metaViper

Once in a while nature’s call is too powerful to ignore. For bathroom warriors everywhere here’s a site for you: MizPee. The site claims to find the nearest and cleanest bathroom, then provide entertainment for the duration.

It was only a matter of time before the last captive audience space was targeted.

I can certainly see the merit of an idea like this though I’m not sure someone in the throes of a “near-accident” would think to pull out their mobile phone and type in a search for bathrooms. More likely they would look for a nearby gas station, store or fast food restaurant.

But, for people who think ahead a little or who have exacting bathroom requirements this may solve their need.

One thing I’ve learned is that diversity breeds growth, which in turn encourages shifts in perspective. That in mind, I’d like to introduce you to our newest writer, Gerry.

I’ve known Gerry for over a year now and am continually impressed with his insights. He has a strong interest in technology, learning about different cultures and a drive to explore what lies ahead.

Welcome to jungle metaViper Gerry, here’s to creating and prowling for things of value on the inter-web.

Be sure to check out Gerry’s first article written for metaViper, 4 Tips for Rewarding Travel in Europe.

If you’re interested in writing for metaViper, post a comment here.

Apple has a reputation of commanding attention from the media when they want it and ignoring questions when they’re inconvenient. So I’m sure you can relate to Garfield’s excitement about his new iPhod made by Grapple.

Click on the comic to enlarge it. Image is copyright 2007 Paws, Inc. All rights reserved.

There are three main ways that humans communicate with each other: the written word, visual cues, and speech. Social networks like MySpace and Facebook bring out two of those aspects (the written word and visual cues) but don’t do a great job of providing ways to send voicemail within the social networking framework.

Today I found a site focused on that niche, MySay. They allow users to call a phone number and leave a voicemail which is then posted to a member page, broadcasted, or e-mailed to specific recipients. Right now their target audience seems to be circles of friends or celebrities with lots of fans, but I see lots of potential for business groups to keep in touch with this tool as well. Often it’s easier to send voicemail to coworkers explaining a situation but a common problem is that those voicemails are difficult to track and log. Did I remember to call that customer back?

MySay could become particularly useful if they implement a solution that transcribes voice into text like Jott does, but stick with their social networking roots. That way the posts would become searchable.

They just introduced a couple of new features, and I look forward to continued innovation in this space.

I don’t get excited about cars that often, but yesterday Toyota sent out an e-mail that caught my attention. They just unveiled a new concept car, codenamed Hybrid X that looks sleek and svelte. In form it resembles a blunt-nosed rain drop but the styling and curvatures are very futuristic looking.

With injected foam seats that are supposed to save room but still be comfy and a mechanism inside the car to control lighting, music and smell driving this car will be a different experience than anything commonly on the road today.

If a car like this were available now I’d be standing in line to get one, as long as the mpg was as good or better than the Prius.

All sorts of people are looking for jobs, some for the first time, some because they’re looking for a more fulfilling role, or sometimes it’s because there was conflict and it’s time to move on. Whatever the case, it’s important to portray a professional image to potential employers on the self-marketing journey and here’s a service that can help.

Resolio provides a fast (and free) way for you to create an online resume that looks smooth. Right now they have lots of designs available with more appearing on a regular basis. Resolio has the ability to host your resume, or you can embed it in another web site.

If Resolio continues to create new designs with unique looks and feels, this has the potential to move forward into an infrastructure service that other job search sites plug into. As with many new Web2.0 startups it will depend on how well they’re able to get the word out and how many exclusive capabilities their webware wields.

If you’re looking for a job this is a great tool to check out.

Workdays can get long, and the human brain works better when it’s able to meander. Here’s a great way to pull your mind away from those deep thoughts for a little while: Sudokular is offering free Sudoku online in a slick flash interface.

I enjoyed a couple of their “quick games” this afternoon. If you’d like to compete with your peers during the daily challenge, sign up for an account. They even support OpenID, which is a “decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity”. Too many usernames and passwords anyone? OpenID is an initiative to fix that.

See? Just talking about Sudoku led to another interesting tangent. Sudokular sports a slate and pointed design without unnecessary frills. It’s a fun game, and the interface is a pleasure to use.

This is a great way to slide in a few minutes of down time and launch into the next part of the day refreshed.

In this segment of our series on Identity Theft, we’ll identity seven different services that you can use to protect yourself from identity thieves.

*Please note, metaViper has no financial interest vested in any of these options. None of the links in this article are affiliate links.*

1. AnnualCreditReport.com provides an easy way for you to order a free credit report from each of the big three reporting agencies. This is a great first stop to understand what creditors are looking at when they pull up your credit history, and the service is free.
2. TrustedID sells an “IDFreeze” package for $12.95 per month that includes a million dollar guarantee (standard in the industry). This looks like a solid option but more expensive than other companies.
3. StolenID Search is a service provided by TrustedID (see above) that looks for your credit card or Social Security Number (SSN) and tells you if it’s a compromised number.I had some hesitation about putting my SSN number in that search box so I decided to test it with a credit card number. There were no results, which was a relief but also begged the question: how extensive is their database?
4. LifeLock, this service is pretty bold. The CEO puts his SSN on the front page almost as a dare for people to try opening accounts in his name. Like TrustedID, they also provide a million dollar insurance policy. LifeLock sends out notifcations to creditors that they must ask you directly before opening any new credit, “drastically” reduces junk mail, and will order your free credit reports for you each year. They charge $10 per month.
5. GreenDimes charges a dime per day ($36/year) to reduce junk mail and they’ll plant a tree on your behalf every month. Since junk mail is a leading source of identity theft this is a positive step, though not as comprehensive as some of the other options listed here.
6. Fake Name Generator creates a fictitious identity for you to use as needed complete with name, address, and phone number. This could be helpful if you’re signing up for a form or service online that you don’t trust completely. Say hello to Andrew Salcedo from Casper, WY! Choose a gender, ethnicity and country to create an alias identity.
7. Your bank or credit union. Check with the institution you currently do business with. They’ll sometimes offer discounts for existing customers. Typically banks will monitor credit reports and notify you of changes but won’t do anything proactively to reduce the chance of identity theft in the first place (such as reducing junk mail or flagging your account for identity checks).

For the next five days, metaViper will focus on finding solutions and information surrounding identity theft. These posts will focus on how identity thieves steal your personal information and what you can do to protect yourself.

I was motivated to write this series after listening to a podcast of the Diane Rehm show tonight when she interviewed Frank Abagnale. To see a movie of Frank’s life as a young criminal stealing over $4 million from 1963 to 1969 (worth about $20 million now) be sure to check out Catch Me If You Can. He now focuses on educating the public on how to address identity theft.

A few tidbits I took away from the show:

• Avoid using checks. They contain too much personal information that is easily duplicated. Use credit cards instead as that puts the credit card company’s money at risk, not yours.
• Buy a credit monitoring service that provides live updates on what’s happening with your credit rating.
• Pay attention to who you’re sharing personal information with, this is a good topic to be paranoid about.

Beyond that advice, realize that all the information you put online in social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook is indexed by search engines which becomes a sort of permanent record. This information is readily available to identity thieves and it’s become common practice for employers to do some basic searches online for your name. Anyone can read about what you did at the bar last night if you write about it in the public space.

Want to see where you stand? An excellent place to discover your online reputation is Pipl. They utilize “deep web” search techniques to seek out your name wherever it may hide on the inter-web. Experimenting with a few searches here can be very enlightening. It includes phone book references, public records searches, historical references, and social networking sites.

More to come in metaViper’s five part series on identity theft!

Are you looking to understand trends happening on the web in a broad sense? Here’s a site that provides traffic pattern charts instantaneously and all it needs to work are the URLs.

Statsaholic uses information gathered by Alexa to generate visiting patterns on the inter-web. It can help you customize a marketing campaign, make strategic decisions, and benchmark the progress of your site from a global perspective.

Take a look at this five year comparison between Altavista, Google, and Yahoo below. It’s interesting to note Yahoo’s bumpy downward trend and Google’s gradual upward trend. This can be a powerful tool in the right hands, use it as you will! Did I mention it’s free?