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Use Google Docs & Google Checkout to Sell Stuff Google recently launched the Google Checkout store gadget, allowing anyone to sell items on iGoogle or their own websites.

Using the new Spreadsheet Data APIs, we’ve integrated Google Docs and Google Checkout to make online selling a breeze. In three simple steps, you’ll be able to create an online store that’s powered by Google Checkout and has inventory managed and stored in a Google spreadsheet.
1. Sign up for Google Checkout
2. List products you want to sell in a Google spreadsheet
3. Place the Google Checkout store gadget on your website. (Also supported: Google Sites, Blogger, and iGoogle).

For more info, check out this link.

Twitter Redesign Twitter has just completed a redesign "complete with trending topics and search."

Through the redesign, Twitter is highlighting real-time search.

From Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, "Demonstrating the power of Twitter as a discovery engine for what is happening right now through our Search and Trends often awakens a sense of wonder which inevitably leads to a much more compelling question, ‘How do I get involved?’"

It really is an incredible tool for real-time search. Ranging from the politics of Iran to what people are saying about Idealist to whether or not your favorite website is having problems, Twitter search is very conventient.

Build a Social Media News Release

How is this better than a traditional news release?

A social media news release "makes content available in a form that bloggers and other online publishers can readily pillage for freely licensed embedded videos, images, social bookmarking buttons and related links to fill out their own post." What does this look like? Check it out -

I personally haven’t seen this proliferate across the web, but don’t be surprised if you start to see these more often.

Did you know?

Google Apps users can now login to third-party websites using their Google login information. The Google OpenID Federated Login API uses OpenID and “frees users from having to set up separate login accounts for different web sites.”

Also, Google Apps “can now become an identity hub for multiple SaaS providers, simplifying identity management for organizations.”

For example, when integrated with partner solutions such as PingConnect from Ping Identity, the Google Open ID Federated Login API enables a single Google Apps login to help provide secure access to services like Salesforce.com, SuccessFactors, and WebEX — as well as B2B partners, internal applications, and of course consumer web sites.

Did you know?

Google Reader is continuing to move in a more social direction with the addition of “Likes,” which allows users to notify others on Google Reader that they like an article.

Older social features include following and sharing feeds with your Gmail contacts, publishing “Shared” posts with the public and creating “bundles” of rss feeds based on topic. Google also has a feed of recommended stories based on the number of Shared articles.

Here’s a tip for promoting your post or podcast; subscribe to the rss feed in Google Reader and make sure you both Share and Like the post. The more people that do this, the more likely others will see it.

I put this video together over the weekend. The photos are from my walk home from work in Buenos Aires.

Guerilla Campaigning Created by the VIA Group, an ad agency in Maine, this campaign was conceived to help bring awareness for the Salvation Army’s Northern New England division. With the help of 50 local businesses, pizza boxes and coffee sleeves, dusty cars, rocks, tennis courts and just about anything with a surface was used in the "This Ad Cost Nothing" campaign. 5,000 "creative units" baring logos and slogans for the Salvation Army appeared up and down the east cost. Want to spread Idealist? This could be fun! Unclasses Everyone knows something, some subject, that they’d be qualified to teach to someone else. Whether it’s WordPress, wrestling or power-walking, someone out there wants to learn it. Unclasses.org is the tool for facilitating this. unclasses.org is a "simple site that connects people who want to learn about a topic with those in their area who want to teach it. It’s basically a marketplace for matching interest with passion."

• Anyone can create a new Class, all they have to put in is a name, description, and area for the Class
• Anyone can become a Student of a Class, but try not to flake out if you say you’re going to be there (or just drop the Class if your plans change)
• Anyone can become a Teacher of a Class, but there can only be one Teacher at a time
• The Teacher is responsible for figuring out the Where and When for their Class, but we highly recommend they consult with their Students in doing so
• Each Class is a one-off (i.e. the system has no concept of multi-class ‘courses’), but you can easily Clone a Class from the Class page

Kickstarter Kickstarter is a new social platform that turns good ideas into reality, with the financial help of the community. From Andy Baio, one of the founders -

The model is simple: a project creator sets a fundraising goal, deadline, and an optional set of rewards for backers. If the goal’s reached by the deadline, then everyone’s charged via Amazon Payments and the backers get their goodies. If the goal’s not reached, nobody’s charged. It’s all or nothing.

Say you want to make an album, print a book, start an art project, if the community funds 100% of your goal, you can. You retain 100% ownership of the project and if you don’t meet your financial goal, no one pays a cent.

Did you know?

Google Maps is now just a little more useful thanks to a new feature that lets you choose multiple stops on your way to your destination.

Suppose you would like to drive the famous Road to Hana while you are on vacation on Maui. You search for directions to Hana from where you are staying in Wailea. Since it’s a long drive, you also search for gas stations, so you know where you can fuel up on the way, and supermarkets, so you can pick up snacks for the trip. After the second search, you’ll notice a blue bar at the bottom of the left panel. Click on it to expand the widget, which allows you to turn on both searches as well as your route to Hana. The markers are color-coded, so you can tell which search is which.

Did you know?

Google Calendar now has a Labs feature similar to Gmail.

What’ll you find in Labs?

1. Background Image (now you can change it)
2. Attach a Document (to an event)
3. World Clock (see what time it is for the person you are trying to schedule a meeting with across the world)
4. Jump To Date (quick time-based navigation)
5. Next Meeting (shows how much time is left before your next one)
6. Free or Busy (shows the status if your friends and co-workers)

Layar

Augmented reality is the “combin[ing] of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time.” Smartphones with larger screens, better displays and enhanced video capture are gaining in popularity and as they prolifererate we’re beginning to see application makers leverage mobile technology in innovative ways.

One application maker called SPRXmobile has released an “augmented reality browser” called Layar. Layar, through their API, allows companies to publish layers to their platform. Users can then easily switch between the various layers to dislay a variety of content on their smartphones -

One application for the iPhone, called acrossair, displays the nearest subway entrance in way that’s more obvious than you’d find Google Map -

Another application, called TwittAround, shows you were people are tweeting from in real-time -

Other layer ideas include real estate listings, Wikipedia articles, job postings and health care providers. But what about the nonprofit world? What information might be more useful in the context of Layar? Volunteer opportunies? Nonprofit job listings? What do you think?