What instantly comes to your mind when you see the word Seesmic?

If you are thinking video, then you are right!It is a video sharing service just like YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, etc. The difference is that Seesmic has done away with much of the extras that come with the other services.  When you first login into seesmic you are welcomed with a control panel from there you can see recent videos uploaded by other users of seesmic, your friend’s videos and your own. On the right hand side you can see which friends are online as well as see a list of friends you are following and people who are following you.

Recording video through seesmic is very easy, as long as you have a webcam and microphone, all you have to do is select your audio and video inputs and click the big red record button. To stop the recording again just press the stop recording button in the left hand side of the player. You are also asked to input a title and description and then all you have to do is click the save button. Unlike YouTube, the website takes a very short amount of time to upload. It is almost magical.

So far, I have really enjoyed playing around with the service. Although there are so many video sharing services out there, I think this one may have a chance because, unlike other services, Seesmic is easy and fun – Two key ingredients for a great user experience.  On the other hand, Seesmic is missing a lot of features that those other services offer, so I am guessing most are not going to leave the current for the new. Not yet anyway.

Are you one of the millions of Myspace users? Myspace has grown into the largest and most successful social networking site on the Internet to date and following these simple tips will ensure your success on Myspace. Whether you are a starving artist, a hopeful musician, a talented photographer, a wannabe model or a professional business individual looking for a job, Myspace can work in your advantage.

No Overload
There are several sites that offer several fancy-smancy additions for your Myspace page but it is in your best interest (and helps everyone viewing your page) if you don’t overload your page with celebrity look-alikes and glittery messages. Invest in yourself by learning some basic HTML and design your page without the help of a generic profile editor. These profile sites often embed their logos, links and personal props in your page, making your page “TheirSpace”. This is a helpful YouTube video on editing your Myspace profile on your own.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQtFj1jA188[/youtube]

Remember the Web is World Wide
Often, in the news, you’ve heard similar stories about teachers loosing their credentials or beauty queens loosing their crowns due to unacceptable pictures of themselves being blasted across the Internet. You must always remember that if your goal is to taken seriously and to have a successful Myspace site – do not post pictures of yourself that are remotely questionable. On second thought, don’t even allow remotely questionable photos to be taken of you.

Keep it Updated
In order to make your page interesting, you must update your site with new pictures, new layouts and new biographical information as much as you can. An interesting site is only interesting the first time you see it, maybe a second time, but no one will continue to view your page if it always stays the same.

Talk, Don’t Stalk
Since there are millions of users, you are almost guaranteed to know another user. It is an absolute NO-NO to continually go to their page and see what’s happening in their life. If you know a fellow Myspace user, talk to them! Send a simple message, “Hey, I see we are both Myspace users! Good to see you’re doing well. Take care.” Stalking users’ wastes time, makes you un-cool and takes the focus off of your Myspace goal of being successful.

Utilize Bulletins
Myspace bulletins are excellent and bringing people back to your site. Make sure you post useful and interesting bulletins, possibly pointing out that you have updated your site or for the music sites, you can post upcoming concert dates to facilitate a sold-out show. I would suggest not posting several bulletins containing a 100 question survey that you’ve filled out or a chain mail type of time waster.

Network
Take advantage of Myspace’s networking tools by looking up everyone that was in your high school and college graduating class, your previous and current businesses and become part of the thousands of groups of people that share similar interests as you. The more friends that you meet, accept and keep engaged with will ensure your Myspace page goals are met.

Bring Them Back
The most important tip on making it big with Myspace is to give your viewers several reasons to keep coming back to your page. You can run contests, write an interesting blog and express yourself truthfully and excitingly. Advertisers will want to be visible on your site if your page views are consistently high which will bring your great exposure and extra dough. In conclusion, there are several ways to reach your goals with Myspace. Follow these simple rules and good luck.

You may find these useful, as well.

MySpace For Dummies

Hacking MySpace: Mods and Customizations to make MySpace Your Space (ExtremeTech)

Here we have yet another offering aimed at the YouTube market. At this rate, YouTube will soon have the largest collection of media garbage ever collected (if they don’t already.)

This Casio digital camera comes complete with “YouTube Capture mode.” This is, of course, just a basic video recorder with some bundled software that allows you to post your garbage on to YouTube without using their upload page. Wow, how exciting… yawn. Now the world can see your rubbish even faster.

This is a nice looking camera, but I fail to see any improvement over it’s predecessor, the EX-S880, which was nothing to write home about either. If you are in the market for a decent quality, inexpensive camera, there are many better alternatives, including the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W55.

If you just want to turn out poor quality, easily uploaded video for your Grandma (to then have trouble watching,) this camera could be for you.

Low quality video combined with soft, fuzzy images and a tendency to over warm the color balance make this one a doubtful purchase. I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Casio should stick to making calculators as far as I’m concerned, as that’s what they do well. About the only good thing I can say about this model is, “It looks pretty in pink.”

You can get it at amazon.com (click on one of the images below):

Flock is a free Web browser that makes it easier than ever to share photos, stay up-to-date with news from your favorite sites, and search the Web. Flock gives users control over their Web experience by integrating a variety of Web applications and services into its browser, and making participation online easy.

Version 1.0 beta includes the People sidebar for managing your friends’ lists, a media bar showing the latest uploads from you and your friends, several usability and stability fixes as well as the latest security patches from Mozilla.

I have a secret: I’m so impressed with this beta that I’ve done something I didn’t see myself anytime soon: I’ve dumped Opera as my primary gateway to the Web. I absolutely love this 1.0 beta. I have downloaded and used previous versions of Flock, only to be uninstalled the next day, but I am going to keep this one.

A few of the features that make Flock a different browser from IE, Firefox, or Opera include integration with Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube; a Web clipboard; blogging feature (That I have used to type this review); and better RSS and bookmarks.

If you are addicted to Facebook, like me, Flock’s Facebook-related features alone might make it worth switching from whatever browser you use. You get a sidebar with links to all your friends, messages, invites, your status, and other key Facebook stuff; it sites to the left of the main browser window and lets you monitor your Facebook life without having to go to Facebook. Using the horizontal Media Bar, you can also browse your friend’s Facebook photos. I can think of ways Flock’s Facebook integration could be even better, but it is good enough right now.

If you have a Flickr account (which I think everyone has except for myself), you can upload photos to Flickr on Flock and use the Media Bar to browse your Flickr friends’ streams using features built into the browser. One of the best things about Flock is that it is a souped-up variant of Firefox so it is full of familiar and useful features as well as new ones. Flock says that “most” Firefox extensions will work properly in Flock. I have only tried one extension (Meebo) and that worked well. Flock says you should receive a warning if you encounter a non Flock-friendly extension.

I must stress that Flock is a beta, so if you download it only to expect perfect browsing experience, you might be a little disappointed. I have run into a few problems of things not working, as they should; nothing to critical to stop me from using this well thought-out browser. Problems and all, this is an impressive update and look forward to further improvements and additional features as time progresses.