Internet Diary

I did this forever ago but forgot to post it. Item 20: Blastpr.com is a website for a public relations firm in Austin, TX. Their site at first seems like there would be too much information on one page, but clicking on page links actually just filters out irrelevant "tiles" from the home page. Clicking on each additional tile of information brings up a short description of that part of the company. It is very easy to navigate, has all the right information and not too much, and doesn't have too many links that take you all over the place until you are lost. (10 out of 10) Item 19: Twitter is something I got on because I felt like I was connected to too many people on Facebook whom I was not very close with. The Twitter account I have set up is only followed by a few people who I feel like I can say anything to. The only problem I have with the site is sometimes it doesn't take tags right. The website is generally easy to use, and the privacy settings are easy to figure out. (9 out of 10) Item 16: On youtube.com I feel frustrated sometimes because I never know if the video I click on is going to make me watch an ad first. Generally I think the site is a little slow, maybe it is just my internet, but who knows. Searching for items is something I also find annoying. I feel like youtube should be more picky about what words they let people use to tag their videos. A lot of the time irrelevant videos come up in a search because people just put whatever they want in the tags. (7 out of 10) Hulu is an interesting site that I used to have a subscription to. I like the setup they have for the videos, and the player they use is very high quality and consistently better than a lot of sites. The search function works great. The only thing that gets on my nerves are all the little short clip videos they have posted. I'm not really interested in watching clips, just full length shows or movies. (8 out of 10) Item 2: Groupon. Hmmm, I've had a lot of experience with groupon and it has generally been good. I have had a couple of poor experiences though. One time I ordered a gift for my mother, was told it had shipped, and after quite some time had passed without receiving it I called and was informed that they had never shipped the item and in fact were back logged and I probably wouldn't receive it for some time. I believe I was reimbursed for the product, which was good customer service. I also recently ordered something that doesn't work, though I'm not sure if this is their fault or if I just happened to get the one product that was faulty .Their app is very easy to use, and I like that I can pull up all of my old orders and see when groupons will expire. I would say that as long as Groupon is around I will keep using it, especially when I go on vacations to cities where food is generally very expensive! (10 out of 10) Item 3: Weather.com. I actually have the weather.com app on my phone, not sure if this is what you meant. It works great, though sometimes the weather doesn't update and it is showing me weather from hours ago. However, when it is working, I can check everything from the hourly forecast for today to the ten day forecast to a three day allergy forecast and also I can keep up with hurricanes during hurricane season. I really like this app and will continue to use it. (9 out of 10) Item 12: I actually did this the other day out of curiousity because I love cars and am always wanting a new one, plus my car is about 8 years old now...starting to fall apart here and there. Anyway, to check my car price I always use Kellybluebook.com. I did this on my phone, and their phone friendly website version was actually very easy to use. They take you through very easy step by step, and also provide the descriptions for what it means to have a car in good condition versus fair condition, etc. They also allow you to check the value of your car based on the area you live in, and also whether you plan to turn it in or sell it to a private party. I really like this site and trust it. (10 out of 10) Item 10: I use Kayak on my phone to make travel arrangements. This app is the BEST app ever for travel. My most recent trip was a lot of extra fun because of this app. It's very easy to purchase tickets and then keep the itinerary right there in your phone with you. You can check on your flight all the time. They let you know right away if your flight has been delayed or if it has changed gates, etc. You can also search for hotels and car rentals this way, and they have a lot of different ways you can filter it. One of the best is the map filter. If you are on a road trip, a lot of times you just want the hotel which is closest to the road. This app allows you to search for hotels in the area and then choose a hotel based on its location. Very easy to use, lots of features, and realiable. It also gives you notifications on when prices change for flights. (10 out of 10) Item 9: I actually have foursquare on my phone and I don't remember the last time I used it. It must have been at least two years ago. I don't really understand the purpose of this app, except to try and get free stuff whenever you go out, which doesn't always work because a lot of the time the place offering free stuff is out. I stopped using it, mostly because I don't see the purpose, plus I can never remember to check in. YOu would think there would be a setting which would allow me to tell the app to automatically check me in when it senses I am in a foursquare location. (5 out of 10) Item 8: Google maps, use it all the time. I like that on google maps they show you the different stores and eating places when you zoom in. A lot of the time landmarks are the easiest way to understand how to get somewhere, as opposed to street signs or what not. I've never really had a problem with google maps, except that sometimes it can be really difficult to change the original path they offer you. (9 out of 10) Item 5: Craigslist. I've used this a few times in the past. I actually used it most recently to see if anyone was selling the computer that was stolen from my house back in January. I used craigslist to sell some stuff for my parents over the summer. It's really easy to use. The only problem I have with it is the obvious one: you are agreeing to meet up with a complete stranger to sell stuff. Sometimes they even come to your house because the item can't be moved from the house unless someone is planning to buy it. It's very nervwracking, and I wish there was some other way to go about this. I like that the setup is very simple, no frills, just easy to search, lots of cities. I just think the security thing needs to be thought out some more. (8 out of 10) Item 1: I recently bought some clothes from American Eagle online, because they sometimes offer free shipping, which is nice. The website is easily laid out, not confusing, they have all the sizing charts right there on the bottom of the page so you don't have to go search for them. I think the site is also very easy to use on my phone. I don't have any problems with it. (10 out of 10)