Tag: Share »

I love it when I find an app that's just absolutely stunning to look at, and that's the case with Steller; I don't even need to use it to enjoy using it. This new app takes sharing photos on social media to the next level by letting you put groups of photos and videos together, annotate them with text, and share them as beautiful - flat designed - storybooks.

The app has many great features, including the ability to group your storybooks into collections that others can follow, the ability to discover other stories that have been published amongst a wide variety of topics, and the ability to republish stories you find in the app to your own collection. Finally, Steller lets you share the stories you make via many outlets including social networks, email, SMS, blogs, and websites.

You can get Steller on the App Store for free.

Thanks to the last two major iOS releases, iOS 5 and 6, sharing on social media has gotten a lot easier. It's now easy to tweet and post to Facebook from anywhere in iOS. Want to do this for yourself? Here's our how to guide on taking advantage of social media features on iOS.

First off, you need to log in to your social media accounts, which for most users will be the Twitter and Facebook support. Start by going to Settings. Scroll down to the Twitter and Facebook options. Now you will see a screen that will let you install that service's official app from the App Store, log in with an existing account, learn more about the service, or Create a New Account. If you don't have one, this is the quickest and easiest way to make one. Once you have an account, log in with it and let the fun begin!

For Twitter, you can log in to multiple accounts from this screen. Tapping on an account info will let you re-enter your password if you change it, to change the account's description in iOS, and to disable the "Find Me by Email" setting. Scrolling down to the bottom will allow you to Update Contacts with information from Twitter contacts, and to modify which apps can access data from your Twitter account.

For Facebook, it has many of the same options, but you can only log in to one account. However, you can configure the app's settings for alerts and HD video recording from here.

Now, time to take advantage of this. Bring down Notification Center by swiping from the top of the screen. You should now have Tap to Tweet and Tap to Post buttons. Each one will send a tweet or a post to Facebook. You can add your location, and the Twitter post box will replace the enter button with the @ and # symbols. You can enter a line break by hitting the 123 button and finding Enter there.

If you want to share a photo, you can do so by going to Photos, and tapping the Share arrow, and you will see options to post the photo to Twitter or Facebook. Twitter will automatically add the photo and subtract the characters for the link in your tweet without showing the actual link in it. Anything like this will be shown with a paper clip and a thumbnail of what is being sent.

Apps can tweet and post to Facebook, too. Try sending a link from Safari using the Share arrow. Some games will let you share your high scores, like Punch Quest does.

Apps like can request access to your Twitter or Facebook contacts to find new people to connect to, such as Vine supporting Twitter contacts, or Game Center letting you discover friends through Facebook.

Some apps can let you instantly log in to them with your registered Twitter or Facebook account, even third-party Twitter apps like Tweetbot. Finally, you can Like apps on the App Store by tapping the Reviews tab and then the Like button.

These tips cover the basics of how you can use the built-in social media connections to share from your iOS device. Note that not all apps use the built-in iOS connections, so you may still need to log in separately in some apps.

Cloudee is a cloud based video service launched by video software company Boxee as a way to store, view, and share your iPhone recorded videos. The app allows you to upload videos from your camera roll directly to your account and share them via email from there. The videos, once uploaded, can be viewed via a browser on the desktop or iPad, on in the app on iPhone. A desktop app is available to allow you to upload videos from your desktop as well.

Cloudee is currently free during the beta period. After the beta is over you will be able to access anything you have previously uploaded. But it appears as though there will be a fee to upload anything after the beta is over. While it hasn't been announced, we can only assume that at some point these Cloudee videos will be available on your TV via the Boxee software.

Brewski Me, an app born of the collaboration between Rocksauce Studios and AppsVersusRobots, is an app that allows beer lovers to find, share, and rate choice suds anywhere. Voted the "Best Beer App" by the site Beers and Ears in 2011, Brewski Me integrates the rating and discovering new beers and breweries with social connections and friends.

This updated version of this beer enthusiast app comes with some visual updates and a redesigned "Drink" screen. There's also a new "Tasting Notes" section of the app where users can make notes on the beers they've sampled. Once they've noted their thoughts and reactions, users can take and share them with their friends via Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare.

Rocksauce Studios has timed their release of this Brewski Me update to coincide with the upcoming SXSW music festival and all of it's accompanying parties and beer tastings. The updated version is available for download now in the App Store for free.

Everyone does it. They're sitting there listening to music, doing whatever else while the sweet melodies relax or empower them, and then they get The Urge. Suddenly, it becomes extremely important to let other people know what they're listening to. I can't even begin to explain this phenomena but it's a real thing and it happens all the time. Thanks to James Shaw, the 16 year-old app wiz, the process will be getting even more streamlined.

MusicTweet is an app designed to do just that: tweet music. When a user starts up the app, it will automatically find the song and album information on what they're currently listening to. When the tracks change, it'll track down the info for the new one, too. From there it's simply a matter of tapping the "Tweet" button. The app will automatically add the title, artist and other miscellaneous bits. Tracks can be changed in-app, along with the volume, so there's little reason for tweet-happy music lovers to not keep it running all the time.

MusicTweet is available on the App Store now for $0.99.

Some time ago, a man by the name of Frank Warren started a little project. He invited people to send him anonymous postcards with a personal secret attached, and a lot of people ended up sending in a lot of cards. In fact, he received so many responses he was able to put all of these secret confessions into several books. And now, the project has entered the world of social networking.

PostSecret, the app, allows users to take pictures and type out accompanying words as they bare any hidden part of their life they choose. Other users can also send replies if they want to. The anonymity this app affords people is no joke: no personal information is ever revealed, exact locations (via GPS) are never stored, it's possible to choose a general location such as a city or school, no sign up is required and secrets don't have to be stored on the device. Granted, they need to be stored if a user wishes to monitor responses, but accessing them requires a personalized code. PostSecret takes the privacy of its users very seriously.

Those interested in confessing anonymously to the entire world, or those content to silently dig through random strangers' dirty laundry, can check out PostSecret on the App Store right now.

Videos, games, photos, GPS functionality and more. The iPhone can do a heck of a lot, especially considering the fact that it's a phone and not a PC. One thing it's not quite adept at is integrating a lot of that into the actual "phone" part. Enter MetaSwitch and their clever little app, Thrutu.

Thrutu makes true on-the-phone multitasking possible. Users can take and share photos, contact information, their current location and more with a tap or two. The mileage one gets out of this largely depends on how they tend to interact with people over the phone, but certain aspects of its usefulness are pretty obvious. Sharing location info makes random, and even planned, meet-ups much simpler than "I'm standing over by the big duck." Getting a friend's opinion remotely on a new outfit can be done instantly. It even cuts down the time needed for those "Let me get you the number" situations.

It's important to note that Thrutu does require some initial setup. Users have to register their phone number in order to use the service, and it can only work when both ends of the conversation have the app installed. Fortunately, it's also set up to sort through contact lists for Thrutu users (with default contact lists still available), and there's a handy Invite button for anyone without it.

Keep in mind that, because Thrutu is designed to send various amounts of digital information, it also requires a 3G or wi-fi connection. There are bound to be some areas where it's largely ineffective (like when on a camping trip or on the subway) and some contacts who just won't be able to make proper use of it. Then again, if these people have a smart phone chances are they have access to at least one of the two.

Thrutu certainly shows enormous potential, both as a personal use app and one for more business-oriented users. There are a few small hoops to jump through in order to get it going, but once everything is set up it's smooth sailing. The real trick is to get everyone using it. I guess that means I've just done my part.

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As the one billionth app sold in the app store, Bump got a whole bunch of publicity for being a really cool app that really didn't do a whole lot. With Bump 2.0, the app takes sharing to a whole new level by letting you share the equivalent of your entire digital life.

Instead of simple contact sharing, Bump 2.0 lets you share photos and calendars, as well as instant "friending" on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. No more waiting for people to accept friend invitations, now just "bump" your way into people's lives. With the new "chat view" feature, you can even even "keep sharing after the bump".

Go grab the Bump 2.0 update as soon as you can and let us know what you think.

[Source: Gizmodo]

For those of us of legal age and discerning taste, there's nothing better than a decent glass of wine. We're also big fans of social networking and can often be found enjoying a tipple with Twitter of an evening. If you're following this train of thought so far, why not take it to the next level by combining the two disciplines with one iPhone app? That's what you get when you download the free GrapeVine app, a social network for wine lovers.

Whether you know your Pinot from your plonk or not, GrapeVine aims to bring the world's wine drinkers together to share new flavors and find out more about the drink they love.

Friends can quickly be found within the app and categorized by the types of wine they drink. Comments can be added to wine picks and networks created as well as friend lists. As one reviewer says, GrapeVine is “like Twitter for us wine folks”.

The app itself is neatly designed and offers a range of customization options including skinning and profile creation. You can even add friends from your iPhone’s Address Book to begin sharing their tastes on “The Vine” which is where most of the grape-based banter flows. Each wine suggestion comes complete with information on the wine type, country and year and also includes a short description of how the wine was discovered by the user, along with pictures. Fortunately, Twitter’s 140-character limit doesn’t apply here.

The Wine Geek section of the app provides a regularly updated mini blog covering all of the latest wine news and accessories as well as opinion on the latest wine trends.

Among the networking flavours found in this full-bodied app, hints of commerce also mingle, with a clever shopping list feature that helps you track down suggested wines at your local store. Not only that, but GrapeVine is open to the wine industry so sellers can promote their upcoming wines and promotions directly to the consumer via the app.

“We’re democratizing wine”, says GrapeVine co-founder Helena Mitchell. “Every wine drinker is now a respected tastemaker and potential trendsetter on GrapeVine. Every wine business can contribute to GrapeVine’s consumer conversation and discovery experience, regardless of size, location or budget.”

After a quick play with this app we were excited by its potential and look forward to seeing how this new type of social network develops. Of course, those who prefer a cold Bud and a burrito (and believe us we do too) may not be quite as entertained by this app, but if you’re even a little bit curious about the world of wine, we’d recommend giving GrapeVine a try.

An iPad app is also in the works according to GrapeVine's managing director, Kim Alexander:
"iPad is definitely in the plan. The multimedia aspects of wine shares on The Vine and content we provide in Wine Geek are perfect for iPad and will look even more beautiful there. As a distributor of people’s proprietary content, our job is to offer platforms like iPad, to make the content its best. You’ll see us move more and more into celebrity, lifestyle and entertainment wine content, also making it critical to provide a beautiful aesthetic. We have some very exciting and new ways to talk about wine in the works, including a bit of a makeover ourselves."

GrapeVine is available for free on the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch users. Free registration is also required to begin using the app.