Pageflakes Insider

Where?

allison — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:27:12 +0000

I never have a clue where I am. I am directionally challenged. No matter how many times I have been somewhere, I always get lost. My solution is to have back up plans: Navigation in both my phone and car, my walking “Mapquest” Brother on speed dial, and lastly, map it out on the web prior to departing. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found the Map Flake!

Obviously this Flake will come in handy for even those with the best sense of direction. Once again, everything you need, all in the comforts of your own start-page.

Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Precisely…

allison — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:05:52 +0000

Pageflakes has a lot of Flakes, 236 THOUSAND to be precise. One example is the PreciseNews Flakes. They have 13 Flakes in all! Included in that list are some of my personal favorites, PreciseHeadlines in Pictures, PreciseNews Breaking News, and Precise Technology. For a complete list check out our Community site and search ‘Precise.’ These Flakes are truly unique and provide any news coverage you can imagine. The content is compiled every few minutes (24/7) featuring the best and the latest news; all of which is gathered from the most popular columnist, bloggers and daily newspapers on the web.

Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

PC versus Mac

allison — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:09:42 +0000

Here at Pageflakes, it’s a toss-up on whether the PC or the Mac is better. Majority of the employees use a PC, but the few of us that use Macs are very happy. One co-worker of mine, who will remain nameless, was on hold last week dealing with getting his PC fixed while the few of us Applers just whispered- Genius Bar. There are some programs that I have to run solely using a PC, so one point for the PC. How about you check it out for yourself with these informative Flakes and Pagecasts:
MacCast , Engadget on Media PCs, PC News Pagecast, MacAttack Pagecast

Obviously I’m a bit biased, so here is an Apple ad reel:

Enjoy!
-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Summer Movies

allison — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:01:32 +0000

Summer starts next week and what’s a better way to celebrate the season than checking out all the blockbusters movies (or sappy romantic comedies- whichever floats your boat)?! To help prepare for your movie outings, add any of the following Flakes to your Pageflakes page. This way you can find out the show times, reviews, and even buy tickets online without ever navigating away from the comforts of your start-page! Pretty sweet!

Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Smelling the Roses

allison — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:30:26 +0000

Pageflakes is lucky enough to have a beautiful community garden only a block from our backdoor. When I need a break from blogging I usually take a stroll through the garden beds that residents living nearby are given to do whatever their green thumb can manage. Unfortunately I only had my blackberry to take pictures, but here are two.

How nice would it be for all of us to be able to take a moment to smell the flowers? We don’t all have the time, or the location, so instead I decided what I would like to do is just see more of my favorite things. For instance, if you add the tag “gardens” to your Flickr Flake, then you get a lovely little slideshow of flowers and plants. Why not try tags like your favorite city, dream vacation spot or maybe even your favorite band? This way you can have a little window to look out of, if you will, on your Pageflakes page!

Enjoy!
-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Ode to Dad

allison — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:11:14 +0000

Lucky for me, my Father always says to my brothers and me that he would rather spend time with us then receive any gifts. My Father, like many others, is the gadget guy, the tech guru, the car man with a need for speed, and won’t wear anything to work but Hawaiian shirts. He travels to exotic locales and enjoys a good gin martini (3 olives up). He is the man with everything and MORE! Thank goodness he has given us that pardon. I won’t divulge too much of what my brothers and I chose to do instead for this Father’s Day (knowing very well he’s Pageflakes biggest fan), but I do think I can help those in need for some great gift ideas. Here are just a few Flakes that hopefully can inspire you:

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles, Godfathers, and even Dad’s to be!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

$5 dollars a gallon?!?

allison — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:55:14 +0000

Close enough. A premium gallon of gas cost close to $4.50 here in the Bay Area (thank goodness they don’t round up)! How are we supposed to go anywhere or do anything with gas prices so high? I guess we’re all going to have to ride those four-wheel bikes I saw on the Today show yesterday morning. They always said our society moves to quickly- well truckin’ around on a bike will definitely slow me down. With summer vacations on everyone’s mind, it’s a little unnerving to think that flight costs are going through the roof and a road-trip may not even be a good alternative.

As always, Pageflakes has a plethora of Flakes to help get you where you’re going. Check out Expedia’s 11 Flakes varying from great cruise deals, cheap flights and hotel steals! The Travelocity Flake and the Priceline Flake are also great Flakes to find the cheapest flight for your destination. Really Cheap Airline Tickets Flake (yup, that’s the official name) obviously has some good information on really cheap airline tickets (um, pun intended). Lastly, check out the Travel Category in Browse Flakes (click the big button on the right-hand side of your page, click Browse Flakes on the Left, scroll down to Travel).

Happy Travels!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

TRIVIA

allison — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:14:14 +0000

Who was the British Rock Legend who just received a degree from Yale? (Answer at the bottom)

There are a few local spots in San Francisco that host a weekly night of trivia. My friends and I are becoming regulars. Bring a team, very creative team name, and for two hours you play 7 rounds of good old fashion trivia. Topics range from 80’s rock bands, foreign dictators, sports stars, to even as specific as how many votes were cased in American Idol last season (that was a tie breaker question). Being that last night was only my third time, coming in 4th place was HUGE. My roommate Meg suggested that we start studying, so we can really show off next week. Question is, how do you study useless facts?

Pageflakes to the rescue! We have an abundance of Flakes with useless facts. If I get really serious, I might even create a Pagecast with all of them! In the meantime, here are just afew:

Briangle’s Daily Trivia Quiz

Geography Trivia

NuttyAboutSports Trivia

Mostly Trivial

Random Acts of Trivia

Top Five List

And the answer to my above trivia question: Paul McCartney!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Pageflakes People

allison — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:29:20 +0000

Have you ever checked out who’s on Pageflakes? Ever wondered who are all those Pagecast creators and authors? Take a look at the Pageflakes People Gallery and find out who’s part of the Pageflakes Community!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Let’s Talk Some Trash.

allison — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:28:12 +0000

I love gossip, all kinds. And so do you! To get all the latest juice, I’ve got a few Flakes for you to check out. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for tech talk, I love the Valleywag Flake. I get the download on all the big wigs in the Bay Area without all the usual spin. To stay on top of politics, the Wonkette Flake is my lighter-fare go-to Flake. For something with a bit more gravitas, check out the Politico Flake. For star gossip I have a lot of sweet, sweet Flakes to choose from: Perez Hilton,TMZ, Jossip, Superficial, Backwash, & iCelebz. The list goes on (way on!) in the Flake Gallery- Push the big button on the right-hand corner of your page, go under Browse Flakes, in Gossip & Celebs category. Lastly, I have the Gossip on Sports Flake and Fanhouse Flake for the latest on and off the field. Enjoy!

-Allison & Ben, Pageflakes Team Members

Brand Spanking New

allison — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:36:08 +0000

Our new Community Central is available! Check it out and see how great it turned out! Now it’s even easier to see new and top Content on Pageflakes. Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

What does your flirting future hold?

Benjamin — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:36:57 +0000

Think your day’s going to be same old same old? Look into the crystal ball and think again…you just might have a secret admirer, a friendly neighbor, or a charming elevator-mate in your future. Astrology.com checks the charts to see what your flirtatious stars have to say, and delivers the news fresh to your page every day. Check out a live preview and add it to your page by clicking the add button.
As always, please enjoy!
-Benjamin, Pageflakes Team Member

Spill it!

allison — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:20:27 +0000

Get it all out. Spill your beans. Share your secrets. Be anonymous, be famous. Whatever floats your boat, use the Blog Flake to narrate your life or your Pagecast! I think the best part of a Pagecast is that you can be the expert on both the content you gather, as well as the narration you provide.

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

America the Beautiful

allison — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:07:00 +0000

Memorial Day is approaching and I thought it would be appropriate to have some American themes in our gallery. Press the big button on the right-hand side, and click “Change Theme.” Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see “America” and “American People.” Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Weird But Funny

allison — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:06:56 +0000

I have two Flakes that you should add to your page for some unique entertainment.

1. News of the Weird Flake is really random, yet very interesting. For instance the first article on it is, “Can’t Possibly Be True (I): Among this month’s college graduates are not two Duke original-Class of ‘08 lacrosse players (Reade Seligman and Colin Finnerty, for reasons you may recall), but, yes, Ms. Crystal Mangum…” Or how about this one: “New Champion! A record was apparently set by a discovery last week in Zagreb, Croatia, when a woman’s mummified body was found: The last live sighting by any neighbor was 1973 (in one news report, 1966). Actually, it’s another success of capitalism! Her apartment house is now a co-op, and her neighbors wanted the flat. Until recently, the gov’t owned everything.” Now, who knows where this “news” comes from, but it definitely made me laugh!

2. Add the Flikr Flake using the tag, B2B (or Bay to Breakers). Bay to Breakers is a 7.5 mile race in San Francisco known for the crazy costumes and floats that follow the runners from the Embarcadero to the Ocean (hence the name). Over the years there have been some superb costumes and being a participant (the costume part, not the run) I just love seeing what people come up with every year! Take a look; you just might get some ideas for your next costume party!

Allison, Pageflakes Team member

It’s HOT!

allison — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:33:33 +0000

It’s almost 90 degrees in San Francisco today! Now I don’t know about you, but I am genuinely worried about this planet. Last time I checked, wasn’t San Francisco supposed to be pretty moderate? As Mark Twain once said, “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco…” Um, not anymore Mark! With that said, I think it’s about time we take a good look at ourselves and see what we can do to conserve.

Check out this Pagecast: Go Green! This page provides some excellent information on what can be done to do your part to help this planet. Other Pagecasts with similar topics include: Green Living, Green Sustainability, Green Peace, Green Cars, and various others.

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

I’m leaving on a jet plane….

allison — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:21:49 +0000

Don’t know where you want to go? Why not check out some Travel Pagecasts and get inspired!

Morocco Travel Blog

Paris Escapes

Go Places

Of course you can always make your own Travel Pagecast- all you need is the Weather Flake, To-Do List Flake, Flickr Flake and some great RSS feeds on your location of choice and then you’re all set! Happy Travels!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Broadening My Horizons

allison — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:12:06 +0000

I love music, but I wouldn’t consider myself a music guru. I’m in the, “Go with the flow” category. For example, I enjoy channel 1 on Sirus radio because it repeats the top 15 songs over and over again. This way I am at least up to speed with what’s hot right now. I also still love Alanis, Cranberries and Dave Matthews because they performed at my first concert in 7th grade. I guess it’s pretty apparent that I should broaden my music-horizons.

I bought a subscription to Rolling Stone to assist me in my search for new tunes, but that magazine served to be too overwhelming for me. In their “New Band” reviews, they make references to other bands that I haven’t heard of. How am I supposed to know if I’ll like them if I don’t know who they resemble! It’s just a vicious circle. By the time I figure it out, they are already passe or the band has broken up.

Pageflakes to the rescue, obviously! Check out the iTunes Recently Added Albums Flake and Newest Albums Flake. These feeds are great because I can learn who’s new and cool as soon as they hit the site! Maybe, now, I can become a groupie before they land themselves on the PopUSA bandwagon.

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Mommy Dearest

allison — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:58:07 +0000

FYI: Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 11th. (Yes, you’re welcome.)

If you need some ideas for gifts, check out the Mother’s Day Pagecast.

For the new mommies, check out the Baby Pagecast. It is a plethora of information about being a new mother.

Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

A Love Affair

allison — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:15:25 +0000

I asked my co-worker, Rachel, what her favorite Flake is and she said to me, “…I have a love affair with the Web Page Flake.” So I thought I would tell the world. The Web Page Flake is for those who need options; sometimes the RSS feed is just not enough. With the Web Page Flake you are able to take an entire site and put it into a Flake for easy access. Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Summer is almost here…

allison — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:00:01 +0000

…So check out our new Summer themes in the gallery! Press the Menu button, click on “Change Theme” and scroll down to the bottom. We’ve added: Watermelon, Sunflower, Hawaiian Flower, Baseball and Woods. Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Pageflakes Acquired by LiveUniverse

Dan — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:09:24 +0000

It’s official! All of us here at Pageflakes are absolutely thrilled to announce that we’re being acquired by LiveUniverse. LiveUniverse is a social entertainment company founded and majority owned by Brad Greenspan, the Hollywood-based entrepreneur and founder of MySpace. LiveUniverse is definitely one of the great untold stories of the Web - it’s one of the fastest growing Web media companies in the world, comprised of 35 global entertainment sites (including LiveVideo.com) and visited by over 50 million users.

I’m impressed by the fact that instead of a lot of marketing and hype, LiveUniverse has chosen to focus their energies and resources on growing a world-class business. Their success shows that this strategy has clearly worked.

You can count on the fact that everything that you (and we) love about Pageflakes will remain the same, while the resources Brad and LiveUniverse will be investing in us will help us make it even better. Our entire San Francisco team and headquarters will remain in place, and I’ll remain the CEO of Pageflakes. I’ll also get to work directly with Brad on some cool projects at the LiveUniverse level as an SVP on his team.

We actually started working earlier this year with LiveVideo - one of most well known and successful properties in the LiveUniverse family with over 12 million users. Working alongside Brad Greenspan and his team, we realized that we had lots of things in common, including market vision, scrappy startup nature, and, interestingly (and geekily), that both of us were based on Microsoft’s ASP.NET technology. As we worked through the partnership, we realized that we’d actually both be better off combined – in addition to the other synergies, we’d get all that “business school stuff” like much lower operational costs, and more economies of scale. There was also an incredible opportunity for the Pageflakes team to work on and integrate with something really big, really exciting, and growing fast. Lastly, the Pageflakes team has worked really hard in building a very special product that has been a critical success and very well received by you, our users, and we’re all really excited that a lot more people will get to learn about us.

You can see an example of all of this in our first integration together - the Beta (more like Alpha) implementation of LiveStart on the www.livevideo.com site we just launched today (click on the “LiveStart” tab). LiveStart is a personalized version of LiveVideo based on Pageflakes that enables LiveVideo users to mashup and personalize their video entertainment experience.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, it’s LiveVideo week here at Pageflakes. Pageflakes users will get to experience a lot of the really interesting and entertaining stuff on LiveVideo through all of the new LiveVideo Flakes and Pagecasts that have been added (even Brad has his own Pagecast now).

That’s it for now…stay tuned to this blog for lots more about what’s happening and what’s next. Thanks again for using Pageflakes, and for your loyalty and support. Even more great things are right around the corner.

Dan Cohen
CEO
Pageflakes

Pageflakes- Take As Needed

allison — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:36:35 +0000

Keeping you equipped with the freshest information has always been an objective of ours. I decided here at Pageflakes, we can have another goal, and that’s to keep all our users healthy! Now, I don’t have any special powers to send over the web, and I certainly can’t take all of you to the doctor, but what I can do is tell you to check out the Health & Fitness Section of our Flake Gallery!

With WedMD, eDiets.com, and health journals galore, you are bound to find Flakes that help keep you ticking. Other than maybe having enough servings of fruits and veggies, Pageflakes is a great edition to your daily routine for both your brain and your body!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Distract Yourself

allison — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:41:39 +0000

To continue my quest of exploring good procrastination tools, I would like to point out the Diversions category in our Flake Gallery. Here you can find all sorts of fun, distracting Flakes for your page. My favorite is the Tree Frog. It is so simple, yet so engaging! Its perfect when you need to look like you’re concentrating on your screen, but really just zoning out.

To get to the gallery, press the big button on the right hand side. Click “Browse Flakes” on the left hand side and scroll to “Diversions.” Enjoy!

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member

Dirty Little Secret

allison — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:00:44 +0000

We all have them. The vices that we tend not to share. The everyday things that you think your co-workers would mock. Tabloid Blogs are huge among my group of friends. My friend Erin can not live without TheSuperficial.com. My roommate can’t get enough of Perez Hilton. On my homepage, Chic Geek, I have the blogs that I check out regularly. My homepage really helps me stay up to date on the tech industry and the world of startpages, but with Pageflakes I get to have multiple pages. One being for work, and one defined as my more personal interests. So I have to confess, I am in love with Diggnation. Kevin Rose is such a babe (and founder of Digg.com and Revision3) and I can’t get enough of watching Alex Albrecht and Kevin’s weekly show. For awhile I didn’t have the Flake on my personal page because Chic Geek is a public Pagecast and I wasn’t sure I wanted everyone to know about my secret obsession. Yesterday, however, I gave in and added it to my page because I was more worried I would miss a show. So my secret is out. Now that I have said it, I feel so free! Why not try it yourself. Go ahead, add those silly blogs or funny comics to your page. Tap into your inner procrastinator.

-Allison, Pageflakes Team Member