Pin It!

Everyone knows how addicted society has become with the world of social media, whether they’ll admit to it or not (no shame). Well, now there’s a new social drug out on the virtual market: Pinyadda.com. This Boston-based web company is in its early development stages of creating a website where users can customize, gather and share news from multiple sources across the internet. Pinyadda users create personalized information networks made up of people, sites, and topics and from here are able to “pin” articles onto their profile page, similar to “liking” something on Facebook.

For someone like me who is constantly checking sites to find the latest scoop on a range of topics from the Middle East conflict to the new smokin’ vamp in True Blood to what to do tonight, Pinyadda has all my sources combined on one web page. Now instead of having a million tabs open on my browser I just login to my Pinyadda account and don’t need to bother with any others. And just like on Twitter, users can follow people and have other users follow you to see what other articles of interest people have “pinned” on their pages.

To add a more competitive incentive to your profile you can earn Yadda points and badges depending on how many articles you’ve pinned or how much activity you’ve created on the site. Even more thrilling is the opportunity to become a “maven” or “ambassador” of certain topics or sites. I was recently notified that my profile was featured on the weekly email under “Up & Comers to Follow” with 132 Yadda points, blowing the others with a mere 10 or 11 points clear out of the water. Embarrassed due to my obviously addictive personality, since I only signed up a week ago? Never! Instead, as the good publicist-in-training I am, I’d spin it as being proud of my clear level of commitment and dedication to the new site!

So keep refreshing your Facebook, Twitter, yadda yadda (pun intended), but now add Pinyadda.com to your daily to-do list of social media sites. I guarantee that before long, you too will be hooked!

Posted by Shaina

As the Internet Continues to Grow, So Does Greg Rutter’s List of Must-See Web Sites

The Internet serves billions of users daily. From Google to ESPN to The New York Times to Twitter, our manmade online world has changed how we find, understand, interpret, and communicate information. Internet terminology has even become part of our everyday conversations (“I Googled you” sound familiar?!).

Since its development and commercialization in the 1990s, the Internet has become a platform for families to share birthday pictures, aspiring musicians to share original music, and a group of friends to recreate a music video – yes, I’m guilty. The Internet is a place of ambiguity and growing depth with more than 100 million Web sites currently online. With that said, I have a monotonous daily online routine: I read e-mails, check Facebook and Twitter, read the top headlines, check celebrity gossip news, and sometimes play around with shared links. I needed something new and exciting.

Luckily, I stumbled upon (literally, StumbleUpon-ed) a Web site titled, “Greg Rutter’s Definitive List of the 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced on the Internet Unless You’re a Loser or Old or Something.” The list, in no particular order, is comprised of many YouTube videos, including Susan Boyle (#41) and David After the Dentist (#30), Fail Blog (#19), and Funny or Die skit, The Landlord (#53). From funny to serious, Rutter’s list will expose you to some of the Internet’s most discussed and viewed material.

As Rutter’s title proposes, you should have already experienced all of these videos and Web sites. However, do not feel like a “loser, old, or something” if you haven’t. I suggest you bookmark the site and enjoy the comprehensive list over an extended period of time. Also, don’t forget to share the links you enjoy with your friends via…what else but the ever-changing, dynamic Internet!

Posted by Justin