So you’ve uploaded all your photos to Flickr or Facebook. Now what? Sure you can click the next and previous buttons to go through them, but it is just your standard slideshow. What if you could make a flashy and interactive presentation of your photos, without having to upload them to yet another photo service?

This is the jist of FotoViewr. It allows you to create a free 3D photo gallery by simply directing the service to your photos. It is currently available for Flickr, SmugMug and there is also a Facebook application. The beauty is you don’t have to log in! All you do is enter your Flickr username – without the password – and it will find your photo galleries. Below is a gallery using the “Wall” style with photos from past likemind Chicago coffees. As you can see you can embed a gallery into a Web page, and you can also send a URL link to one.

FotoViewr was created by a local entity in Chicago, and was actually demoed at a past likemind. More is in the works for FotoViewr, and you can follow its activities on its blog.

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Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

It’s Helsinki or bust, as I have been invited to participated in a workshop for mobile phone giant Nokia, who is based in the Finnish capital. I received the invitation a few weeks back from WOM World, who describes themselves as “a Nokia-sponsored blog covering what’s being said in the social media about Nokia devices and services.”

As a self-described New England Yankee, I of course received this with some skepticism. Why me, and are they really going to fly me out there? The answer to the latter question is yes, and I am booked to fly out the week after next.

As for the former question, I believe it is because of what I have written previously on The Hot Iron with regards to mobile phones, especially unlocked phones vs. locked phones. Though the phone attached to my belt as I write this is a Palm Treo 680, I have owned Nokia phones in the past, and currently own one I bought when traveling in Denmark a few years back, namely because Verizon Wireless wanted to charge me literally hundreds of dollars to get a phone I could use overseas for a week. Needless to say that was one of the reasons I switched to T-Mobile.

So what will this workshop consist of? From their description, it will include: “...a number of workshops that’ll see discussion with participants, and with Nokia guys, about the future of different online arenas and mobile technology. Workshops that we hope you’d like to join in with and make yourself heard.” The fact that I will be part of a conversation with people from around the world on mobile technology, not to forget Nokia staff, is an amazing opportunity. Motorola’s headquarters is only a short drive from where I live, and I have never received such an invitation.

My head is already full of ideas and questions I want to add to the conversation for this workshop. If anyone else has anything they would like me to bring up please feel free to post them as comments. I have also received links to other bloggers who will be at the workshop and I hope to connect with them before the trip.

Also, if anyone has any recommendations on what to do when in Helsinki, please let me know!

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Business • Technology • (9) Comments • Permalink

Today is Blog Day. Bloggers like myself around the world will be recommending 5 blogs to their readers. Last year I missed it by a few days, and this year I am glad I got it on time.

Here are 5 blogs I read and of which I invite you to explore. In no particular order:

Chris Brogan – Chris is a social media guru from the Boston area. I feel a lot of what he says is very grounded and practical, only as a fellow New England Yankee would.

User Effect – Peter “Dr. Pete” Meyers is a usability and SEO guru and writes about it in a very grounded and practical way as well. And he is from the Midwest.

Networking Insight – Jason Jacobsohn is a networking guru and a valued member of the entrepreneurial community in Chicago. He writes about networking and business in a grounded and practical way. I am seeing a pattern here!

Elliot's Blog – Elliot Silver is a domain name guru and his blog is a tremendous resource on the domaining industry, especially around developing domain names to Web sites. This native New Englander also writes in a very grounded and practical manner.

The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog – I am a college hockey fan, and my team is the Boston University Terriers. My best source for team information is this blog, and it’s written in a manner… well, you get the picture!

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Diversions • Technology • (6) Comments • Permalink

Earlier this year iRibbit won all kinds of eBay developer awards for their extremely user-friendly auction interface for the iPhone. Now there is iRibbit Plus, which is a full-blown iPhone app, which is available for free via the Apple iTunes App Store.

Congratulations goes out to Chuck Hudson of Aduci, who along with his team developed the app. Chuck is a good friend and a great developer. But don’t just take my word on it, read the ZDNet review of iRibbit Plus.

The accompanying photo was borrowed from ZDNet, as I don’t have an iPhone to get my own screenshot because, well, it is not an unlocked phone.

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Business • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

It helps to know who your competitors are. Why? Here are a couple of first-hand examples.

A few years back I was talking with a prospective client. Shortly into the conversation I realized they were looking for more services than I had capacity for, and more than I was in a position to handle. In short, they were looking for a larger firm. At the conclusion of the conversation, I told them this. The prospect then asked me if there was anyone else I could refer them to, and I gave them a name. Shortly after, they signed on with the firm I recommended, and I got a nice steak dinner out of it.

After I moved to Chicago from Boston, I continued receiving the monthly newsletters for Marty’s Liquors, a great food, spirits and cigar store in Newton and Allston, MA. I emailed them and told them I had moved and they could take me off their mailing list. The response I got from them was not what I suspected. They told me they were going to keep me on their newsletter mailing list, and if I wanted to buy anything in it, to go to Sam’s in Chicago and buy it there.

Both of these are examples of selfless, customer-focused networking. Recently I got a call from the firm in the first example, so I guess what goes around sure does come around.

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Business • (0) Comments • Permalink