Drop.io. You won’t regret it!

Last week I went out with a few friends to see Avatar 3D at the iMax. It was an amazing movie, aside from the 3D technology, that really captured the power of community. Not just the good ones, but the bad ones too. Most importantly, Avatar captures how to join a community simply by being seen.

Why You Need An Avatar On Twitter Right Now!

Would you speak to someone without a face? Of course not. So don’t expect others to talk to you if they can’t even identify who you are. It makes it easier to remember people when you have a face to go with that name. For some, it’s even easier to remember faces more than names.

Here’s what you need to do right now:

• Go to your Twitter Settings
• Upload your avatar
• Tweet about it!

Choosing An Avatar for Twitter

You should always add an avatar to the social profiles you create. Avatars are important for establishing your reputation in web communities. People need something they can I identify you with. For me, it’s my mohawk in my avatars. People are able to immediately spot me at conferences and the first thing they mention is my mohawk on Twitter versus my mohawk in person. To top it off, it matches my personality. The tone you get from my avatar is the same tone you get from me in person. Excited! Not to mention it flows with the tone of my tweets (@corvida).

Go through your photos and find one picture that really expresses what someone might see when they really look at you. Think about these questions on your quest:

• What’s your tone in person?
• How about your attitude?
• If they met you right how you act?

If you’re using social networks for business, people love seeing a photo of the real you with a little personality. If you’re a designer, your company’s logo would make a great avatar. Use a logo that showcases your companies skills and services within the design. If you’re avatar looks like spam (and your tweets), you might as well beat it kid.

I See You: Twitter Avatars, Avatar, and the Na’vi

Just as Jake Sully was an outsider to the Na’vi in Avatar because know one knew him, you will look like a virgin on Twitter without an avatar. Twitter avatars help to establish your reputation. Seeing your avatar next to great tweets helps build your credibility. They allow people to see you for YOU.

Twitter Avatar Checklist

• Make sure you stand out. My mohawk and baby face do the job.
• Make it consistent across most of your social profiles. I would hope you don’t have multiple personalities, so one picture should be enough.
• Use a photo specific to your community interests. See third paragraph of Choosing An Avatar For Twitter.

Need some inspiration a little more visual inspiration? Take a look at 100 extremely creative Twitter avatars. See you in the comments!