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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/fanpop-logo.jpg b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/fanpop-logo.jpg
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/fanpop.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/fanpop.txt
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+Fanpop is the latest entry into the world of social network sites, but with a twist. Fanpop aims to be a place where people can swap links and share sites based on common interests. Oh yeah, communities based on what you link to, think deli.ci.ous meets MySpace and feel the nerdy goodness.

Fanpop's concept is simple. Browse links by category. When you find a link that piques your interest, click it and you will be taken to that site. Fanpop leaves a simple, unobtrusive toolbar across the top of your browser window and the external page is in a frame -- very similar to the results from a Google image search. The Fanpop toolbar enables you to jump back to Fanpop to rate or comment on the link and of course you can close the frame and leave Fanpop behind.

Fanpop is built around the concept of "spots" which is really just a poor name for groups. Like groups on say flickr.com, you can join whatever Fanpop "spots" you like and contribute links to a community of like-minded users. All groups have rss feeds you can subscribe to.

Fanpop is an interesting concept, I'm not sure how much the social networking aspect will appeal to people but it seems to me there is a need for some kind of human-filtered means of searching the web. Who wouldn't like to have Google results rated by quality rather than simple page rankings (which admittedly aren't simple)? And what if that quality rating came from people you knew you could trust? 

Fanpop is sort of a halfway point, it searches its user posted listings which more than likely came from searching something else. I'd like Fanpop a whole lot more if it limited itself to essentially providing Google-like search results with user ratings... Perhaps there is something like that out there, anyone care to educate me?
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/morning reboot.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/morning reboot.txt
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+Good morning, here's today's reboot:

*	Google added links to [Google Blog Search][1] on the front page of [Google News][2] this weekend, a quiet reminder that they haven't forgotten about the underused Blog Search service.

*	[YouTube wiped nearly 30,000 files][3] from its website this weekend after copyright complaints from Japanese media companies.

*	Tomorrow will see the release of the official version of Firefox 2.0 but it appears the new version is [already on the Mozilla foundation's FTP servers][4].

*	Regretting those pics from last year's Christmas party that linger on flickr.com? A newly-launched service, [Reputation Defender][5], can help you monitor and erase such info. And if the site in question won't remove the content, Reputation Defender can set the lawyers on them.

*	It's that time of year: Google Earth adds U.S. election guide. The new overlays include information with candidate names, parties and links to register to vote. [[Lifehacker]][6]

[1]: http://blogsearch.google.com/ "Google Blog Search"
[2]: http://news.google.com/ "Google News"
[3]: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061020-8038.html "Google removes Video files"
[4]: http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/4242/44/ "Firefox 2.0"
[5]: https://www.reputationdefender.com/
[6]: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/google-earth/google-earth-adds-us-election-guide-209430.php "Google Earth Adds Election Guide"
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer-screen-cap.jpg b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer-screen-cap.jpg
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer.jpg b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer.jpg
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/mymemorizer.txt
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+Mymemorizer.com is a new service from Sweden offering a web-based calendar app with SMS and Email reminders. Sign up for a free account, add your events via the javascript interface and the site will send you either email or Text/SMS messages to your mobile phone. 

The free component cuts off at three message reminders per day. It's possible to buy more, but I was unable to find a price list. Also note that your mobile service provider may charge you for incoming SMS messages depending on your service plan.

The javascript heavy interface may put some people off, but the demo was responsive and easy to use when I tested it. It's not the most attractive interface, but the functionality is impressive.

The SMS test widget that mymemorizer provides worked fine on my phone (cingular) your milage may vary.
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/realtravel.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/realtravel.txt
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+Planning a trip this fall? As someone who's traveled a fair bit in the last year I have a kind of fetish for travel sites. Recently I stumbled across [Realtravel][1] which Forbes magazine calls one of the "essential travel sites" of the internet.

Realtravel is not aimed at finding airfares or buying tickets online, though it does have some links and price listings, instead Realtravel's main focus is on user stories, tips and reviews. 

Realtravel offers far too many things to cover in a short post, but my favorite section is the destinations tab. Under destinations you'll get a map with the world broken into regions for easy browsing, or you can pick a country from the "most blogged" list. Once you select a country you'll be taken to that country's page which has a wealth of information ranging from dining reviews to travel ideas and everything in between. From there you can continue to tunnel in a get more detailed information by city. 

What makes Realtravel worthwhile for travelers is their user-generated content. Anyone can buy a guidebook, but do you know how long it takes for a guidebook to get printed and onto the shelf? Most guidebooks are hopelessly outdated before they even get into your hands. Realtravel and other sites like it are invaluable for their up-to-the-minute stories, reviews and trip suggestions from travelers who've just been in, and in some cases, currently are in, the places you're headed for. 

I wish I could say Realtravel has a great interface for creating your own travel blog and contributing to the community, but unfortunately the sign up process is somewhat long and more convoluted than seems necessary and once you have an account set up the process of posting to it is fairly arduous as well. Still if you're willing to jump through the hoops, you can get a free blog, picture uploads, and more.


[1]: http://realtravel.com/ "Real Travel"
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/rep-def-pull.jpg b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/rep-def-pull.jpg
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/repdeflogo.jpg b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/repdeflogo.jpg
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/reputation defender.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/reputation defender.txt
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+<p>Reputationdefender.com is a new site with a novel aim &mdash; cleaning up your online reputation. It's becoming increasing common for companies to screen potential employees for offensive blog posts, embarrassing MySpace profiles, and damaging photos trawled up with a simple Google search. Yes, it seems we've reached the point where policing your internet reputation might be a viable business model.</p>

<p>Reputation Defender claims they will monitor sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xenga, Bebo, Flickr, LiveJournal and a whole host of others for any material that might be damaging to you. If they do find something they will, on your behalf, ask the site owner to remove it. Should the site owner refuse, Reputation Defender will "use our array of proprietary techniques developed in-house to correct and/or completely remove the selected unwanted content from the web."</p>

<p>Reputation Defender is a paid service with rates starting at $15.95 a month for six months. </p>

<p>The site also offers two other related services they call "mychild" and "myprivacy." My child searches and collects information on your child and provides a monthly report. Setting aside the vaguely Orwellian feeling that gives me, I can see where, with the recently announced number of registered sex offenders on MySpace, this would be an attract service for many parents.</p>

<p>The "my privacy" feature is not yet available but promises to do something about the massive number of companies that buy and sell personal information, much of which is often inaccurate. This sounds like something I'd actually want.</p>

<p>The site didn't have an answer to the first question that popped in my mind &mdash; what about duplicate names? For instance there is a Scott Gilbertson serving time in prison in Michigan for something or other, how will Reputation Defender know that's not me?</p>

<p>Another thing I haven't been able to sort out from browsing the site is the exact legal status of the "destroy" component of Reputation Defender. After all, just because you're applying for a job, why does that mean I have to take down those pics from the Animal House-style Halloween Party of 2002? And if I refuse is there any legal ground to compel me to take them down? The user agreement on the site says, "[Reputation Defender] does not guarantee or warrant that it will be successful in effecting removal or alteration," which seems to imply that there may not be a legal way to force content removal.</p>

<p>I'm no lawyer so if you have any insight please leave your thoughts in the comments section.</p>
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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/skye20.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/10.23.05/Mon/skye20.txt
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+[Skype 2.0 for Mac][1] has just been released. The upgrade features support for video calls no matter what kind of computer the call is made to (previously Skype for Mac video calls only worked on calls to other Mac users). The upgrade requires a Mac G4 or better and is a universal binary. 

In other Skype-related news, there's a new site, [Anothr][2], that allows you to get RSS feeds delivered via your Skype account. I was impressed with the idea until I ran across this tidbit in the company's blog: "Skype is not only a cool voice-over-IP tool, but also a perfect P2P application platform with high security."

If anyone out there thinks the VOIP protocol has "high security," contact me for some important real estate listings you don't want to miss. 

[1]: http://www.Skype.com/download/Skype/macosx/ "Skype 2.0 of Mac"
[2]: http://www.anothr.com/ "RSS to your Skype Account"
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