Cadmus is a web app that manages your social media stream (Twitter, FriendFeed and RSS) by displaying the most relevant content and hide the noise from the rest. It enables you to see at a glance what is happening out there without having to read through each and every tweet.

What make Cadmus so special?

When you sign in with your Twitter account, Cadmus will scan through all your incoming tweets and group the similar one into conversations (with the latest update on top). There is no need to scroll through your whole stream to find out what everybody is talking. Simply click on the Related Post button to collapse/expand the thread and see what others are discussing.

There is even a retweet and reply button within each thread so you can quickly reply to others or retweet the post.

In addition, Cadmus also find trending topics within your group of friends and display them on top of the list. There are two main kind of trending topics that you can access. One is the trending topics around the Web while another is the trending topics among your group of friends (or those you are following).

Cadmus also sort all your replies to make it more like IM style. You can get a quick overview of the conversation you held with your friends, even though he/she replies only two days later after your message.

Support for Friendfeed and RSS

Other than Twitter, Cadmus also supports Friendfeed and RSS. You can add them via the services button.

How can Cadmus get better

Personally, I have found Cadmus to be an useful tool, but I would be happier if it:

1. comes with a desktop app (some of us just prefer a desktop thingy)

2. supports multiple Twitter accounts

3. supports other social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.

This is definitely not the first app that gathers all your feeds/tweets/updates from various social networking site and displays them in one place, but it is among the first (if not, the first) to be able to sort your streams and arrange them in order of relevance. It may have some deficiency, perhaps because it is still in early stage of development, but its computer algorithm is pretty impressive and have done a great job in filtering out the signals from the noise.

Have you tried Cadmus? What’s your take on this?

Cadmus Organizes Your Twitter Streams, Prevents You From Information Overload originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Although most blog services and blogging content management systems allow users to post directly on their websites, there are many advantages to using client software on a local computer, such as the ability to work offline. In past years, KDE had no full-featured blogging client.

Then, along came Kblogger, which was originally a panel applet and began to slowly morph into a full client. Another project called Bilbo finally emerged as a true full-featured client and working in conjunction with the Kblogger developers, managed to develop a blogging client that is now included in KDE releases.  Due to trademark issues, they changed the name to Blogilo, and will release it with KDE 4.4.

Blogilo featurs a WYSIWIG editor and support for Blogger 1.0, MetaWeblog, MovableType, Wordpress, and Google GData APIs. With it, users can create, modify, schedule, and delete posts. The right column is called the “toolbox” and includes tabs containing the most recent blog posts from a user’s blog, post categories, options such as whether to enable comments, and local entries not uploaded to the blog.

Because the main editing window is WYSIWYG, the toolbar includes typical word precessing-like features: bold, italics, font size and color, and spell check. Users can also add images directly from their computers (uploaded with the blog’s API) or from the the Web.

Despite the outstanding features, Blogilo does have its limitations. I could not find a way to use the graphical interface to set some styles, such as floating an image to the left or right. Its alignment tool seems to work on text, but those users who insist on following XHTML standards will find that Blogilo is a little loose in this area.  Fortunately, it also includes an HTML editor if users need to add styles rather than using the client’s own formatting tools.

Getting Started

Setup is very easy with Blogilo. Simply click “Blog” in the menu, followed by “Add Blog…” This will open a dialog asking you for four things: A title for the blog, your blog’s URL, your username, and your password.  If you click “Auto-configure” Blogilo will magically seek out your blog, login, fetch the latest posts and categories, and have you ready to start posting. You can also manually specify the settings and then click OK.

Typing a post is a pretty natural experience and normally goes without a hitch. If you need to stop in the middle of a post, you can click the “Save Locally” button or save a draft on the server by clicking submit and checking “save entry as draft”. Once you are finished, you can preview your post within Blogilo and view it using your blog’s own CSS styles.

Since Blogilo is a native KDE app, you can manipulate widgets like the Toolbox, moving it to the left side or even detaching it, forming its own separate window. It also supports KDE’s auto spell check to correct your spelling as you type. Furthermore, it allows you to open or create multiple posts, which are all conveniently tabbed and easily accessible.

Overall, I have found the blogging client very reliable and feature-rich. I have corresponded with the developers on more than one occasion and found them to be easily approachable and willing to quickly fix any of the early bugs. With this official KDE release, Blogilo seems more than ready to take on any new tasks that come its way, even if that includes changing its name a second time.

Blogilo: KDE’s blogging client originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

1.  Twitter Notify Plugin

The Twitter Notify Plugin provides a way for you to tweet your blog post to your followers when publishing using your Twitter account. You are able to customize the format of the tweet in the Options area, or when you press the Publish button. In addition, there is a built-in URL shortener in the plugin. If you are a Twitter user, then this is a must-have plugin for your Windows Live Writer.

2.  Delicious Notify Plugin

The Delicious Notify Plugin allows you to notify Delicious whenever you publish a blog post. In the Options, you are able to enter your Delicious userid and password, and check if you want to automatically publish your blog posts to the service.

3.  TweetMeme Plugin

The TweetMeme Plugin lets you add the TweetMeme button into your blog posts. The Options allows you to add your Twitter name, use an URL shortener, and position the button on the top or bottom. When you publish your blog post, the TweetMeme button will appear. This allows your readers to tweet your blog post, so definitely a plugin to add.

4. DiggThis Plugin

The DiggThis Plugin adds the Digg button to your blog posts, so your readers are able to Digg it, if they want. In the Options, you are allowed to decide on four different types of button styles: badge, compact, button, or the little guy.  You are also able to choose the alignment to be either to the right or left.  Digg users will love this plugin.

5. WLW Bit.ly Plugin

The WLW Bit.ly Plugin lets you shorten all of the URLs in your blog post using the Bit.ly URL shortener. If you have a Bit.ly user account, you can enter it in the Options area. This allows you to use the Bit.ly statistics to view information like how many people clicked on a certain link.

6. Twitter Inserter Plugin

The Twitter Inserter Plugin provides a way for you to add your tweets into your blog post. You are able to select the number of tweets in the Options area.  It’s great to use once in awhile. However, if you use too much, you might alienate your readers.

7. Flickr4Writer Plugin

The Flickr4Writer Plugin lets you add Flickr images from your albums or any image that is allowed to be blogged. You are able to select the image size, spacing, positioning, and alignment. It’s a way to add images to your blog without stealing images. One of my favorite ones, and I use it often. Definitely a must.

8. Zemanta related articles & images Plugin

The Zemanta related articles & images Plugin provides a way for you enter add links, related articles, and images to your blog posts. It is on the side of the Windows Live Writer window, so it provides easy access in allowing you to save time in finding items for your blog posts. Another one of my favorites.  It helps you save time and enriches your blog posts.

9. Amazon Book Linker v1.3 Plugin

The Amazon Book Linker v1.3 Plugin lets you add book information to your blog posts. You are able to modify the image size and the template, which is how your readers will view the Amazon item. If you have an Amazon Associates ID, you are able to add that as well, so you can make profit on the books you add.  Great for people who reviews books or want to share a great book with their readers.

10. xPollinate – Cross Post Plugin

The xPollinate – Cross Post Plugin allows you to cross-post a blog post, or a snippet, to your other blogs and post to Ping.fm when you are publishing.  Ping.fm allows you to post to different social-media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., so you are able to notify your followers of your blog post by using this plugin. I am starting to use this plugin more often now. Ping.fm is one of the social media tools that I use often, so this saves me plenty of time.

Which social media plugins do you use for your Windows Live Writer?

10 Social Media Plugins for Windows Live Writer originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

FriendFeed is increasingly becoming a popular social media tool for being a social aggregator with community features. It was one of the first to use the “Like” functionality that more and more web sites (e.g. Facebook, Digg, Seesmic, etc.) are adopting. Additionally, FriendFeed has built a social community that allows you to quickly find an answer to any kind of question that you ask, or get to know other people who share similar interests. New users are usually overwhelmed by the social media site, and are not sure what to do or where to begin. Here are ten useful tips to enjoying all that FriendFeed has to offer:

1. Aggregate All (or Majority) of Your Feeds

If you plan on only aggregating Twitter into FriendFeed, you won’t get the full experience of the service. Add as many feeds as you can, so others are able to get a full picture of your interests and you.

2. Setup Your Notifications

You are able to receive email, IM, and/or desktop notifications for your and other people’s posts. It comes in handy when you are away from your computer, but want to ensure that you respond to users’ comments.

3. Select Twitter Publishing Preferences

FriendFeed provides a variety of options to publish items to Twitter. Select the options that you want to post to Twitter. It’s a good way to bypass the Twitter character limit, but still have your Twitter followers see your posts.

4. Choose a Theme

There are seven themes to choose from so you can have a more personalized feel to your page.

5. Edit Your Profile

Enter a brief description about yourself, so that people can get to know you better. An avatar also helps. It doesn’t have to be your picture, but something that represents you.

6. Follow Some People

To get the most out of FriendFeed, follow some people. FriendFeed offers a suggested list that will start you off on the right path. Another great resource is Louis Gray’s monthly list of the “Top Ten People to Follow. It compiles a list of people with a variety of interests who provide value to FriendFeed.

7. Join Some Groups

FriendFeed users have created all kinds of groups that will appeal to someone. This is a great way to find users, who are not on the FriendFeed Suggested List or Louis Gray’s list, who will have items that you are interested in.

8. Get the Bookmarklet

Add the FriendFeed bookmarklet to your browser and ease the way you share interesting items. The great thing about the bookmarklet is that it allows you to share with different groups or individuals, embed images, and publish it to Twitter.

9. Comment and Like on People’s Posts

The only way that people are going to get to know what you think is by the comments and clicking “Like” on their posted items. One great feature is the Friend-of-a-Friend option. You are able to view the content of the people your friend has subscribed to. It helps because you are able to also get to know people who you were not initially subscribed to.

10. Have Fun

Regardless on the reason you are using FriendFeed, whether for business or pleasure, remember to have fun. I have met many wonderful people on FriendFeed and I’m still loving it after being on there for over a year. It can be addicting, so be careful. Other than that, enjoy yourself!

10 Useful Tips to Using FriendFeed originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)