ONLINE: HOT WEBSITES OF 2011

HowCast: HowCast is a YouTube style self-improvement site made up of instructional videos. Just like YouTube, it’s addictive, and you could upload your own videos as well. You could find things like "How to Become a Professional Cake Decorator" and "How to Build an Electromagnet." Some videos are serious, but some are instructional in a playful way.
www.howcast.com

GetHuman: We’ve all been through it, the aggravating experience of calling a customer service line and being stuck talking to a computer for a long time, trying to dial your way number by number to speak to a live person. That’s where GetHuman comes in. It provides numbers for thousands of big companies and information on which buttons to press to reach a human and how long you're likely to wait on hold. Users can also vent or talk about their positive experiences by writing customer-service reviews.
www.gethuman.com

Klout: Klout is a scoring system of your social networking. Sign into it with your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts and it'll calculate your Klout score. It considers how many people you’re connected to, who they are, and how active you are with engaging with them. Justin Bieber has a perfect Klout score of 100.
www.klout.com

CONSUMER TREND:
COUPONS ARE BACK

It has been a trend in the US for a while but now couponing is becoming a hot trend in Canada too. We see the trend of people wanting to be smart and savvy, and looking for the savings.  As opposed to being frugal, we're seeing saving money as being a very smart and sexy thing to do.

There is a website you could go to called websaver.ca. It's a destination for coupons. You go to the site, you get a list of brands, you choose which brand you like, and have coupons for them sent directly to you. Nizam Walji is president and managing partner at websaver.ca. Ever since the recession, he says the growth in the use of coupons has been staggering.

Coupon growth in the last few years has been exponential. Prior to the last few years and the downturn in the economy, coupons really hadn’t changed that much. You would find your coupons in your Sunday paper, or in store at shelf but this all changed during the recession and we are seeing a lot more of them. A lot of companies are putting them out because they need to move and increase awareness on their products, and people want to save money. They are demanding them and going out and finding the coupons themselves.

In 2010, 6 million coupons were distributed. In 2011, it is expected to grow to over 100 million coupons. Digital coupons are now the big trend. No more cut outs form the newspaper.

The traditional coupon has changed within the last three years. Those being the digital coupon, or coupons found on the internet. The majority of these happen in the US but this trend is now coming to Canada in waves.

www.websaver.ca

HOT NEW WEBSITE:
JFKLIBRARY.ORG

If you're a history buff, here’s a website you might want to check out: www.JFKlibrary.org

The JFK library has released an interactive, virtual White House Oval Office desk. It let's you explore archival audio, video and text. The Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston unveiled it. 

It has numerous objects you can click on, a telephone, a campaign button, a secret recording button and get video, audio and text from JFK's era. Clicking the telephone, for instance, pulls up a list of recorded conversations, and a user can listen to the president talk to his brothers Robert Kennedy and Edward Kennedy.
Still used by President Barack Obama, the original Oval Office desk was in the White House broadcast room until Jacqueline Kennedy, had it moved to the Oval Office in 1961.

The campaign button reveals a picture of his campaign headquarters and video from his run for office. Hitting the secret recording button gives access to transcripts and sound from high-level discussions on the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam.

Other objects hold information about Kennedy's family, his military service and his love of the sea.

The President's Desk can be found at JFKlibrary.org

HOT NEW WEBSITE:
IMADEAMOVIE.COM

Now turning to a hot new website for movie enthusiasts.

Imadeamovie.com is a web based movie studio that finances full-length micro-budget films.  It allows anyone to experience the thrill of movie making first hand - whether you’ve got a script or just want to be someone who finances and then gets an on screen producer’s credit.

The website works with memberships. Members can vote on casting, script changes, auditions for roles, and music for soundtracks. The best part is it gives small independent film-makers new sources of financing for their projects.

Membership is free for those who want to comment on auditions and music. 

A $49.95 membership will give you the title of “Associate Producer” for any of the available film projects.

The website was launched in April.

It has had 500,000 unique visitors and membership has doubled.

WRITING WEBSITE:
"I WRITE LIKE"

Now turning to the website called I Write Like (www.iwl.me).

It reveals which author a person's writing most likely resembles

The site examines the word choice and writing style in the submission. This is interesting for all the curious writers, bloggers, Facebook wall scribblers and texters out there.

The site works like this: Users paste a short writing sample in a box and click the "analyze" button. 

I Write Like reported the site had analyzed about 1.5 million pieces of text.

If you ask me, the site is a little silly.

www.iwl.me

HOT NEW WEBSITE:
BUZZFEED

BuzzFeed is a trend-tracking site that tracks and delivers content that's grabbing the most eyeballs on the Internet. What's different about BuzzFeed is that it doesn't rely on votes to determine the popularity of a video, blog, or photo.

The company blends click tracking with its own algorithm and human editors to figure out which piece of content is about to go viral.

It was founded by Jonah Peretti (who also cofounded The Huffington Post.) Eric Olson, partner in development at Google Inc. left Google to join BuzzFeed as V.P. Business Development.

Buzzfeed.com focuses on the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to friends, so its editors know a thing or two about must-see videos. 

The BuzzFeed iPhone app is best way to stay up to date with the latest viral videos, images, links, and buzz while on the go. 

TRAVEL SERVICE: ZERO BAGGAGE


Zerobaggage.com is a new startup that opens for business this November. Tired of paying for your bags now when you're flying? Zero Baggage provides you with clothes and other essentials at your final destination.

You just take a carry on with your essentials and no check-in bags because they get you what you need.

You simply fill in an online virtual suitcase - and the contents will be waiting in your hotel room when you arrive.

Items are previously used - but clean and well maintained but there is also the option of renting new items only. Feel good about doing this by knowing that you are borrowing local items and services that follow an ecological model. You also earn carbon credits for traveling lightly, thus lightening weight, which can be reimbursed for various services such as a spa trip or dinner.

If you become a member of Zero Baggage you are able to buy new items, or store personal effects at frequently visited places.

Upscale Fast Food: fancyfastfood.com


Now, to a website you might want to check out, FancyFastFood.com. It's got recipes and ideas on how to take fast food and make it fancier.
You can turn Domino's Pizza into chow mein, seriously, it's wild! Burger King's Croissan'wich can become a quiche, and more.

The site only has a handful of recipes up so far, but they are amusing to look at. This guy definitely had too much time on his hands. I know it's odd but with some fancy plates and cutlery, the stuff looks, not absolutely un-eatable. Especially in our recession, this site may help you make a dinner party at a lower cost!

The latest recipe on this humorous food blog was ‘Franksgiving Dinner'. The site manager took Nathan's to a completely different level, giving the hot dogs, corn dogs and French fries a complete makeover, making it completely presentable and in fact nice!

To check it out, visit www.fancyfastfood.com.