As virtually anyone would agree, it’s fantastic when technology works when required. But if a new report published today is any indication, the matter of when things function properly is still something we’re forced to reckon with. Perhaps things could be better. Much better.

This is the 800 pound gorilla in the room, folks. No question about it.

It’s not necessarily downtime that’s the biggest concern, though that is in fact quite serious. Instead, it’s the customer service element which matters most, and if we take a look back on the last year or two, there’s still a way to go to reach resounding satisfaction.

Pay Attention, Executives! Get Yer Heads in the Game!

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all had encounters with corporate agents and representatives that have done little but waste time or produce no significant results for the better, whether they be from a cable company or ISP (those are frequently one and the same) or wireless carrier. The resolution process can be a painful one, to say the least.

Yes, there are improvements made. Companies like Comcast have found a relatively effective way to communicate with customers through Twitter, or through corporate blogs that address concerns with reasonable haste and without having to employ a massive army of phone call responders. But all too often these changes have been implemented after the proverbial profanity has hit the fan.

That isn’t to say companies should hire weathermen to preempt chaos on the customer end, but the sheer act of communicating through channels that the client would prefer their issues be addressed through could be a very valuable change for the better that too few businesses reach.

Take a look the latest tech troubleshooting figures from Pew Internet. There are two sets of data involved that are key:

How consumers seek/conduct tech support:

38% of users with failed technology contacted user support for help.

28% of technology users fixed the problem themselves.15% fixed the problem with help from friends or family.

15% of tech users were unable to fix their devices

2% found help online

Consumers’ attitudes about various forms of tech support:

72% felt confident that they were on the right track to solving the problem.

59% felt impatient to solve the problem because they had important uses for the broken technology.

48% felt discouraged with the amount of effort needed to fix the problem.

40% felt confused by the information that they were getting.

It should be said that these figures are establish on the premise that nearly half of technology in the hands of consumers doesn’t work properly at one point or another, either through user error or technical faults.

But look at the first segment. 28% of users fix problems themselves; 15% were unable to fix their devices; and 2% found help online.

Wounds That Needs Healing

In aggregate, that’s a pretty unfortunate reality. I imagine a good number of self-diagnoses and self-fixes are done because of disillusionment of traditional help channels. Still 15% of everyone involved with the survey were unable to get back to normal, and only 2% found help online. That last number needs massive improvement.

The second set of data is telling in that the issue of impatience came up in more than half of all instances when attitudes were questioned. And if you grab the four stats together in succession, the feelings were of confidence, impatience, discouragement, and confusion.

Not good. Not good at all.

Patients Outnumber Doctors

This tells me people aren’t getting the help they need. And that if they were given the appropriate resources and guidance by companies, the costumer service bogeyman would exist no longer. At least not to the extent that it exists today.

There are entities like Fixya that are clearly fighting the good fight in the FAQ/repair/troubleshooting world, and the website’s receipt of $6 million in funding earlier this year is definite indication of demand for such a forum. But more has to be done.

Heck, it’s 2008, and it can still require hours of time to accomplish things so menial as a billing problem or email access configuration. To quote a world-famous American politician: “We can do better … Yes, we can.”

Imagery provided by iStockPhoto/DNY59/Barisonal; TBO.com

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Facebook App Developer: Good Customer Service Will Pay BigAmazon Video Reviews Now LiveGet Satisfaction Takes Twitter Brand Management to the Next LevelT-Mobile Blocking Twitter?Comcast Isn’t Net Neutral; Are They Liars, Too?Free Mobile Price Checks with FrucallAmazon Launches Product Wiki

Delicious remains the most recognisable name in social bookmarking, but does it serve niche markets as ably as specialized tools could? Boca Raton, Florida-based Dwellicious thinks not, and has created a “Delicious for real estate” that it hopes will entice home buyers and real estate agents alike.

Better Than Delicious?

The basics are unchanged: add a bookmarklet to your browser and click it when you see a real estate listing you like, anywhere on the web. Except that unlike generic bookmarking sites, Dwellicious is optimized to work with the following: Century21, Coldwellbanker, Frontdoor.com, Har.com, Homes.com, Realtor.com, Redfin, Remax, Rentals.com, Trulia, Yahoo Real Estate and Zillow. Unlike Delicious, Dwellicious knows where to grab the data from on these pages, and bookmarks all the relevant info with ease.

Here’s the smart bit: Dwellicious bookmarks are dynamic: updated whenever the price of a property changes, or new photos are added, or the property is taken off the market. Use cases might include sharing your favorite property picks with your spouse or real estate agent. And so yes, it’s “better than Delicious” within the real estate niche, but this benefit seems marginal.

Simple Business Model

Dwellicious is not only a simple idea, its planned business model takes little explanation either: the site plans to create Pro accounts for real estate agents, offering advanced tools to help their buyers.

Uncertain Future

It’s a simple, easily explained concept. And yet, the competitive advantage seems slim: unless you’re a real estate agent, generic social bookmarking may suffice…and if I did find a dream home at a bargain price, would I want to share that information or keep it to myself?

In truth, Dwellicious’ future likely lies with the real estate agents themselves: either as a tool to keep track of hundreds of properties at any moment, or as a service to their clients. Even so, the market gap here seems slim at best.

Dwellicious will launch on January 7th 2009 at the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in New York City.

Further Resources

For more useful real estate tools on the web, see our following resource lists:

REAL ESTATE TOOLBOX: 65+ Real Estate Resources

20+ Tools to Survive the Real Estate Crisis

Source:Mashable!

The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it, hectic travels. This is the busiest time of the year when it comes to traveling, especially for families. Luckily, online and mobile tools help make the experience much more manageable.

From travel planning sites to navigation apps and services to help you keep track of your spending, here are over 20 resources to help you survive the holiday travel season.

Are you planning to travel? Which services have you found most helpful? Tell us more in the comments.

Planning Your Vacation

Disney - Has a useful site dedicated to families on the go. Believe it or not, they don’t just recommend that all families just go to Disneyland or Disney World! There are plenty of excellent suggestions for activities and sites to see.

Kaboose - Also provides a tremendous amount of ideas for family travel and vacationing. There’s a plethora of useful family friendly tips and suggestions such as the best family-friendly cars.

The Travel Channel - Has a special section just for family travel and vacations. There are many videos covering travel suggestions as well as message forums dedicated to families on the go.

Tripology - Like an online travel agent that works with the information you provide on the type of trip or vacation you want to take. They take the information and provide relevant suggestions for your upcoming journey.

TripoRama - A travel planning service specializing in group trips. Similar to other sites, this service can make suggestions and share useful information for any type of trip you want to experience with your loved ones.

For information on finding cheap flights, check out “30+ Tools for Finding Cheap Travel Accomodations.”

Navigating Your Way

Source:Mashable!

Like many entries in the world of SaaS, Bizroof, a company offering a steadily growing CRM package, practices the art of incremental improvement, a concept popularized by Google, et al., which takes a semi-experimentalist approach to product development.

This past July, for example, Bizroof had its official launch, and only a month later implemented support for Yahoo’s location-based service Fire Eagle. This week the company is introducing users to new cash-flow analysis and sales automation tools; a whopper of a bonus for managers seeking that all-in-one fantasy.

And users will be content to know that the money management options provided are similarly well-design as the previously standard set of software. Ease of use is the order of the day. If your cost analysis job isn’t so rigorous as to require some serious machinery, these extensions will likely suffice for the day-to-day.

Layout is straightforward and segmented into view options for reports new and old as well as edit fields for money brought in and money sent out. Really, if you have just a semblance of understanding about accounting, you’ll learn it in seconds; a few minutes at most. (Account owners can also change currency settings from US dollars to euros to  pounds to yen.)

For Bizroof to deploy these things to the company’s stated membership of 3,800, regardless of their use of free or paid accounts, is quite a treat, too. Just know that a Basic plan will limit you to 20 cash flow reports per month, whereas the $120/year Pro level will grant you access to 5,000.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Bizroof CRM Adds Fire Eagle SupportBizroof Joins a Saturated CRM MarketNew Google App Provides Free Ad ManagementLinkedIn Seeks Warrior to Fend off FacebookWhat is Web 2.0? Devil’s Dictionary Defines It!Revolution Money Raises $50 MillionRevolution Money to Launch Facebook Application?

Plugins are great. As anyone who bothers to make their online lives enhanced with conveniences knows, browser extensions, also known as “add-ons,” are a fantastic way to streamline tasks.

At the same time, installation of such software can be annoying. The act of restarting Firefox, IE or Safari is simply a no-go in some situations. Fortunately, the invention of the “bookmarklet” has made inroads in the market over the past several seasons. And because we’ve seen a number of good ones crop up as of late, we thought we’d take a look back to see where we’ve come from and present our “best-of.” Be sure to share your favorites, too!

Delicious

Delicious - Along with Google Gears or Greasemonkey, Delicious is one of those essentials that are hard to do without once you’re hooked. And while it sports a full-featured plug-in for power users, the services offers a bookmarklet as an alternative. Aesthetically speaking, I happen to find it much more appealing than its “big brother.”

Faviki

Faviki - Another social bookmarking service, Faviki is one of those services that becomes more valuable the more invested you become with it. Some features are plain as day, while others are there when you’re least expecting you’d need them. Of course, the service’s bookmarklet only does so much, but its inclusion of a smart tagging feature is reason enough to register an account.

LaterLoop

LaterLoop - So you want to bookmark a bunch of stuff to access when you’re cut off from the Web, and would really enjoy the ability to read that material on your laptop or mobile phone or whathaveyou. LaterLoop helps you do this. Naturally, there are some discrepancies between the service’s plugin and the bookmarklet, but you pretty much end up with the same outcome.

Tip’d

Tip’d - Tip’d is a kind of Digg-like startup built exclusively for people interested in finance. Which, in the current economic climate, counts pretty much everyone under the sun. A bookmarklet allows users to submit links when away from the service. Which is a good thing, considering that Tip’d does not and likely never will achieve the ubiquity that its technical inspiration has managed to reach.

BitLet

BitTorrent? Check. No-plugin and no-software downloads? Check. How much better does it get than that? Not very! BitLet is pretty darn great.

Lizzer

Links are what make the Web as incredible as it is. No question about it. So why not empower Web users with a superfast method to search for and establish links with sites and services and individual webpages that can help enrich their own publications. Lizzer does exactly that. If you’re a prolific blogger and you copy and paste hyperlinks from your journeys online with so much regularity that it really becomes a tiresome practice, this will take the edge off. You might even say it’s a godsend.

Iminta

A FriendFeed-competitor (which also has its own bookmarklet), Iminta behaves pretty much how you’d expect a lifestreaming service to. It incorporates dozens of services into a singular view of what you like and what you do online. Some reviews, including our own, regarded its behavior as more detailed control panel to that of FriendFeed. Is that a good thing? You decide. If you can’t get into the waxing and waning hype over FriendFeed and want something else to chew on, this is a pretty darn good option to dabble in.

YouBundle

A service described as a Mahalo competitor for its aggregate, editor-influenced data collection process, YouBundle is a bit hard-edged compared to the beveled softness espoused by many Web 2.0 ventures today, but it’s certainly got some technical chops to show users. Oh, and it’s got a bookmarklet, too!

Zhiing

This one is about social networking in the real world. Found someplace online that you’d like to visit today or tomorrow with friends, be it for lunch, dinner, drinks, or dessert, or simply just to hang out at? Zhiing helps you get information passed around quickly, whether its by email or to friends’ mobile phones.

Bubble Comment

So there’s a webpage you’d like to share with friends or family, but you’d like to add some witty commentary atop the standard supply of content. (It might be a news article or a comic, for example.) If you can muster up a brief video explainer, Bubble Comment is a near perfect complement to what it is you’re sending along. The service allows users to input URLs on site if they wish, but a bookmarklet is provided for folks who can’t get away from the camera.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Blummy - Bookmarklets, But BetterGoogle Maps Now Support hCard MicroformatsPhotagr: Social Bookmarking for ImagesSneak Peek at Otavo, The Intention Engine7 Ways To Create Your Own Digg Clone11 Tools to Help You Save Sites for Reading LaterSearchles Launches Social Bookmarking Site, Provides MySpace Codes

Source:Mashable!

I’m of two minds about about the world of to-do list applications populating the Web and our desktop and mobile devices. On one hand, there clearly are far too many. On the other, what suits Joe Taskmaster doesn’t necessary work for everyone.

This leaves me with one conclusion. Bring ‘em on. The count is so large already, what’s the harm in another making its debut? With that said, we shine some light on Wipee List, a simpleton among others in the field.

Simple and Shareable

Though I can’t say I’m a fan of the name, its visual and technical delivery is decent enough that I’m resigned to accept that part of it. Account creation is simple and quick, requiring user name, a password and country specification. Once you get the confirmation email, you’re ready to go. Add items, edit them, check them off, delete them from view with an easy drag-and-drop motion. If you’d like to share your list, you may.

In addition to the present set of options, the developers plan to allow users to customize the style of their lists, and they’ll be launching AIR- and iPhone-compatible applications as well as an API for enhanced utility.

A Dinghy in a Sea of Yachts (and Lots More Dinghies)

For such young public release, the creators have done the unusual and stamped Wipee List with a 1.0 label sans any beta designation, which may seem a bit premature to some users given the rundown of improvements and extensions planned. But the job so far is a fairly decent one. If Remember The Milk or 37signals’ Ta-da List or Todoist aren’t your thing, perhaps this one will suit your better.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Sneak Peek: Seekler AlphaListphile: Collaborative List DirectoryAOL To Launch Silverlight-Based GadgetFast Company Names Mashable One of the “Bigs of the Blogs”Google founders crack the top 5 richest AmericansMicrosoft Labs Previews Listas. To Make Lists.Google Docs API

Source:Mashable!

There’s social networking of the MySpace and Facebook variety, and then there’s social networking of the premium, “classy,” “sophisticated,” “not-for-everyone” kind that carries a price to join. The latter formula is what Mint 11 is proposing.

Something tells me that this might not work out very well as a business. Unless the membership is pretty loaded, in which case it might be just fine.

Admission is a Bargain, But the Devil is in the Details

You don’t have to be laden with cash to join, mind you, seeing as its monthly membership runs a mere $10.00. But invitations to “posh private parties, celebrity concerts & shows in top destinations such as New York, Miami, and The Bahamas” will only take you so far. If you truly want to keep up with the Joneses, I imagine your billfold is going to have to be pretty thick-sized.

But hey, if the promise of an exclusive network of just “thousands” of users and VIP access to gatherings that play host to “celebrities and the world’s elite” grabs your interest, there’s a registration form ready for entry. Wine tastings, private cruises, the “hottest nightclubs,” and weekend getaways are all on the menu, awaiting your perusal. Store discounts, too, apparently.

For the record, payments and networking aren’t a fresh formula by any means. The entrepreneur-friendly E.Factor has a premium aspect to it. And the model photography service Zivity carries precisely the same subscription cost as Mint 11. Plus, there’s been plenty of discussion had about the pros and cons associated with a potential shift of, say, a LinkedIn or Facebook to a member-financed paradigm. After all, social networking services have become regarded as applications and developer platforms, and there’s a considerable amount of paid-for webware currently in play. For some businesses it’s simply a given that advertising can’t be the sole revenue driver.

Success is Anybody’s Guess

But there’s the active part of Mint 11 that only leaves me thinking, “really?” So we’ll see what comes of it. I’m not bullish about it, yet there’s enough silent wealth out there that may just make it a sustainable pursuit. It’s a toss-up, and fairly adventurous one, you might say.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Mint.com Launches Redesign with New Financial Resources and Educational ToolsMint.com Offers Web-based Financial Tracking ToolsPersonal Finance Site Mint Opens to The Public With New FeaturesBillShrink Wants to Help You Manage Your Credit CardsGet Ready for Twiistup 4: Pete Cashmore is on the Showoff Selection PanelWeb 2.0 Invites for October 16th, 2007Web 2.0 Invites for October 22nd, 2007

Plugins are great. As anyone who bothers to make their online lives enhanced with conveniences knows, browser extensions, also known as “add-ons,” are a fantastic way to streamline tasks.

At the same time, installation of such software can be annoying. The act of restarting Firefox, IE or Safari is simply a no-go in some situations. Fortunately, the invention of the “bookmarklet” has made inroads in the market over the past several seasons. And because we’ve seen a number of good ones crop up as of late, we thought we’d take a look back to see where we’ve come from and present our “best-of.” Be sure to share your favorites, too!

Delicious

Delicious - Along with Google Gears or Greasemonkey, Delicious is one of those essentials that are hard to do without once you’re hooked. And while it sports a full-featured plug-in for power users, the services offers a bookmarklet as an alternative. Aesthetically speaking, I happen to find it much more appealing than its “big brother.”

Faviki

Faviki - Another social bookmarking service, Faviki is one of those services that becomes more valuable the more invested you become with it. Some features are plain as day, while others are there when you’re least expecting you’d need them. Of course, the service’s bookmarklet only does so much, but its inclusion of a smart tagging feature is reason enough to register an account.

LaterLoop

LaterLoop - So you want to bookmark a bunch of stuff to access when you’re cut off from the Web, and would really enjoy the ability to read that material on your laptop or mobile phone or whathaveyou. LaterLoop helps you do this. Naturally, there are some discrepancies between the service’s plugin and the bookmarklet, but you pretty much end up with the same outcome.

Tip’d

Tip’d - Tip’d is a kind of Digg-like startup built exclusively for people interested in finance. Which, in the current economic climate, counts pretty much everyone under the sun. A bookmarklet allows users to submit links when away from the service. Which is a good thing, considering that Tip’d does not and likely never will achieve the ubiquity that its technical inspiration has managed to reach.

BitLet

BitTorrent? Check. No-plugin and no-software downloads? Check. How much better does it get than that? Not very! BitLet is pretty darn great.

Lizzer

Links are what make the Web as incredible as it is. No question about it. So why not empower Web users with a superfast method to search for and establish links with sites and services and individual webpages that can help enrich their own publications. Lizzer does exactly that. If you’re a prolific blogger and you copy and paste hyperlinks from your journeys online with so much regularity that it really becomes a tiresome practice, this will take the edge off. You might even say it’s a godsend.

Iminta

A FriendFeed-competitor (which also has its own bookmarklet), Iminta behaves pretty much how you’d expect a lifestreaming service to. It incorporates dozens of services into a singular view of what you like and what you do online. Some reviews, including our own, regarded its behavior as more detailed control panel to that of FriendFeed. Is that a good thing? You decide. If you can’t get into the waxing and waning hype over FriendFeed and want something else to chew on, this is a pretty darn good option to dabble in.

YouBundle

A service described as a Mahalo competitor for its aggregate, editor-influenced data collection process, YouBundle is a bit hard-edged compared to the beveled softness espoused by many Web 2.0 ventures today, but it’s certainly got some technical chops to show users. Oh, and it’s got a bookmarklet, too!

Zhiing

This one is about social networking in the real world. Found someplace online that you’d like to visit today or tomorrow with friends, be it for lunch, dinner, drinks, or dessert, or simply just to hang out at? Zhiing helps you get information passed around quickly, whether its by email or to friends’ mobile phones.

Bubble Comment

So there’s a webpage you’d like to share with friends or family, but you’d like to add some witty commentary atop the standard supply of content. (It might be a news article or a comic, for example.) If you can muster up a brief video explainer, Bubble Comment is a near perfect complement to what it is you’re sending along. The service allows users to input URLs on site if they wish, but a bookmarklet is provided for folks who can’t get away from the camera.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Blummy - Bookmarklets, But BetterGoogle Maps Now Support hCard MicroformatsPhotagr: Social Bookmarking for ImagesSneak Peek at Otavo, The Intention Engine7 Ways To Create Your Own Digg Clone11 Tools to Help You Save Sites for Reading LaterSearchles Launches Social Bookmarking Site, Provides MySpace Codes

Source:Mashable!

I’m of two minds about about the world of to-do list applications populating the Web and our desktop and mobile devices. On one hand, there clearly are far too many. On the other, what suits Joe Taskmaster doesn’t necessary work for everyone.

This leaves me with one conclusion. Bring ‘em on. The count is so large already, what’s the harm in another making its debut? With that said, we shine some light on Wipee List, a simpleton among others in the field.

Simple and Shareable

Though I can’t say I’m a fan of the name, its visual and technical delivery is decent enough that I’m resigned to accept that part of it. Account creation is simple and quick, requiring user name, a password and country specification. Once you get the confirmation email, you’re ready to go. Add items, edit them, check them off, delete them from view with an easy drag-and-drop motion. If you’d like to share your list, you may.

In addition to the present set of options, the developers plan to allow users to customize the style of their lists, and they’ll be launching AIR- and iPhone-compatible applications as well as an API for enhanced utility.

A Dinghy in a Sea of Yachts (and Lots More Dinghies)

For such young public release, the creators have done the unusual and stamped Wipee List with a 1.0 label sans any beta designation, which may seem a bit premature to some users given the rundown of improvements and extensions planned. But the job so far is a fairly decent one. If Remember The Milk or 37signals’ Ta-da List or Todoist aren’t your thing, perhaps this one will suit your better.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Sneak Peek: Seekler AlphaListphile: Collaborative List DirectoryAOL To Launch Silverlight-Based GadgetFast Company Names Mashable One of the “Bigs of the Blogs”Google founders crack the top 5 richest AmericansMicrosoft Labs Previews Listas. To Make Lists.Google Docs API

Plugins are great. As anyone who bothers to make their online lives enhanced with conveniences knows, browser extensions, also known as “add-ons,” are a fantastic way to streamline tasks.

At the same time, installation of such software can be annoying. The act of restarting Firefox, IE or Safari is simply a no-go in some situations. Fortunately, the invention of the “bookmarklet” has made inroads in the market over the past several seasons. And because we’ve seen a number of good ones crop up as of late, we thought we’d take a look back to see where we’ve come from and present our “best-of.” Be sure to share your favorites, too!

Delicious

Delicious - Along with Google Gears or Greasemonkey, Delicious is one of those essentials that are hard to do without once you’re hooked. And while it sports a full-featured plug-in for power users, the services offers a bookmarklet as an alternative. Aesthetically speaking, I happen to find it much more appealing than its “big brother.”

Faviki

Faviki - Another social bookmarking service, Faviki is one of those services that becomes more valuable the more invested you become with it. Some features are plain as day, while others are there when you’re least expecting you’d need them. Of course, the service’s bookmarklet only does so much, but its inclusion of a smart tagging feature is reason enough to register an account.

LaterLoop

LaterLoop - So you want to bookmark a bunch of stuff to access when you’re cut off from the Web, and would really enjoy the ability to read that material on your laptop or mobile phone or whathaveyou. LaterLoop helps you do this. Naturally, there are some discrepancies between the service’s plugin and the bookmarklet, but you pretty much end up with the same outcome.

Tip’d

Tip’d - Tip’d is a kind of Digg-like startup built exclusively for people interested in finance. Which, in the current economic climate, counts pretty much everyone under the sun. A bookmarklet allows users to submit links when away from the service. Which is a good thing, considering that Tip’d does not and likely never will achieve the ubiquity that its technical inspiration has managed to reach.

BitLet

BitTorrent? Check. No-plugin and no-software downloads? Check. How much better does it get than that? Not very! BitLet is pretty darn great.

Lizzer

Links are what make the Web as incredible as it is. No question about it. So why not empower Web users with a superfast method to search for and establish links with sites and services and individual webpages that can help enrich their own publications. Lizzer does exactly that. If you’re a prolific blogger and you copy and paste hyperlinks from your journeys online with so much regularity that it really becomes a tiresome practice, this will take the edge off. You might even say it’s a godsend.

Iminta

A FriendFeed-competitor (which also has its own bookmarklet), Iminta behaves pretty much how you’d expect a lifestreaming service to. It incorporates dozens of services into a singular view of what you like and what you do online. Some reviews, including our own, regarded its behavior as more detailed control panel to that of FriendFeed. Is that a good thing? You decide. If you can’t get into the waxing and waning hype over FriendFeed and want something else to chew on, this is a pretty darn good option to dabble in.

YouBundle

A service described as a Mahalo competitor for its aggregate, editor-influenced data collection process, YouBundle is a bit hard-edged compared to the beveled softness espoused by many Web 2.0 ventures today, but it’s certainly got some technical chops to show users. Oh, and it’s got a bookmarklet, too!

Zhiing

This one is about social networking in the real world. Found someplace online that you’d like to visit today or tomorrow with friends, be it for lunch, dinner, drinks, or dessert, or simply just to hang out at? Zhiing helps you get information passed around quickly, whether its by email or to friends’ mobile phones.

Bubble Comment

So there’s a webpage you’d like to share with friends or family, but you’d like to add some witty commentary atop the standard supply of content. (It might be a news article or a comic, for example.) If you can muster up a brief video explainer, Bubble Comment is a near perfect complement to what it is you’re sending along. The service allows users to input URLs on site if they wish, but a bookmarklet is provided for folks who can’t get away from the camera.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Blummy - Bookmarklets, But BetterGoogle Maps Now Support hCard MicroformatsPhotagr: Social Bookmarking for ImagesSneak Peek at Otavo, The Intention Engine7 Ways To Create Your Own Digg Clone11 Tools to Help You Save Sites for Reading LaterSearchles Launches Social Bookmarking Site, Provides MySpace Codes

We here at Mashable are fond of the practice of putting 2 and 2 together to make something better than if they were to remain apart. Whether it’s a mashup engineered largely from scratch or something made through Yahoo Pipes or with some nifty API(s), it’s grand to see progress made.

At the same time, we’re also fond of simple things that, in a manner of speaking, “get the job done.” And that’s what the Simple Map Generator happens to do. In effect, it is a Google Map matched with an international paint brush. The better to help you be more like Matt Harding.

In fact, the uses of the engine can be quite extensive. If you’re a chronic traveler, you can document your global movements to complement a blog you might be publishing, for instance. Or if you’re playing an instructional or educational role in some fashion, it can be an easy way to present countries and historical transitions that you’re focusing on at a given time. The list goes on. (I wrote brief guides to worldly places in a past life.)

And it’s so easy to use, really (it’s aided by the Google Chart API), that only one issue can cause you to search elsewhere for a service that allows you to treat the map of the world as your own virtual coloring book. Interestingly enough, that issue is the coloring tool itself. It only provides one color option for every embed manufactured. (29travels, the host of the application, offers another map maker, but it proves much less appealing despite its technical promises.)

A paradox in the making? Perhaps that’s to keep it as minimally divisive (the age-old “red vs. blue” position) as possible. What do you think? Share your thoughts!

Powered by 29travels

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Web 2.0 Button GeneratorIs Stripe Generator a Joke?FlickrSlidr - Embed Flickr Slideshows into Your BlogWashington Post Acquires College Match Engine CourseAdvisor5 Free Tools to Password-Protect Your WebsiteForget Photoshop: 15 Online Graphics Generators20 Icon & Graphics Generators

There are only a few places around the world where the vice of art of consumerism is having a good day. Suffice it to say that the holiday season will be celebrated; it just won’t be full of so much…stuff. And maybe a bit less happiness to show for it, too.

So Scrooge wins this time around. But here’s a glimmer of hope to nibble on. In the media world, in an industry dominated by the RIAA and the MPAA, diminished sales matched with increased P2P “naughtiness” may tip the scales in favor of the change that people have long been hoping for in the land of “fair use” and fair pricing.

It’s Worth a Shot

Of course, the cards remain stacked against what everyone fond of music and movies familiar with copyright law and media titans’ business practices believe in. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it sure as heck ain’t easy, as the last few years of relative chaos has made clear. It’s hardly guaranteed that we’ll see greener pastures anytime soon.

But, and this is a pretty big but, there’s a possibility that what goes on on the Web between the present day and whenever the moment is that this global “economic downturn” goes in the direction most of us wish to go will cause the Sonys and Universals and Warners and EMIs of the world to shift course. In three ways, this means:

Taking DRM entirely out of the picture, which continues to be an annoyingly persistent reality, despite its philosophical and practical absurdity for associated software and hardware markets (i.e., iPod/iTunes vs. Zune vs Sandisk, et al.);

Allowing for streaming services like Last.fm and MySpace Music to actually host on-demand playback options for full tracks from full albums and EPs with no limits;

And attaching costs to purchased copies of singles, albums, and movies that more accurately reflect production and modern distribution costs. Simply put, having to pay upwards of $10 for a 10- to 12-track album or $12-15 for a film that involves little or no petroleum in the effort to get it from the seller to the listener is ridiculous and dishonest.

All About Bang for Buck

Let’s face it, the path for a continued physical presence in consumers’ lives is a finite one. CDs and DVDs sell, but that won’t forever be the case. And in light of that expectation, the media industry would be off to quite an improved position in these murky times if it 1) enticed consumers with a largely irresistible cost structure for retail downloads, and 2) made it easier for consumers to actually play their preordained part.

It’s pretty logical, I think. If you as a producer would like people to consume more of your content, make your content available in ways and at prices that don’t scream “here’s the premium to pay to watch this on your television set or hear that on your portable player this very minute if you prefer not to gas it over to Wal-Mart or wait for super-slow Super-Saver shipping by Amazon for the tangible thing.”

Yes, the convenience of near-instant gratification is a definite plus. But with infrastructural savings on the part of producers and distributors should come a substantial financial benefit for the consumer as well.

Imagery provided by iStockPhoto/DNY59; HappyBirthdayBilly

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