Tech Tuesday: Kinsa Smart Thermometer

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming companies for their innovative ideas and ability to think outside the box!

It’s about time to go back to school… which unfortunately means back-to-school colds! Our trick for keeping healthy is the Kinsa Smart Thermometer.

We all have thermometers buried deep in the medicine cabinet, but we think it’s time for an upgrade! This portable, easy to store, and useful product from Kinsa is about to become you and your family’s best friend! The Kinsa Smart Thermometer has the obvious functions of a regular thermometer with the combined power of your iPhone.

The calming screens, complete with bubbles and smiley faces, will make taking your temperature look like a game! Each time you take someone’s temperature, your phone will store the information and monitor their sickness and progress. There’s even a chart that shows you when you’re at peak contagiousness so you can prevent infecting others. If you do have to make a doctor visit, the app’s illness history function makes diagnosis a quick and effective process! If you have to be sick, might as well get better the right way!

Kinsa’s thermometer is the latest in a long line of tech health innovation. The cheaper and more available technology becomes, the better we can use it to improve our quality of life.

Have you used the Kinsa Smart Thermometer? Do you think this is a useful tool? Let us know in a comment and on Facebook & Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: What’s Shakin’?

Hey all, What’s Shakin’? For us, it’s an awesome new social media app for all of us on the go!

We know, you’ve seen too many social media apps come and go before returning to the Facebook & Twitter mainstays. But What’s Shakin’ is definitely catching our eye and keeping us interested in events across the country! Sometimes, sifting through all the junk on your homepage (and there are a LOT of ridiculous posts!) is just too much. You want to hear what people are saying about a concert in Texas or a college football game in New York. That’s when you use What’s Shakin’!

Just type in or pinpoint a location on your map, select a radius, and you’ll instantly see what other users in that area are saying! Become part of the conversation about your favorite show’s season finale in your hometown and it’s almost like you’re there. That’s because you’re not following people- you’re following places!

Do you think What’s Shakin’ could catch on? Would you use this app? Tell us in a comment and on Facebook & Twitter!

10 Interesting Social Media Facts

Social media plays a huge role in our lives, whether we like it or not! To honor our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, ABCey compiled a list of the most interesting social media fun-facts. Enjoy!

1. Half of all smartphones connect to Facebook every hour of every day!

2. 20% of Google searches every day have never been searched before. Which begs the question: what the heck are you searching??

3. The most optimal photos (ones that get the most likes and repins) on Pinterest are photos of salad.

4. “Earlybird” is the most popular Instagram filter, yet 47% prefer #nofilter.

5. The average LinkedIn user is a male college graduate.

6. Twitter handles more search queries per month than Bing and Yahoo combined!

7. Links about sex are shared 90% more than any other link. (Doesn’t its inclusion on this list say it all?)

8. 53% of people on Twitter recommend products in their tweets, which is important because most people trust recommendations from friends versus the 14% of people who trust advertisers. Social media is more important to business than you’d think!

9. 7% of Americans have never heard of Facebook. We don’t know how this happened.

10. More than 350 million users suffer from Facebook Addiction Syndrome.

Want to channel some social media yourself? Tell us what you think of this article with a comment here or on Facebook & Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: The 10 Best Disruptive Apps

So many innovative ideas in the tech world come in the form of disruptive services, meaning they show up an existing service by presenting a better version. Think of them as tech life hacks!

1. PaperKarma | You can FINALLY stop getting catalogs from that weird store you bought from 5 years ago! With the PaperKarma app, just take a picture of the unwanted mail and they take care of the rest.

2. Sidecar | Ride-share companies connecting the car haves and have-nots are incredibly popular cab alternatives, but Sidecar is our favorite. It was born and raised in San Francisco, the cars are nice and the people friendly, and we’ve never had to wait more than 3 minutes for a ride!

3. Fantastical | This event calendar for Mac lets users customize the language in their event details so it’s easier for them to read. Plus, Fantastical recognizes the event’s location and can invite your contacts to join you!

4. SwiftKey | It is so nice to stop saying, “damn you, autocorrect!” Swiftkey for Android, iPhone, and tablet learns how you type so it can better predict your next word. Their newest feature, Flow, allows the user to send messages by swiping their finger over the letters.

5. Sparrow | By incorporating Dropbox and drag-and-drop attachments into e-mail, Sparrow became the highest grossing app less than a day on the market! Since its acquisition by Google, we expect to see some awesome changes to our gmail mailbox!

6. Dark Sky | While you can never really trust the weather reports for the Bay Area, technology is getting close! Dark Sky tells you the weather report in your specific GPS location with up-to-the-minute accuracy.

7. Robin for Android | Watch out Siri, there’s a new girl on the road! Navigating traffic can be tough, but Robin handles your social media, navigation, music, parking, and texting for you! Just tell her what you want with hands-free voice control and let her take on the tasks while you’re at the wheel.

8. Camera + | This app makes Instagram’s filters look like the dark ages! Unlike the iPhone camera, this app allows you to manage brightness, focus, and exposure with separate taps before you take your picture. The incredible editing features will turn your snaps into works of art!

9. Spotify |Instead of making the uncomfortable decision between buying every song on iTunes and stealing songs online, Spotify showed us a new way to enjoy music. Live streaming Spotify radio on your phone kills your battery but it’s completely worth it!

10. Dropbox | The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when Dropbox freed us from flash-drives. Now, we can’t imagine a time before sharing files wasn’t as easy as clicking “upload” and “share!”

Do you use these apps? Tell us what you think of them and our list in the comments section or on Facebook and Twitter!

Startup Monday: Prismatic

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past that we would like to share with the friends and followers of ABCey Events.

Are you ready to see what your ideal newsfeed looks like? Get ready to discover Prismatic!

Prismatic is a web service, and now an iPhone app, that sources data from multiple sources such as Facebook and Google Reader to deliver your favorite news straight to you. Prismatic software is called a social network aggregation that uses an algorithm to filter content that aligns with the interests of that specific reader. Based on what you view and what you “like,” Prismatic personalizes your homepage with the news you enjoy most!

Prismatic’s design is ultra sleek and really based on user comfortability and experience. Best of all, Prismatic is socially adept! For each article the recommend for you, popular tweets from readers all over the web are shown. Articles read or suggested by your social networking connections are usually recommended for you to encourage interaction and sharing amongst contacts. Prismatic brings news, especially tech news, back to our attention.

Have you used Prismatic? What do you think of it? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: Handleband

If you love to bike and are looking for a way to take your ride to the next level, look no further! Our favorite new gadget is the Handleband, a universal bike mount that uses your phone as a navigational tool, ride-tracker, camera, and light. Plus, it has a bottle opener!

You probably use your phone to listen to music during your bike to work or while getting some exercise, but the Handleband harnesses our phones’ full potential. Because it’s made from high-strength silicone and 7075 Aluminum spline, the Handleband is both strong and flexible. It wraps once around a bike’s handlebars, then again around a smartphone to create a secure connection. Its flexibility means this gadget can work with any phone, bike, and case!

The Handleband is unique because it’s smaller than a deck of cards, yet durable enough for any mountain trail. You can remove the devise at any time or reinforce it with a zip tie for extra security. The best feature of the Handleband’s design is that it doesn’t cover your phone in any inconvenient way. You have full use of your phone camera and screen should you need access to it. This is how your phone becomes your light source, ride tracker, music player, light source, and anything else you could need while biking!

The Handleband has received full funding from its Kickstarter page and continues to grow. What’s next for Handleband? We think there should be a Handleband app for phones that helps the rider get even more out of his or her phone. We’ll just have to wait and see!

Would you use the Handleband? Do you think this gadget has potential? Share your thoughts in a comment or on Facebook and Twitter!

Startup Monday: TaskRabbit

Let’s face it: in any given day, you have 100 things to do and no time to do them. That’s where TaskRabbit and its team come in!

TaskRabbit is a service connecting those with extra time on their hands and busy people in need of a helping hand. First, post your task on the site and state the maximum amount you would pay someone to do it for you. Each task is performed by a skilled and trustworthy TaskRabbit that you choose to most adequately perform your task. The TaskRabbits can do just about any chore or errand from doing your grocery shopping, assembling tricky Ikea furniture, or picking up a couch you bought on Craigslist.

In February of 2013, TaskRabbit launched an official dashboard for businesses, which account for roughly 35% of its business. This service focuses on temporarily staffing companies to do odd jobs in an efficient and reliable way. The site also has a mobile edition for iPhone and iPad that allows you to add instructions with a voice recording, attach images, and pinpoint your location with ease. Just imagine how much this service would come in handy while you’re planning an event!

Would you use TaskRabbit to help you with your errands? Let us know in a comment or catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Startup Monday: Wedding Party

The days of leaving a disposable camera in the table centerpiece are over! The perfect app for your wedding is Wedding Party, which allows guests to share the photos of your big day in one easy location. Let the party begin!

This app is a must-have for any wedding! Wedding Party helps you create your wedding’s very own website displaying wedding information, gift registry, and (of course!) your pictures. Whomever downloads the app and uploads photos will find them shown on the website in realtime! The app makes one cohesive wedding album to share with friends, family, and guests filled with a unique blend of professional and candid shots that tell your complete wedding story. The pics can be used to create a timeline of events, like saying the vows and cutting the cake, and to create Facebook albums.

Photosharing is just the tip of the iceberg. Use Wedding App to make place cards, keep a guest book, and interact with your guests. You’ll be able to see every single moment from the happiest day of your life through the eyes of your loved ones. This app will be the best (free!) gift you can get.

What do you think of Wedding Party? Is it a good fit for your wedding? Let us know your thoughts in a comment or on Twitter and Facebook!

The 10 Dating Apps You Definitely Don’t Want

We’re told that online dating leads to 1 in every 5 relationships. If these were the only dating apps out there, that probably wouldn’t be the case! ABCey brings you the funniest, creepiest, and downright bizarre dating apps out there for some Friday fun!

1. LuLu | Also known as the most terrifying app to men, LuLu lets you describe men you’ve seen with a series of hashtags. Some of the ones you’ll want to avoid are #CheaperThanABigMac, #WanderingEye, and #OwnsCrocs. Ouch!

2. On the Rebound | This app links to Facebook and notifies you if anyone becomes single. Because the only thing better than being “Facebook Official” is being Facebook Unofficial.

3. Flavor Connect | What’s your dating flavor: strawberry fling, lemon fancy, or vanilla fidelity? Something tells us that vanilla isn’t very popular!

4. Hot or Not | This app promises to answer the age-old question, “How do I tell someone if I like them?” Rating them on a scale of 1-10 is sure to get you a first date!

5. Cloud Girlfriend | In this dating realm, nobody expects you to be yourself! Dubbed as virtual fake dating, this site lets you create an avatar that flirts with other anonymous users’ avatars.

6. InstaDo | This exactly is what it sounds like. Through this app, you can invite someone to coffee, dinner, or to “do it.” Somehow, we don’t think you’ll even get the coffee!

7. Haloo | You will immediately be dubbed “stalker” when you walk up to someone with this opener: “Hey, I saw through my phone’s GPS that you were near me and read that you like red wine and country music. Are you free later?”

8. SpeedDate | This app gives you coins every time you chat with someone that helps you unlock “special flirting powers.” Who said dating isn’t a game?

9. KimYe | Pretend you’re the proud parents of baby North in this game to woo Kim’s heart. Avoid Reggie Bush, Ray J, and her other exes while you battle to beat the 72-day clock- or else you’re “Humphried!” We’re thinking Kim will want to sit this one out.

10. GothicMatch | Dubbed the “best underground community site for Gothic and Vampire people.” I’m in if Edward’s in!

What do you think of these dating apps? Which is the best, worst, or funniest? Let us know in a comment, on Twitter, or on Facebook!

Your Ultimate Guide to SF Pride!

As LGBT Pride month comes to a close, the 43rd Annual San Francisco Pride Celebration is just beginning! ABCey put together the ultimate guide to help you make the most out of one of our city’s biggest events of the year.

1. Download | The San Francisco Pride 2013 App is available for download on most smartphones. Put Pride in your pocket with schedules, event information, maps, and even where to find bathrooms throughout the weekend!

2. Ride | The easiest way to get to Pride is to take BART to Civic Center Plaza. However, BART workers are deciding whether or not to go on strike this weekend, which would severely impact transit all across the bay. Visit BART’s website or download the Embark iBart app for train schedules.

3. Tweet | For any and all Pride updates in real-time, make sure to follow SFPride and SFPrideLive! SFPride is the official account for the Pride Parade and Celebration, while SFPrideLive handles the festivities’ televised and online broadcasts. Either way, your Twitter feed won’t miss a beat!

4. Party | The best thing about Pride is the celebrating! There will be so many fun LGBT events this weekend, so keep track of them with Wsup Now. This app isn’t only a calendar: it shows you what events are near you, shows you how to get to them, and lets you post pictures if you’re there! The official Pride calendar can be found on SF Pride’s Official Website.

5. Know | This year, the LGBT community faces many high-profile issues locally and globally. Stay educated by keeping up with the controversy surrounding Bradley Manning and the Prop 8 and DOMA Supreme Court decisions.

The Pride Celebration runs from 12:00 p.m.- 6p.m. on Saturday, June 29th and 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 30th. Sunday’s parade kicks off at 10:30 a.m. from Beale Street along Market and ends at Market and 8th St. in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

Will you be participating in any San Francisco Pride celebrations? Tell us about it and let us know if our tips helped you! Shoot us a comment or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!