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How To Find Someone on Spotify by Username

I have a love/hate relationship with Spotify. I love the product, but the execution? Ehhhh, not so much.

Listening to anything I’d ever want? Awesome. Finding new music via friends? Great. Actually loading the app correctly ever? Not a chance. And playlist capabilities? Don’t get me started.

And I guess in the world-according-to-Spotify, you don’t hardly exist if you don’t have a Facebook account. Have you ever tried finding a friend on Spotify who isn’t on Facebook? 

Exactly.

But, at least on this count, there’s a simple remedy. Ready?

Two Simple Steps for Finding Your Friends on Spotify

  1. Ask your friend for their Spotify username.
  2. In Spotify’s search bar, put the following:  spotify:user:username  (using your friend’s username in place of “username.”)

For example, to find me you’d enter it like this:  spotify:user:1amberb

Ta-da!

So what’s your relationship with Spotify? Were you fast friends? Never tried it?

It Finds Your Stuff?!! (The one where I’m first excited, then defeated)

A few days ago I came upon Tile, an in-development “tag” that will keep tabs on your stuff. You tag whatever you don’t want to lose track of and an app on your iPhone helps you find it.

The video is pretty smooth right? Want one!!

But as I began to pre-order I realized that, though I have to pay now, I may never actually see the product. Not because they have nefarious intentions, of course, just because “development” doesn’t always go as planned.

They also last only a year and then need to be replaced. Not my fave.

Then I saw a comment that mentioned a similar product already in production called “SticknFind.” It has different capabilities than Tile, but can do the basics I’d want from it like help me find my keys (the tag will beep, light up, or both) or letting me know when the Dude has wandered too far away from me in the Grand Bazaar.

And this one runs on a replaceable watch battery. Now that’s more my style.

But then I searched for the SticknFind on Amazon, and the reviews overwhelmingly said it didn’t work reliably!

Back to the drawing board.

Have you tried SticknFind or something similar? What are your tricks for finding lost things?

The “REAL” Pin It Button

Have you ever been on a website or blog, clicked a “Pin It” icon or button somewhere on the page, and not been able to pin the photo you wanted to pin?

This happens to me all the time. And this month, when working on the project I shared last week, I re-discovered something I thought worth sharing:

For pinning, nothing beats using the REAL Pin It button from the Pinterest Development Team.

Why? [Read more…]

How To Send Voice Message Emails

(or… How To Send Friendlier and More Helpful Emails Using Voice Messages)

Have you ever spent 10 minutes or more reworking an email? Maybe you were trying to explain something in detail or wanted to make sure your tone had a good-as-possible chance at coming across as intended? Yeah, me too.

But a few months ago it got out of hand. The Dude and I were considering buying a house with a friend (it didn’t work out because of life uncertainties on our end), and I needed to communicate lots of involved thoughts and perspectives.

Being 12 hours apart made it challenging to Skype, and I quickly discovered that email was not a great vehicle for communicating subtleties. Further, a few matters at hand (like money) called for a degree of sensitivity that is better conveyed with a degree of non-verbals.

I had to come up with an option besides text email.

So I decided to send a “voicemail” instead. I began recording messages (sometimes looooong ones) when I wanted to discuss more involved things or wanted to make sure I was delivering my message with the intended emotion. It. Was. Perfect.

My emails began requiring much less time and were more solidly and sensitively communicated. And then I began getting voicemails back. And I loved it! Things were communicated clearly, easily, and efficiently. But the crowning perk was something I never expected: hearing the other persons voice was fun!

Since then I’ve sent email voice messages to a lot of people for many things; to send elaborate travel options/explanations to a friend (that would have taken me FOREVER to type), to explain complicated instructions, and to send friendlier thinking-of-yous and more personal thank yous for small gestures.

I’ve had several of these people ask me how I did it, so I thought I’d share it with you. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

How To Send a Voice Message
as an Email

[Read more…]

Simplify Blog Reading with an RSS Reader (a How To)

(This is part II of a two-part series about using RSS to clear the blog clutter. Part I explains what RSS is and how to set up an RSS reader; this part explains how to use the RSS reader to simplify blog reading.)
Developing a Blog Reading Workflow (Simplify Your Blog Reading with RSS, Part II)Do you forget to check-up on blogs you like? Spend too much time flipping between blogs? Read a few articles and then get lost in the blogosphere? Yeah, I thought so.

I love learning new things. I love the variety that blogs bring to my life. But I do not like the way my brain feels like when I’ve done too much random reading on the web. Like I’ve just had a blood-sugar dive on an out-of-control carousel. Or maybe one of those 3G rides at NASA.

If you like keeping up with your favorite blogs, but want to do it efficiently and on your own timetable, this post is for you. I’m going to share how to set up a  “workflow” with an RSS reader to get exactly what you want to from your blog reading in the least amount of time.

Simplify Blog Reading with an RSS Reader

Be Familiar with RSS Reader Basics

This article assumes you’re already set up with an RSS and have used it a little bit. (If you need some help with this, check out the previous RSS post.)

To simplify your blog reading, you’ll need two main things:

1) Subscriptions organized into sensible folders.

It may take a while to figure out what folders make sense for you. I suggest organizing (and re-organizing) your subscriptions by categories of things make sense for you to read together. I have folders for friends, food, random favorites, blogging, writing, and others.

If I’m working, and I want a little writing inspiration or encouragement to get me started for the day, stumbling upon The Best Chocolate Pudding [I’ll] Ever Have (in 15 minutes!) is not going to help me stay focused. But with my writing subscriptions all in one folder, I can keep my mind on the task at hand.

Likewise, if I want some mindless web-cruising, coming across a brainpickings’ post about writing and story is going to have me flying through the windshield.

2) The ability to skip quickly through posts (using keystrokes if possible).

One of the biggest benefits of using an RSS reader is being able to quickly skip over posts you’re not interested in. The faster you can pass by things you aren’t interested in, the sooner you can get on with living. If at all possible, don’t use your mouse.

Develop a Workflow

Once you have sensible folder organization and the quick ability to skip, [Read more…]

Getting Started with RSS (How To Set Up an RSS Reader & RSS Explained)

(This is part I of a two-part series about using RSS to clear the blog clutter. This part explains what RSS is and how to set up an RSS reader, part II explains how to use the RSS reader to simplify blog reading.)

rss finalDoes keeping up with your favorite information online give you the spins? Do you face an inbox full of blog updates, or find yourself aimlessly surfing into oblivion when you jump online to check your favorite blogs? If so, RSS might be just the tool for you.

I love learning new things. But I hate the feeling I get when I wake up from a web-surfing-coma. I also don’t like spending my life on the internet instead of, well, in my real life. So I’m always looking for strategies to make sure I’m using the internet the way I want to – as a tool – and make sure it hasn’t become the master around here.

A few weeks ago I shared how to configure Facebook to maximize it for your intended usage while minimizing the undesirable side-effects. To do the same for blogs I use is an RSS Reader. Using it smartly, I can minimize the time required to stay informed and in-the-loop, leaving more for time things that matter.

In this post, I’ll explain [Read more…]