This post is the third in a series titled “Three simple tools that may not have hit your radar.”
As usual, I provide a high-level review of three applications that I have come across that I find useful and interesting. The tools and applications included in these blog posts are from companies that offer free versions of their wares. Some of them offer advanced features for a fee. I have confined the list to tools that I use or have used in the past. So, here are the three.
Fakers from Status People
Update: Effective Feb 02, 2020, StatusPeople app is unavailable.
If you have a Twitter profile and have been steadily building up your network, you will find this tool useful. In a post, titled Six tips for Twitter users who have less than 25 followers I wrote about Web Robots (Bots) that actively follow Twitter accounts in the hope of getting follow-backs. Gullible new users and accounts programmed to auto follow-back are the primary targets of these Bots. Fakers is an application that gives you a quick snapshot of your followers. Shown below is a snapshot of my Twitter account which I decided to compare with that of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
As you can see, the results are self-explanatory. In Mayor Ford’s defense, celebrities often tend to have a high number of fake and inactive followers. At last check, President Barak Obama had nearly thirteen million followers that were categorized as fake or inactive!
Google Drive
If you have been using cloud-based storage for your data, pictures or video, you are probably familiar with Dropbox and Skydrive. These are apps that allow you to upload large files to a cloud-based storage drive and enable syncing of those files between the devices of your choice. Files can also be shared between individuals or among a group of people, avoiding the need to zip files or break it up using splitting tools like HJ-Split.
Bananatag and Boomerang for Gmail
These two extensions to Gmail can improve the efficiency of your communications. While Bananatag lets you track the delivery and open rates for your emails, Boomerang gives you the ability to schedule your emails and set up notifications. The ability to schedule, track, and set reminder notifications often come in handy for situations like job applications and other time-bound communications. For a quick video on the features and capabilities of Boomerang, you may want to check out this link.
If you are aware of interesting tools and applications that merit coverage in this blog, please forward them to me and I will include them in future posts.
I look forward to your comments and suggestions…
