Today I am - This sounds like a statement beginner but is a new micro-blogging service

Today I am got started as an eleven day challenge, some key guys took up the challenge and managed to launch "Twitter-like" site in just 11 days. This I think is a good example of what investors keep an eye on, what's the barrier of entry for somebody to do something others have already done. Now of course in the internet world of today, you do have to create enough momentum to build a user base quickly and be able to manage and keep your user base. I personally don't know how many "Twitter-like" sites are needed? I do see a point if you think local country users vs. global use. Also when you know that in many countries people prefer a local base using the local language in question. But feel free to take a look, I have user tlidforss here on http://today.im as on other micro-blogging sites.

Contact Thomas Lidforss Internationa for your startup business services.

Starting up your startup company - Cool and realistic tips from John Buckman

Employees Suck

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: bookmooch magnatune)

This is a very interesting and thought provoking presentation by John Buckman at http://www.magnature.com about what you can do to eventually succeed in making your own business.

Contact Thomas Lidforss International for your startup business services

Mippin - Mobile blog result, 5 minutes and this is the result ad enabled

I have to give the Mippin.com guys a big thumb up. This service works very well. Please help yourself and check this service out if you have a blog and want to reach into the hundreds of millions of mobile phone internet users with your blog. I can highly recommend it.

Contact Thomas Lidforss International for your startup business services' needs.

Tweetake - Take 2 speedy follow up on Twitter backup

This is second take on the new Twitter backup service from Tweetake. I just used this service and like it a lot, you get to choose, your Twitter followers or following (called friends on Tweetake) or all of your twitter info. I used the followers and friends and got right away, excel csv files to save with the twitter profile info and urls. An excellent little service that should really be a standard twitter feature.

Follow me on Twitter, http://twitter.com/tlidforss

Tweetake - Easy backup of Twitter information

It is interesting to see all the new convenient Web 2.0 applications coming out. Since the rise and popularity of services such as Twitter, there is a real need for how do you backup your information including your friends and followers. Well, now you have a service, brand new, I have tried to use it earlier today but getting due to the number of requests from applications to use Twitter API, no luck in getting my backup. But I know there is a demand for a service like this so please try it, I will later tonight. Tweetake is the name of the service. Credits go to Nikki Pilkington and Alfred Armstrong. I can also really recommend Nikki for her Google SEO services. You should use them to really improve your search engine rankings regardless of website or blog.




I am now just waiting for some creative services around Google backup of common services (unless Google will do something, I have seen rumors about that for quite some time).


Contact Thomas Lidforss International for your startup business services needs.

Locify part 2 - Twitter from mobile phone with geo tagging

Here are some Locify twitter application pictures.

Start up Twitter on mobile phone






Update your status "I'm here"













Check Twitter update for yourself

Get Twitter update for friends




Check friends.

Locify - Great example of how location is adding value to applications

If you have not heard of Locify and you have a Java capable mobile phone you are missing something. Locify is a service that has location enabled services such as twitter, wikipedia, geo-caching, fireeagle. You can design a new service or "locify" an existing one. The service works with most ordinary Java capable browser equipped mobile phones. Is of course to you advantage to have the mobile phone with built-in GPS but it works without. Locify applications also synch with the web.

What all of this means is that you can walk around in a city and get to look up and explore interesting places on Wikipedia, save interesting places, track and map your way and twitter about all of it to your friends.

Locify works with external through Bluetooth connection GPS devices, server side GPS, the built in GPS and without GPS. See the mobile waypoint example allowing you to save your way.

Contact Thomas Lidforss International for your business services needs.

Phone and Twitter equals Phweet - Cool new service

The Phweet alpha service launched making it possible to talk to your Twitter friends. Here's an excerpt from site "Sign-in with your Twitter name and password at http://www.phweet.com/. Select your preferred channel (Browser, SIP ID or number/Mobile Phone which will be enabled later) for hosting/accepting a Phweet. Add the Twitter username of the person you want to talk to, and send them a message (public or direct/private)." This is service by Mosoci LLC, the strategy and research group that also does the Skype Journal and is heavily involved in VoIP applications.

Give it a try, talk to me on Twitter id: tlidforss (see my profile: http://twitter.com/tlidforss)

Bipbip - mobile shopping roadrunner style?

The Riga, Latvia based startup company bipbip must be preparing for the launch. I got an invitation from Lars Larsen at Bipbip to test their service awhile ago. I noticed though that I am probably not the best person testing such a service not being a very active consumer (too difficult for me to define my shopping habits). The service is based on a patented idea for location based marketing using a "wishlist" style approach matched with your shopping interests and habits. You get proposed matches on your mobile phone to decide where to get your stuff from. It will be interesting to see how this new service will work out from a consumer point of view. The service will be rolled out from Scandinavia.

Contact me for startup company qeustions, see http://www.lidforss.com

Toluu - I have got my blog aggregator to do social networking

I just started using toluu's new blog aggregator that also does sharing with friends and matchmaking to help you find people to network with. See, http://www.toluu.com/tlidforss for my toluu.

I like the fast and slick UI with listing of blog post contents, useful if you have a lot of blogs you scan and read. I will have to update and check-in later with comments about the match making parts. I think there is an interesting trend going on right now in the blogosphere in parallel with the twitter like gangs. Several new companies are addressing the need for searching, sorting, scanning through blogs together with directory listing type services and social networking. In addition to Google's blogsearch, you have Swedish startups such as Twingly and Bloggkoll that togheter are addressing this area with toluu.

The nimble "Buzz" is getting louder

The Netherlands based Nimbuzz is the latest among internet communications startup companies that have started gaining a lot attraction. Nimbuzz is in addition to supporting already popular IM/chat services such as Skype, Windows Live, Yahoo, Google GTalk... also like Rebtel focusing on cheap and easy to user international mobile phone calls. Nimbuzz has their gateway locations around the world in places such as New York, Amsterdam and Hongkong supporting around 35 countries. What I find in particular interesting is that Nimbuzz is the first company actually addressing the vast majority of already available mobile phones that can download and run a Java application. This is a first step in a phased opportunity to finally move towards mobile VoIP thereby once and for all killing the old telecom operator approach to voice calling and in particular billing. More about to follow in a separate article.

Today, the drawback is related to cheaper or too old mobile phones supporting Java J2ME apps using MIDP v1 and operator preloaded phones you cannot easily change.

Since Nimbuzz is working on Java application that is using VoIP, it will be interesting to see what is in store for us users coming from competitors.