Quirky web tools everyone is talking about

Written on the 7 April 2009 by Bloomtools

Struggling to keep up to date with the latest tech tools and wacky websites out there?  There are so many new products and ideas being launched every day that it's near impossible for anyone to know and use them all.  So to save you the time, we've asked some of the web nerds at Bloomtools HQ to share their top 5 time-saving tools with you:

	del.icio.us - Delicious is a free social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages in one location.  You can save all your favourite websites to your Delicious account and then access them from any computer in the world to save you time and effort.  Delicious also has a great community aspect - interact with others users to find out what they have bookmarked and share your own favourites with them.  It's a great way to find some of the really interesting websites out there and can be a handy research tool.  Check it out - del.icio.us
	tr.im - tr.im is a URL shortening service that allows you to create short and simple URLs for use on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, or just for your own convenient personal use.  Basically, you just enter in your long URL (eg. you've found a great article but the URL is more then 3 lines long) and tr.im shortens it to something like http://tr.im/abc123, with the end of the link customised to your URL.  This is a really handy little tool for any one that uses the web often and it's free.  Check it out - tr.im
	Twitter - like the idea of blogging but don't have time to write a 500 word entry a few times a week?  Then Twitter is perfect for you.  This incredibly popular social networking tool allows you to write a post (a 'tweet') that's only up to 140 characters long - so you can share your thoughts or tips in a short and sweet way.  Another benefit of Twitter is that you can 'follow' any other person that has a Twitter to keep up to date with what they are doing - from Google, to business experts, to comedians.  Great free tool for both personal and business use.  Check it out - www.twitter.com
	spellr.us - this is a relatively new tool that is particularly handy for anyone that runs their own website.  Spellr.us is basically an online spell checker for websites - just enter your URL and the tool will check it for any spelling mistakes that are potentially embarrassing your business or even costing you customers.  You can do a small number of page checks for free but you will need to sign up for a plan if you want to do more (a worthwhile investment if you have a big, in-depth website).  This is a really clever little tool and already has some big companies using it.  Definitely have a go at the free trial and see what you think.  Check it out - spellr.us
	Skype - you've probably already heard of Skype, but we thought it was worth mentioning it again because we all use it and think it's a great tool.  Skype is an online system that allows users to make free phone calls around the world using the internet.  Yes - free phone calls!  All you need is the Skype program on your computer (free to download) and a headset and you're good to go.  Imagine the savings on your phone bills if you made all your calls using Skype!  We use it a lot in our business and the connection is just as good as a normal landline phone so you aren't missing out on any quality.  Worth trying?  Definitely!  Check it out - www.skype.com

We know you are very busy business people, so hopefully some of these tools can help you save some time (and maybe even some money) in your business.  Also, check out Google's range of tools for some more great ideas.