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Rising blog directory and search engine Regator is cleaning up its look and feel for users. You might be wondering if Regator’s invite-only preview will be worth the wait. The team behind Regator has combined years of feedback to bring more dynamic information surrounding today’s top content to you. Let’s take a closer look.
   

INVITES: Preview Regator with the code: shegeeks

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Today Bit.ly, a popular URL shortener for Twitter and the web, has released a lively makeover for users of the site. Bit.ly has quickly gained popularity since its debut and is a project of Betaworks, which also owns Tweetdeck. Will the new changes to Bit.ly have a positive impact on users? What’s really new with Bit.ly outside of a fresh look?

Bit.ly Features To Watch

• Auto-shorten
  The keyboard is becoming irrelevant. At least that’s how your keyboard might feel with bit.ly’s new auto-shorten feature for links. Simply copy, paste, and Bit.ly will do the rest. You can also turn this feature off in your options.  

• Manage and Search
  Bit.ly is stepping their game up and elevating the playfield with their new url manager and search dashboard. Now you can easily access your history, backed with a fast and powerful search to find links quickly. A recipe for success for your business? It sure is when you add in link recovery options.
• Bit.ly Sidebar Integrations
  When you log into Bit.ly and look at your recent shortened links, you’ll see an option setting to share or copy recent shortened links. The share option is integrated very nicely with the refreshed Bit.ly sidebar for quick sharing.

Use and Value Over Time

All of the latest changes to Bit.ly should prove to make the service more useful and valuable when it comes to gathering data, ease of use, and content curation. There’s nothing too drastic, but users of Bit.ly will definitely notice a positive change in use over time with the latest update.

I ran into a problem with Facebook  left a nasty taste in mouth: Facebook forcing users to linking their profiles to pages. What’s the big deal? Facebook’s privacy concerns is the big deal. What’s at stake is reputation, trust, and private networks that people are building for themselves. Elements that others don’t want available to the public much less to brand pages. So how do you avoid it?

The Consequences of Not Linking

Facebook gives you a one-time pass on initially linking to Pages, but if you still wish to pass Facebook forcse you to do so in the future by threatening to remove the following information from your profile:

• Work and Education
• Current City
• Hometown
• Likes and Interests

It’s rather interesting that Facebook doesn’t block the interactions necessary for you to continue using the site. If this information is removed, you can still keep chatting and posting away. What’s taken away is the discovery mechanisms built into Facebook. It can become a lot harder for people to find you. On one hand, this might prove to be a boost in the usage of vanity URLS (custom links for your facebook profile). On the other, it’s a catch-22 for us.

Exit Facebook

When you see the following:

exit the page immediately (tip: CTRL+W will exit a tab in Firefox and Google Chrome)! In doing so, when you return to your profile all of your information will still be in tact. That’s not to say you won’t see this pop-up again in the future. Facebook may continue to explore new ways to force you to link to Pages, so keep an eye out for any changes.

I’d love to hear how do you really feel about the actions Facebook is taking:

• Have you thought about deleting your Facebook profile thanks to these new changes?
• How do you feel about the latest changes?

People continue surprising me at every conference I speak at. It doesn’t matter if I’ve followed them on Twitter for years, or if I’ve just met them while speaking at the 140 Characters Conference. And the surprise is all Twitter’s fault. Better yet, it’s social media’s fault. Because this. is not. the real. you.

At the next conference you attend, drop the digital veil and get to the definition of YOU. – Corvida Raven

Let Your Character Be An Experience

Your offline character is the real you. What’s the real you? The part of you that social media doesn’t allow others to not only see, but experience you wholly. It’s the part of you that gives a shy smile after saying “thank you.” The part of you that is bold with the words you use and the way they use them. It’s the experience of an instant connection when your ideas are in-sync with others. These elements are what makes us a delightful (or unpleasant) surprise to one another another when we finally meet!

When I spoke at the 140 Characters Conference in NYC this week I was humbled by my interaction with some vibrant characters. Women like Liz Strauss, Sarah Cooley, Lauren Litwinka, Tina Shoulders, and Cathy Brooks have character that fascinates me. They’re very different from how I imagined behind the tweets and blogs (in a good way ladies!). While you certainly can see their brilliance on their blogs and Twitter profiles, it’s nothing compared to their offline characters and the experience of truly engaging with them.

Drop The Tweets!

Which makes me wonder who you become when you’re not tweeting or talking blogs. For example, if you were to share this post with your next door neighbor, from one hand to another:

• How would you deliver this message?
• What would your body language convey?
• Would you look them directly in the eye?
• How would you define your in-person experience and the character behind the @signs?

This is something that growing up with the real-time web is inviting our communities to take a closer look at because it’s an ability we’re losing with time being “scarce”. Ironically, the drive for these in-person experiences are being fueled by social media. Welcome to the evolution of text and instant messaging. What this evolution concludes to is something that looks like this:

 Click to Enlarge (Credit: Jessica Mullen)

…a city of experiences digital document, possibly forever.

I have to agree with Mike Melanson when it comes to the iPad: Who Needs Another Device? I was in the same boat with Marshall Kirkpatrick with the release of iPhone 3G almost 2 years ago. I waited over 4 hours to get one on the first day. I felt like I’d missed out by passing on the iPhone 2G. The App Store and iPhone developers across the globe would make the tedious wait worth it. The tech community was ready for something the iPhone 3G  now more than ever. And So was I.

For the record, I’ve only owned an iPod once and it was given to me as a gift. I am not an Apple fan girl and I don’t own any Macs. But the feeling I have with my iPhone hasn’t carried over to the iPad. While some might disagree, I think not having history with owning (I know how to use) Apple products allows me to look at the iPad a little differently. Gadgets are all the same to me. What sells me is the experience and need I have with each one. And I’m not sold on the iPad’s experience, never mind the hefty price tag.

The iPad is helping Apple paint a very impressive future for mobile. The experience I imagine having with the iPad, is feel is possible with many devices today. And there are experiences in my devices that I won’t find with the iPad. Case in point, the past week I’ve been playing with a Sony VAIO equipped with Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) technology (Disclosure: Courtesy of Intel). The WiDi technology allows me to I stream Youtube videos and Flickr Albums to my family living room, no matter what room I’m in.

Where’s the need in that?  I have a large family and when everyone is in one room, things can get crowded. Imagine 5 or 6 people surrounding one laptop. You now have a better idea of why the WiDi experience is a win. It simply fits a need that I have. The iPad doesn’t solve a need for me.

Experience or  Need: which does the iPad meet for you?