Ping.fm

Ping.fm is a simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap!

Status updates are something you either love or hate. However it’s a fact we all use them. Do you change the text next to your name on MSN? Do you update your status update on Facebook… well this is what I am referring to. Some of you may use LinkedIn which has also recently added a status option.

Now for the good bit… are you fed up of signing into all your websites and applications to update your status? Well ping.fm is for you! Its simple, you sign up for an account on http://ping.fm (using the beta code below). You add your facebook account, LinkedIn account and all other services you wish to update at once. Then you send ping.fm a status message and it sends it to all your other services!

What’s even better is that you can then add a client to MSN or GTalk and you then have ping.fm as a contact in your IM client. You can send ping.fm a message using MSN and it will send it to your ping.fm account and then update all your statuses around the web!

There is even an API and a custom URL option for the developer out there!

Use this code “thispingsforyou” if you would like to get in on the beta action!

Digsby

I am all for time saving ideas and things that will enable me to be more productive. When you put productivity and the web together you get loads of great online tools which excite the hell out of me!

This new tool might not come into this category directly but the idea is the same… it is honestly… or am I just getting over excited again? No! This tool brings IM, Email and Social Networks together into one simple, easy to use application. Digsby is the answer! I have been looking for something like this for a while now. I have tried many applications that claim to deal with multi IM clients but this one is a winner… it also checks twitter and facebook and displays a nice little bubble popup on the desktop.

It does save time because I don’t have to login to check facebook and twitter updates are shown to me on the screen so I can keep track of what people are ‘tweeting’ about… to list a couple.

The one thing that is going to be interesting to watch is the integration with facebook IM. I suspect that the user of facebook IM is limited at the moment as you have to be in a browser to use it. However Digsby enables you to use the facebook IM in a application… giving you the ability to manage one contact list (your facebook contacts) and automatically have them in your IM client. One to watch!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

James Chorley Adventure

My good friend James Chorley is embarking on a four-week pan-European trek covering six countries over 4 weeks. Planned for three years, he is using two wheels to travel around. You can track his progress here on his adventure website which I have put together for him.

He will be sending postcards home which will be scanned and posted online. Pictures will follow upon his return which will be posted on Flicker and linked to from the site. There is also an RSS feed for the ‘adventure blog’.

The trip marks the end of his employment at FPP, upon his return he will be making the big move to London for a new opportunity at one of UK leading digital agencies – AKQA.