Not Buzzing

The excitement at the arrival of the latest Google social platform soon turned to disappointment when I realised that Buzz was not available for people using the Google Apps (or Gmail on your own domain) service.  Google promised that it would be available to Apps users within a couple of months but who wants to wait?

After discovering that Buzz is available to Apps users through Google Maps on mobile phones, I wondered if there was a way to convert this functionality to the desktop.  Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find the following article on Mashable:

http://mashable.com/2010/02/13/google-buzz-ssb/

Just One Complication

Unfortunately these instructions don’t work.  At least they don’t work for Apps users!

Fortunately, it’s easily fixed by checking through the comments!

The original instructions essentially set up a stand alone browser window that takes you to your GMail sign in screen.  As Google Apps users will no doubt know, this creates a problem.  Signing in on this screen doesn’t work for Apps users, it takes us to a screen asking if we want to set up a Gmail account.  This is a pain for many reasons but most importantly, it breaks this app.

Easy Fix

There is a solution to this problem posted in the comments.  Instead of using the URL in the Mashable instructions, use the following:

https://m.google.com/app/buzz

This URL is provided by Google for use on mobile devices.  Since your computer is not using a mobile browser, when you start the app you get a compatibility warning but this can be clicked away.  You then get a sign in screen that you can use with your email and password.

After this, it works perfectly!

Of course, it’s also possible to use the URL in your browser but there’s something quite nice about it opening separately.

Conclusions?

This is far from an ideal solution.  There is non of the integration with Gmail and it’s not really a standalone app, it’s a website specific browser window.  Will I use it?  Possibly, it does fill a hole but I hope it will be filled by something else very soon!

Old Dog, New Tricks!

I just read a post over at Hobbo (Sorry it's a few days old, it's been sitting in my inbox for a while).  It describes a few ways to syndicate your blog content across several different social networks.

Of significance to me though, was the heads up that it is possible to publish a Google Docs article straight into your Wordpress self hosted blog.  So, once again, this is a post to see how well it works!

Method

Hobbo's instructions say:

1. Create the article in G Docs
2. Save it
3. Go back and select the article
4. Select More Actions -> Publish
5. I should then get some options to let me send the article to my blog
6. If you're reading this post, it worked!!

Thanks Hobbo. In fact, this couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I had been trying out Live Writer but was having a lot of bother because I've been using a Netbook and I can't get LW's window to fit on my screen.  For some reason there always appears to be one menu that doesn't scroll.

Result?

Like I said, if you can read this, it worked!!

Read the Hobbo article here:

http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/index.php/google-docs-to-wordpress-to-twitter-social-sites/

Bedside Entertainment

I took a Netbook and a Mobile Broadband Dongle from 3 down to the hospital in Liverpool.  It worked much better than I had expected it to, at least as far as signal and speed were concerned.  Unfortunately, the Dongle stopped working less than half way through my stay.  I’ve already written about the disappointment this caused but the story got worse!

Customer Service?

After a long call from hospital that emptied the credit on my mobile, 3 said they would need to send me another SIM card.  They sent this out as promised and it arrived at my home address a few days after the call.  Of course,…… Read the rest

One, Two, erm……3?

As I think I mentioned already, I was lucky enough to get a Netbook for Christmas.  Of course, to get the full benefit of my new machine, I really needed a Mobile Broadband connection to go with it.  Since I would want to take the machine to hospital in Liverpool with me, I was looking for a “Pay As You Go” Broadband Dongle that had coverage here at home and in Liverpool.  This narrowed the choice somewhat. 

The selection process was a little tricky.  Basically, my requirements were:

1. PAYG.  No Contract (I don’t need the dongle at home but

…… Read the rest

Domain Shortening

With all the fuss about Social Networking only getting bigger, I did a little research into the whole idea of Domain Shortening.  The idea is far from new now but there are lots of new thoughts about the best way to manage the process for your website.

I have never liked the idea of using a “faceless” URL shortening service like bit.ly and the rest.  What it the point of working at building your brand and then displaying all your links on someone else’s domain?  So when I came across YoURLS.org (quite by accident), I really liked the idea of trying to set up the…… Read the rest