Site of the week - Blip.fm

Maybe it is because I am a former party/club DJ.  Perhaps it is my frustration with the suggested songs that Last.fm and Pandora give me.  Plus, I haven't updated the playlists on my iPod for so long that I hardly use the damn thing anymore.

Whatever the reason, my newest addiction is Blip.fm.

So what is so great about this site? Well, here goes.....

1. Of course, there is the access to any song under the sun.
2. The "Twitter like" interface (which includes mirco-blogging) is minimalistic and easy to use.
3. Speaking of Twitter, you can link your Blip account to your Twitter account so that every time you add a song a "Twit" is posted.
4. The social aspect of the site is fairly intuitive which opens up the door to discovering new tracks.

It might take you some time to really "get" the benefits of Blip since on day one you won't have a network of friends to share music with.  But trust me, a week later you will wonder how you lived without it.

10 Best Intranets

Jakob Nielsen has created his "10 Best Intranets of 2009" list along with a good analysis of the trends he is seeing in the space.  This extract of a much larger 473 page report gives some interesting highlights that anyone looking to roll out an enterprise intranet solution should read.

According to the article, empowering collaboration and providing social networking tools for the corporate user base seem to be gaining momentum.  While there are many in the industry who feel that enabling a workforce with FaceBook-like functionality is counter productive I would argue the opposite.  If used properly, social tools can provide the foundation for knowledge share and become a tremendous asset for productivity.  Also, by looking the other way when it comes to this trend companies are ignoring that fact that if they don't provide a secure, managed platform the user community will eventually create their own.

Another interesting call out from Mr. Nielsen's report is the apperant consolidation of technology being used with SharePoint becoming more and more dominant in the space.  In fact, the article points out "fully half the winning intranets used SharePoint".

Apple CEO calms health speculation

As you may know, there has been a lot of speculation recently around Steve Jobs' health.  In fact, Mr. Jobs condition has has been an ongoing discussion point in the media and online ever since his 2004 surgery for pancreatic cancer.  Over the past year the obvious weight loss has brought the topic to a boil and a few weeks ago it was announced that the co-founder would not deliver the keynote address at this weeks MacWorld conference.  Mr. Jobs has presented at the conference since returning to the company in 1997.

During this same period of time the chatter regarding the potential life threatening condition of the Apple CEO has had some very real effects on the company including a suffering stock price.   Many attribute the visionary successes that Apple has experienced with products like the iPod and iPhone to Mr. Jobs himself.

Well, today Steve Jobs posted an open letter to ease peoples concerns which cites a "hormone imbalance" as the root cause for the weight loss.  He goes on to say that he has mapped a road to recovery with his doctors.

Good to hear that things are looking up for the charismatic Jobs.  We need his genius around to continue to develop and inspire.

FireFox sustains 20% worldwide

Just read an interesting article from NetApplications that puts FireFox at above 20% and Internet Explorer slightly below 70%.  Not a surprise with FireFox 3 being lightning fast and all the great plug-ins the browser offers.  For the details click here.

My web favorites of 2008

Well, it is January 2009 and so I thought I would share some of my personal favorites from the web for 2008.  Here goes:

1. Twitter - While I actually started using Twitter in early 2007 I really didn't "get it" until this past summer.  It has now officially taken over as my online "crack" which I need to check in on at least 5 times daily.  Still very much for the techy crowd but I predict that changes in 2009.
2. Mint - This online personal finance tool is perfect keeping tabs on your money, tracking a budget and seeing all your investments in one place.
3. Google Reader - This handy tool is perfect for consolidating multiple content sources into a single, easy to manage feed.
4. FaceBook - Not much needs to be said here.
5. Hulu - This video streaming site offers high-resolution TV shows and movies.  Their library includes FOX, NBC, Comedy Central, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and many more.

While there are plenty of others that deserve honorable mention these five are constants that I have added to my regular online routine.  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know whats on your list.