blufr blings out some blogs

What do rap artists, athletes and bloggers all have in common? They all like to show off some bling. While the celebs might shell out for over-the-top diamond necklaces or rings, bloggers flaunt a different kind of accessory: widgets. According to a New York Times article, these embedded little gems “enhance [the blog’s] usefulness or aesthetic appeal” for the users.

In The Times article this Thursday, three examples of these small codes-of-wonder were pictured. One was blufr!

From NY Times:

A collection of widgets, from left: Blufr is a game based on trivia questions; Streampad Music Player creates a playlist to listen to; from ChipIn, a listing that provides up-to-date progress on a fund-raiser or social event.

Soon after the article appeared, recaps in places like Center Networks and Megite Tech News began to appear in other parts of the blogosphere.

Finally, New York City is seeing some seasonal weather … even Jerusalem had snow before the Big Apple. And yet, with winter weather comes the fear of winter flu. How can you mitigate your chances of catching a cold? Sue Vorenburg in the Albuquerque Tribune suggests using the dap. Akin to shaking hands, the dap requires greeters to pound fists. The idea behind it is that less skin contact means less chance of passing germs. Perhaps, but if you really want a sanitary way of saying hello, why not just follow the example of the Japanese— and bow towards one another!

Even if it isn’t really fresh news for the company, it’s still nice to see other people get excited when they stumble across something new to them. Take for instance Dan Bobinski’s article “An Ocean of Gadgets” in Management Issues. He writes about his recent discovery of 1-Click Answers, although he calls it Answers.com in his article. I tried responding to set the record straight … so far, no correction. That’s ok as long as he likes it, is using it, AND (most importantly) talking about it.

On Wednesday, the NYC office gathered for our weekly lunch together in the conference room. The topic of conversation could have any number of things: marketing, business development, SEO. But there was a more pressing issue that dominated the discussion: the season premiere of 24. With the recent return of Jack Bauer, an article from GoReporter also appeared which pointed people to Answers.com for facts on the popular show.

Last week, 1-Click Answers was named a CODiE finalist for the Best Consumer Productivity Solution. The judging now enters its final phase where the decision will lay upon SIIA members. Our competition includes:

• EverNote, EverNote Corporation

• PhotoStudio® Expressions 2.0, Individual Software, Inc.

• Quicken Home Inventory Manager, Intuit, Inc.

• Family Tree Maker 2006 Version 16, MyFamily.com, Inc.

At this point, we don’t receive anything except permission to use the graphic above. However, the statue to the left is a physical reality. In October, we won a Silver W3 Award for web creativity. The statue just arrived and is now proudly displayed in the reception area.