Save Green, Be Green

Even though mobile devices may cost you a lot of green, they still play a major role in society. What if I was to tell you that having a mobile device can also help you save a lot of money by going green?

One way of going green is by using the app Avego, which is a ride-sharing app for the iPhone that lets you offer empty seats in your car to others and search for open seats when you are car-less. When this app is open and in use, you are able to receive updates on how far away your ride is.

This app also computes how much money each person in the car owes for gas. Users of this program create a profile that becomes available to public. After doing so, members are allowed to rate other members based on their experience.

Another app available is Findgreen by 3rdWhaleMobile’s. This app gives GPS-equipped BlackBerry, iPhone and Android Smartphone owners a guide to local retailers and services that are stored within the GenGreen’s Green Business Directory. A downfall to this app is that not all listings in the area are available.

Ipad and iPhone users who already have wired their home to dim the lights and turn the heating on from a distance are getting the opportunity to save energy with a touch of a button. Lutron’s Home Control app lets RadioRA 2 or HomeWorks QS users control their lights, heating and window shades with the use of their iPhone or iPad.

MyHome app, by Control4, allows users to control their lights, heat and window shades as well as home entertainment and security systems. This app works for the iPhone, iPad and eventually the Android.

Lastly, there is an app called MeterRead which allows users to control the energy consumption and subsequent savings by recording your homes electric meter readings and suggesting ways to improve efficiency.

These apps will not only benefit the users but the environment as well.

Unfortunately, these apps are not accessible to everybody because not everyone has an iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Android.

Soon enough, apps similar to these will be available for everyone and allow society to save personally and environmentally.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

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Is It A Newspaper Or A Magazine

On February 2, 2011 The Daily for the Apple iPad was launched.

The Daily has promoted itself as a newspaper exclusively for the iPad. Each day new articles are published and put out just like a print newspaper.

An iPad user downloads the app and pays 99 cents per week or a year subscription for $39.99. Then the user is set to read to his or her heart's content.

It has been speculated however that The Daily is not a newspaper but a magazine. These claims have been based on visuals more present than text.

In my opinion The Daily is neither one. Both newspapers and magazines have a large amount of context bewteen the pages.

An issue of The Daily only has a handful of stories. And once those stories are gone they are gone unlike newspapers and magazines which can have stories from months or years gone by.

To me The Daily is ridiculous, why pay for news when it can be read online for free with an unlimited amount of stories?

I feel this application is really just a bulletin highlighting a few stories.

What's your take?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

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The 21st Century Bookstore

Many of us have been in a bookstore before. Barnes and Noble is a great example of a bookstore that offers current novels and magazines to a broad range of people.

Upon walking in, customers are bombarded by all of the products that they can willingly buy. Though the store is organized in a fashionable way, what if it all was digital?

There still would be comfy chairs to sit in, but the space the magazines and books take up would be eliminated. Customers could easily browse through the products with their smartphone, or other form of technology that they are equipped with.

By making the bookstores more technology oriented, customers would have more options to choose from. Customers today are finding that looking for books online offers them more of a selection than if they were to visit a bookstore.

Customers would also have the advantage of reading through books and magazines, just like the Bookstore offered, but it would all be digital. Customers of course would have to stay within the proximity of the store to receive these benefits, but it would still be worth the change.

By making Bookstores more digital, consumers are more apt to purchase magazines and books. Making Bookstores digital is one of the keys to keeping the media industry afloat.

photocredit: http://is.gd/aqVNEJ, creativecommons.com

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Digital Resumes on the Rise

People often ask one thing when going to a job interview. Is my resume put together well enough to show who I really am? Today, there are even more options for resumes than the regular typed up paper that's typically turned in by hopeful applicants.

The most recent version of the resume includes graphics of all types. Applicants can personalize their resumes to fit their specific job. One resume on Mashable's site, pictured to the left, is personalized to the restaurant business, and the resume is designed to look like a menu. These types of resumes are called digital resumes.

Digital resumes stand out from the ordinary resume. The bright colors and different layout make the person's eyes wander all over the page reading every detail. It's more interesting to look at than a plain white paper with black text.

These types of resumes also show the employer that the applicant wants the job bad enough that he/she took the time to personalize the resume to fit the job. This can often make an employer choose this more pleasing to the eye digital resume over the ordinary resume. Employers may often think if he/she took this much time to work on their resume imagine how hard he/she will work on the job.

I plan on editing my resume after seeing all these attractive resumes. My resume will not only look the best out of all the other applicants I will be going up against for future jobs, but it will also look pretty cool, and employers will be impressed with my determination to impress them.

Photo Credit: Jason Takeuchi via Mashable

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How to be a Successful Blogger

Being a successful blogger can be an important part of your profession today. Jack Harold the CEO of Affiliate Home Business offers some tips to being a successful blogger on the blog of Jonathon Volk.

1. Check Your Stats
Your blog statistics are a valuable part of your blog.

2. What if People Don't Want to Read My Blog
Readers are very important to your blog's livelihood.

3. There Are Blogs Just Like Mine
Topics are common, yours is already covered?

4. Be Creative
Who cares if your topic is covered, making your blog more creative and unique will get readers.

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