All My Faves

LucyPhone – This free service is a true godsend. Don’t you just hate it when you call your cable or phone company, and end up waiting forever for an actual person to take your call, while in the meantime you’re forced to listen to the worst elevator music ever? LucyPhone is here, ladies and gentlemen, and it’s a blessing.

Forget about long speaker-mode calls on hold, waiting for that utility company’s customer service representative to finally talk to you. Simply search for a company or type in the toll-free number into the site’s text box, provide Lucy with a phone number you can be reached at, and lovely Lucy will call you when an actual human on the other side can take your call. In one word - Hallelujah!

YTTM.tv – Go back in time with YTTM.tv, a huge video-based time capsule offering great historic and entertaining videos of various themes (video games, television, commercials, current events, sports, movies and music). Play with the year bar on top to see videos representing crucial and interesting moments in a specific year -as early as 1870!

To see an example of what I mean, see the video below by the film pioneer brother Louis Lumières , shooting the street on Broadway and Union Square, New York in 1896. Oh, and if you have an interesting video you think should be included in YTTM’s colossal collection, click the Add A Video button and pay your tribute to history.

Twitcam – Experience a whole new kind of Twitter with Twitcam, the priest who has brought together under God tweets and video. How does it work? Set your webcam and turn it on; sign in with your Twitter account log in info; start Twitcamming.

The Twitcam interface looks great, it’s easy to work with and interaction with other twitter users is a lot of fun. Your Twitcam broadcast is automatically posted to Twitter (video description and link), and your following audience sees it all. Twitcam also makes it easy for you to stay connected with your Twitter friends without the need to switch back and forth between the two sites; it’s all accessible from your broadcast page on Twitcam!

When you’re finished with your video, don’t worry; Twitcam archives it so you’ll have it on your page next time you log in. I wonder when there will be an option to video chat on Twitter. I hope Twitcam will take on the challenge…

Redbeacon – The next time you find yourself searching for the services of any professional, stop by Redbeacon and give their innovative service a shot. Redbeacon has created a revolutionary platform for matching clients with professionals (from plumbers and electricians to personal chefs and graphic designers), based on the type of job required, location, date and price.

What next? Once you’ve submitted your service request, Redbeacon will “show you the price quotes and profiles of people interested in doing your job, and allow you to book an appointment with them, saving you the time and hassle of calling around.” No more endless searches on and offline for landscapers, dog walkers, air conditioning technicians and what have you; Redbeacon makes the entire process, from start to finish, easy, affordable and premeditated. We like that!

See the screen shots below of the service request submission form, and of the table explaining the benefits of using Redbeacon. By the way, if you have a service to offer and wish to use the Redbeacon platform to meet new customers, click here.

Ignite – This great concept reminded me of TED, only that Ignite is more bite-sized, offering five minute videos and talks of inspiring and insightful ideas and theories. Ignite is not so much a website as it is an event and phenomena; Ignite events have already taken place in over 100 cities worldwide, where presenters “share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.”

Ignite events are sponsored by Bing and Facebook, and I strongly encourage you to visit the site if only to explore their video section of past Ignite talks and events. The next couple Ignite events will take place in Portland, Phoenix and Denver (Sep-Oct 2010), so if you’ll be around these locations this and next month, I suggest you stop by. See the video below I enjoyed watching, by Julia Grace on Are You Really as Cool as You Seem on Facebook? Happy discoveries…

Wetpaint – Simply identified as a “custom-tailored [entertainment platform] for young women who love TV and fashion,” Wetpaint is first and foremost a content specialist web publisher that has put its foot down and decided to offer its first “property” in the entertainment content area, hence this superb Weekly Fave spot.

Since Wetpaint specializes in online content, I won’t be surprised if this particular entertainment venue will make you wish Wetpaint had covered other interest areas as well. With the intent of offering top and engaging content while inviting users to interact with each other, Wetpaint is exceptional; you’ll understand why the way you consume content on this site is remarkable compared to what’s already out there.

Browse the entertainment categories (TV shows, fashion, gossip, spoilers, photos, videos, TV stars) and enjoy well-written and edited, interesting articles, posts as well as videos and photos. In short, Wetpaint is most definitely a keeper. See Wetpaint’s Grey’s Anatomy page to learn more.

ChickRx – Up until now, I would go to several sources for information on the different aspects of my life as a woman: I would visit WebMD or MayoClinic for gynecology, psychology and relationship blogs for mental balance and relationships, and various nutrition and fitness sites to keep fit.

Now, thanks to ChickRx, I can get all the info I’ve described above in one easy and fun to visit site. ChickRx offers solid articles and posts on gynecology and sex, fitness and nutrition, emotional health and relationships, dermatology, and general health. In addition, the site has other perks such as Heads Up (interesting facts and studies) and Chicks’ Picks, among others. One of the articles I enjoyed reading is Cool Guy Syndrome. For more women oriented resources online, be sure to visit our Women mini page.

Scouting New York – The Scout (who wishes to remain anonymous) works as a film location scouter in the Big Apple, and if you read the blog’s About page, you’ll learn he or she has seen it all; basements and subway tunnels, luxury penthouses and former factories turned into residential apartments in Brooklyn.

This scouting job niche is very intriguing, and we’re lucky the Scout has decided to share his (or her) unusual findings with us. New York is not just a concrete jungle; it’s filled with gems if you know where to look. Thanks, Scout for sharing. And if you’re living in NY and have an interesting property you’d like to offer as a film shoot location, email the Scout: nycscout@gmail.com.

By the way, Scouting New York is the Weekly Blog that scored the most clicks, so that’s how it made it to last week’s Weekly Faves spot. Congrats Scout! Below are some pictures of the Weird Little House on Lafayette Street.

56 Sage Street – Brought to us by Barclays, this super fun game will teach you how to earn money the right way, avoid scams and fraud, and save up. Play this mission-based game and help your character earn money and rewards within a givin time period. During that time, you will have to work, find a place to stay for the night and eat so you’ll have the strength to work again… The superbly executed game, 56 Sage Street is an innovative way to teach us all on how to live within budget, and how to save up for what’s important.

See if you manage to score all 50 rewards and show your Facebook friends how well you did on the game (sign in with Facebook Connect). And most importantly, enjoy!

Clash of the Olympians – This fun and addicting game will remind you of the various crush the castle games -it’s the same concept. Aim wisely and throw spears, heavy barrels and stones at the approaching enemy and monsters. Since this game is set in Ancient Greece, you can choose to be Hercules or Achilles as your starting character.

For more games, visit our I♥GAMES page and get the best and newest online games out there.

Start your weekend with the best games of the week! We already took care of the sorting to bring you only the very best of what the games world has to offer. We hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

Aol Answers –  America Online is now trying to get into the rather overpopulated Q & A category, with its new feature, Aol Answers. The question is, do they offer anything that the other major Q & A players do not already have? Based on my personal familiarity with the existing major players in the field such as Yahoo! Answers, Wiki Answers, Yedda and the like (see the top ones on our Q & A faveline on the Education page), the answer is: not really.

That does not mean however, that making use of Aol Answers is not a rewarding experience. The interface is simple, appealing and user friendly, which makes posting questions or answering other users’ question easy as pie. In addition, the range of Q & A topics you will find here is immense, but so is Yahoo! Answers.’ As I see it, Aol is trying to push itself into an already inundated market, and unless it offers an added value its counterparts do not include, I doubt they will be able to cope with the competition.