Take pictures instead of listening to bad hold music.

[It's about that time when you may be on hold... trying to return that holiday gift, or even trying to figure out how it works. So, kids, this one's for you. ]

There’s nothing worse than being on hold.

Maybe you’re on your iphone/droid/blackberry (stranded without a headset) so you’re holding the thing to your hear for an hour, listening to some terrible music on repeat <— I’m THAT girl.

Maybe you’re at home on an old-school phone with a cord and can’t move from your current position (how did anyone ever do anything!?)

Or maybe you’re at work, trying to take care of some business while on your lunch break, and you’re still on hold and 1:00 is approaching rapidly.

Regardless of whatever situation you find yourself in, telephone “menus” are a true non-value added experience. Sometimes you hit the wrong button or find yourself in the wrong place.

Usually, if you want to get connected to a “human,” you hit 0… but this is not always the case, so I’ve used GetHuman for those key commands that will route you to a real life person (shocking I know, how did you ever live without it!!) For example, if you’re calling GE Money bank (shoutout) .. according to Get Human you would, “Press 1, then don’t press or say anything.”

Another example is PhoneTreeShortcuts.com, where you can find out the shortcuts for various phone menus. But something’s missing with these options…

When I first heard about fonolo, I misspelled it about three different times in Google, but I’m glad that I did. The site transcribes phone menus from many large companies, so you can scan them quickly.

Fonolo uses visual navigation to allow for the most user-friendly experience. You choose where you need to go, and fonolo will automatically dial the number, navigate their menu and then CALL YOUR PHONE. When you answer, you will be connected to your final destination. not bad.

According to Cnet, fonolo also allows you to record these calls (potentially for sending to the Better Business Bureau or other such organizations).

An added bonus– say you’ve been in a major argument with your credit card company (a good example in this economy) for secretly raising the interest rate on your card. This app lets you take notes and organize what happened when, and on what call. So, when that mean lady on the other line asks you for information (and secretly doesn’t think you know it). You’ll be there. ready.

Go show ‘em who’s boss, guys (and girls).

Do it. http://twitter.com/amedmunds

Continuing along with my current theme of managing your digital identity (or multiple identities if that’s more your style), I’ve realized that not everyone is aware that things could, well, be a little bit easier with the introduction of the right tools.

Consider the following situations and my proposed answers (comment if you have something to add that I forgot!)…

Situation #1: You work at a company that has a need to automate some of your backend efforts on twitter. Say you have an RSS feed, but don’t always have time to post new items.

Answer: Tie in your RSS feed with Twitter, so when a new item is posted, things “auto-tweet.” HootSuite does this in an easy-to-use and configure web interface that also allows you to set timetables for posting (gotta love auto-tweeting…)

Situation #2: You run a pod/lifecast called millennious podcasting and you could really use a way to manage both accounts, as you work a full-time job during the week and don’t always have that special “tweeting” time.

Answer: Updating from “web” all the time is a #twitterupdatefail. Legit. Check out one of the multiple desktop clients where you can tie in multiple accounts. Seesmic Desktop is a top one (cross-platform and ties in facebook too, with unlimited accounts), Nambu, Tweet Deck,

Situation #3: Facebook. Twitter. You want to update twitter status more often than your facebook status, but sometimes you want to update both simultaneously. (You’re just choosy and that’s ok!)

Answer: Selective Twitter updates via Facebook. Install this app on your facebook account, and a simple #fb at the END of your tweets will update your facebook status. easy enough, right?

Situation #4: You have multiple people updating a single twitter account and you need a way to manage it all. (aka tweeting for two or more, hehe)

Answer: Co-Tweet seems to be the app of choice for corporations (and from the screen shots it looks awesome), as it allows you to manage multiple authors in a single account (nobody likes duplication of efforts.) This article from Mashable gives a large list of alternative options.

**note: no one should be going to a third party site to shorten urls, upload photos… these are features available in tools listed above!!!! DONT SETTLE!

I stumbled across Software For Starving Students, while doing research for an upcoming article in the Daily Orange. It’s a great resource for students who don’t have extra cash to spend on fancy software applications.

The newest release provides software options for both Windows and Mac operating systems, with applications designed to fit the needs of hungry college students.

Frugal students can download the entire software suite or selected programs such as Genuis, a flashcard-based memorization assistance program, or Scribus, a page layout program similar to pricey Adobe products, through the website at http://softwarefor.org.

What I love about it is that this website is for both Mac and PC users, so there’s no reason to fight over software

It’s something that you wouldn’t believe it unless you watched first-hand.

We all take pictures in hopes of capturing a memory or a feeling of a certain place… but what if these pictures could be transformed into something better, something that is truly representational.

No surprise here, Microsoft Labs truly brought research from the University of Washington to life with Photosynth.

Microsoft desribes it in this way… “What if your photo collection was an entry point into the world, like a wormhole that you could jump through and explore?”

Sounds like something straight out of a Philip Pullman novel. His Dark Materials style. Still pretty cool.