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Hillel Fuld authors a blog about technology and marketing at Technmarketing.com. You can follow him on Twitter.

Since the proliferation of the Internet, instant messaging (IMing from here on in) has become a very popular means of communicating on the Web. Even with the rapid growth of Twitter, many people still communicate using IM.  Now, there is no shortage of IM protocols out there; these include ICQ, AIM, GTalk, Yahoo, and Facebook, to name a few. IM aggregators aim to solve the mess of having all these programs open at once.

Here is where it gets complicated. Depending on whether you’re on the web, Windows, Mac, or a mobile device, there are a number of aggregators from which to choose. To help you figure things out, here are five great instant messenger aggregators for multiple platforms.

Have another aggregator you’d add to this list? Tell us about it in the comments.

1. Windows

When it comes to IMing in Windows, the possibilities are endless. With all the available options, there is one program that just offers more than the rest: Digsby. Digsby offers users a wide variety of protocols that include AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GTalk, Jabber, and Facebook chat. However, the innovative genius of Digsby does not stop there. Digsby recently included Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace feeds in the client as well. As if that wasn’t enough to make it the ultimate application, you can get your multiple email accounts, including Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL/AIM Mail, IMAP, and POP in there too.

This all may sound a little overwhelming and complicated, but it’s not; Digsby could not be more user-friendly. You have an icon in your taskbar for whatever network/IM/email account you configure, and you receive popup notifications for that account according to a predefined user preference. It’s as simple as that.

Benefits: The popup notifications are a snapshot of your email, tweet, or IM, and you can respond from within the popup, as opposed to opening the entire application window. Additionally, there are IM aliases, tabbed IMing, the ability to send SMS messages directly from the IM window, and much more.

So, what are the downsides? Well, I can only think of one; no Mac version. The service is planning a Mac version, but there is no ETA on its release.

A good alternative to Digsby is: Pidgin, which supports AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GTalk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo, Zephy. Pidgin also has a Linux version.

2. Mac

Adium does a good job of giving you all your buddy lists in a nice and simple interface. The networks it supports include AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber, MobileMe, Bonjour, MySpace IM,  Facebook chat, Lotus Sametime, Novell Groupwise, QQ, and Gadu-Gadu. So, unless you are on some really small and unheard of network, Adium pretty much has you covered.

Aspects that could use tweaking: Adium could be a lot more user-friendly. There are endless preferences in the Adium menu and you can fully customize its look, yet somehow, the most basic options, like viewing all your contacts in separate lists by protocol, are difficult to find. All in all, unless you are a details junkie like me, Adium will serve you loyally.

A good alternative to Adium is: iChat, the built-in Mac OS client, which supports .Mac, AIM, Jabber, and GTalk.

3. Web

When it comes to IM on the Web, the concept is to be able to communicate with your various lists without the need to do any downloading. This is a great choice for those who are unable to download an aggregator at their workplace. When it comes to Web-based IM, Meebo is a simple, straightforward, and useful tool. The site offers you the ability to sign into your AIM, MSN, GTalk, ICQ, Yahoo, Facebook Chat, MySpace, Jabber, and Flixter accounts, without the need to download any software. You can log into each of these individually, or sign up for Meebo and log in to all automatically.

Benefits:It is a fairly simple design, that I am pretty sure anyone, no matter how computer illiterate, could use comfortably.

A good alternative to Meebo is: radiusIM, which supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and GTalk.

4. Mobile

With all the highly advanced mobile devices being announced daily, there are still many users who have relatively older cell phones. There is no reason these users shouldn’t have the capability to IM from their devices. Trutap is a powerful IM client that supports even the old J2ME phone infrastructure and enables users with older phones to access their IM accounts. It’s a feature-packed, simple to use, pleasant on the eyes IM client for your phone.  It supports multiple IM protocols, social networks, and blogging networks, such as Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, Facebook chat, Flickr, ICQ, Photobucket, Rediff Bol, Friendster, and Blogger.

Benefits: Trutap has a great design. Each list is separated with the ability to collapse or expand it. Then you have the ability to move to another tab, which has all your open conversations in a very simple to use window.  All the standard IM options are available to you on your phone. You can add or remove a contact, edit a contact’s details, as well as set your status. All in all, another product that proves to me that less is often more.

A good alternative to Trutap is: Ebuddy, which supports MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ and Facebook. Ebuddy also has a web-based IM aggregator similar to Meebo and radiusIM.

5. iPhone

There are so many IM apps available for the iPhone, although there is one that really stands out from the rest, in my mind.  Nimbuzz is an industry leading IM and VOIP app for mobile in general, and iPhone specifically.

Nimbuzz offers a very wide variety of networks. The iPhone Nimbuzz client supports Skype, Yahoo! IM, AIM, GTalk, MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook, MySpace, StudiVZ, Gadu Gadu, and Hyves. It has a very simplistic interface that is pure fun to use. Nimbuzz also offers a wide landscape keyboard for the iPhone, making the IMing experience so much more enjoyable.

Benefits: The interface has 5 tabs: Contacts, Chats, Communities, Messages, and Settings. Could it be any more straightforward?  Another thing that’s great about Nimbuzz is their will to stay above their competition. They are always improving their software, which is why they have accomplished so much as a company. Nimbuzz recently signed a deal with Toshiba to have their software preinstalled on all of Toshiba’s new TG01 devices, which is the company’s flagship handset.

A good alternative to Nimbuzz is: Fring, which supports Skype, MSN, Facebook, Gmail, GTalk, ICQ, SIP, Last.fm, Twitter, Yahoo, and AIM.

What’s your IM aggregator of choice?

It does not matter if you are a “Mac or PC,” iPhone user or Symbian fan, you should have no problem combining your various IM networks into one user-friendly and feature-rich IM aggregator. Tell us about your IM aggregator of choice and why it’s your favorite.

More instant messaging resources:

- 70+ Free iPhone Apps for Social Media Mavens

- Instant Messaging Toolbox: 90+ IM Tools

- 9 Cool Instant Messaging Tools

Image courtesy of

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CBS has released an iPhone application that lets users watch full episodes of TV shows, including CSI and the good old Star Trek.

This is the first time that iPhone users are getting the chance to watch a wide range of premium content on the device for free; watching user-generated YouTube clips is one thing, while watching a full episode of Star Trek is another. Other shows that are included are Late Show with David Letterman, The Young and the Restless, as well as some episodes of 90210 and Smallville.

The application is free, a nice touch from CBS who seem to understand that this is a great promotional vehicle, and not something you should use to rip your viewers off. Of course, you’ll need to watch your data plan carefully, or make sure you’re connected to a WiFi, otherwise you might find that your phone bill has gone where no phone bill has gone before.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Thanks to Mashable’s Valued SponsorsKeep Your Mind Sharp with Memory Matrix for iPhonePro Cycling on Twitter: 48 People Who Aren’t Lance ArmstrongXumii’s iPhone App Combines IM and Social Utility

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Mashable is set to host a series of East Coast events this April, May and June, bringing together the social media communities in Philadelphia and Atlanta in addition to our regular NYC events.

We kick off the series with our second NextUp NYC event, held at 92YTribeca in New York City on April 28th. Next, we make our first stops ever for Mashable Mixers in Philadelphia and Atlanta. Then we return to New York City for Internet Week NY and our third NextUp NYC event - Social Media Marketing 101. Save the dates: we’re excited to meet the Philadelphia and Atlanta social media communities for the first time!

Mashable NextUp NYC: Lessons from the Local Internet Startup Community

New York City,

April 28th, 2009

The second Mashable NextUp NYC will bring together four successful New York startups: Snooth, Behance, Boxee and Aviary. The night will comprise of networking, a presentations session from the startups followed by a panel moderated by Mashable’s Editor-in-Chief, Adam Ostrow. Tickets now on sale.

Mashable Mixer Philly

Philadelphia

May 1st, 2009

The Mashable team is excited for our first ever event in Philadelphia. Mashable Mixer Philly will be a great opportunity to meet with myself, Adam Ostrow (Editor-in-Chief), Sharon Feder (Features Editor), Brett Petersel (East Coast Events Director) and the local social media community. Thanks to IndyHall for partnering with us to help make the night one to remember. Location and ticketing to be announced shortly.

IndyHall, our partner for this event, describes itself as:

“A vibrant and diverse community of freelancers, independents, work-from-home people, who have an interest in getting out of their dull work day and participating in a community that’s designed to support and encourage people who make a living doing what they love. We provide communication tools, events (social and educational), as well as a physical space to work and collaborate in Old City Philadelphia.”

Mashable Mixer Atlanta

Atlanta

May 14th, 2009

Mashable and Regator are proud to announce the first ever Mashable event in Atlanta: we have a special evening planned so we look forward to meeting the Atlanta social media community. Mashable team members in attendance will include myself, Adam Ostrow (Editor-in-Chief), Sharon Feder (Features Editor) and Brett Petersel (East Coast Events Director). Location and ticketing to be announced shortly.

For those unfamiliar with our co-host, Regator, the company explains:

“Regator gathers the web’s best blog posts and makes it easy for users of all skill levels to find, discuss, rank, organize, and share high-quality content about more than 500 topics. Regator, the most selective blog resource online today, sorts through the junk so you don’t have to.”

Mashable NextUp NYC: Social Media Marketing 101

New York City

June 3rd, 2009

The third Mashable NextUp NYC will provide information and guidance on Social Media Marketing; every successful company, whether it’s a small business or a major corporation, can utilize this affordable form of online promotion. The night will comprise of networking and keynotes on the topic by Steve Rubel (SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital) and Pete Cashmore (CEO and Founder, Mashable). Tickets now on sale.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Social Media for Business: The Dos & Don’ts of SharingThanks to Mashable’s Valued SponsorsTwitter SMS Will Be Free for Canada’s Bell Mobility Customers After AllPro Cycling on Twitter: 48 People Who Aren’t Lance Armstrong

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Sarah Evans is the director of communications at Elgin Community College (ECC) in Elgin, Illinois. She also authors a PR and social media blog and is the founder of #journchat.

It doesn’t matter if you’re on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr; your online personality is not only part of your overall brand, it becomes an interactive experience for you and your business. So, who is the face or voice of your brand and what do they share? It’s a very important decision in and of itself.

Just as you create branding guidelines and key messaging guides, so too should you dedicate time to creating your social media personality. There are multiple combinations that you can use to increase your brand visibility and converse with your customers.

Be transparent and authentic. Be human.

Don’t want the worst day of your life to be played over and over again like Groundhog Day? Then don’t talk, share, Tweet or write about it via social media. That said, no one is happy, or perfect all of the time. It’s okay to let people into the “real” events which happen in your life. Social media for business is about return on engagement. Connect with people, build opportunities through dialogue which would not have otherwise occurred, then connect them with your business.

Think in terms of “bad driver just cut me off” instead of “just got served papers for a lawsuit.” The first example connects people and encourages dialogue. Who hasn’t been cut off by a bad driver? The second example has the potential to make people uncomfortable or turn them “off” to your brand.

A great example of “what not to do” is posted on Peter Shankman’s blog, How an “accomplished communicator” communicates. The sender of this email has now publicly shared a not-so-nice side of his personality in a VERY public setting.

A profile pic is worth a thousand tweets

A major part of your social media personality is your avatar and your profile bio. The first rule for avatars and bios is to stay consistent across social platforms. If you’re sharing information from your business account, decide whether you want your avatar to be your company logo or the face of the president. Each sends a completely different message and requires a different messaging and branding approach. 

Who is doing it well? Here are a few of my favorite business and/or personal branded avatars and profiles on various social media platforms:

Facebook

Businesses have many options when it comes to creating a Facebook personality. There are options for “group” or “fan” pages versus a personal account.

· Benjamin Leis and his pet project’s group page, The Campus Buzz for College Media: Ben uses The Campus Buzz as his avatar to reinforce the importance of his project and brand. He is becoming one with this identity.

· Carrie Kerpen and her company’s fan page, the Kbuzz: Carrie’s profile is on par with her personality—smart and helpful, a loving wife and mother.

YouTube

· Blendtec’s Will It Blend? - The company offers a full library of “Will It Blend?” videos on its YouTube account with a profile perfectly suited to match.

Twitter

· @VeronicaDLcruz - Tweeting from the CNN newsroom in New York City.

· @jasonfalls - Social media explorer for a brand building agency.

· @PRnewswire - Vicky Tweets on behalf of PR Newswire.

An inviting avatar may include one of the following attributes (along with great content): a smiling face, a full color photo (as opposed to black and white), or a familiar logo.

Leaving a legacy

Your social media personality becomes part of your brand’s legacy. Don’t brand your personality for the day, the month or the year. This is serious stuff. What you post stays around for a pretty long time and the information (good and bad) isn’t too hard to find. Your social media posts offer vast archives of information about you.

This means, what you share, post or tweet today should reinforce your brand tomorrow. Think about each message you share via social media as an email which has gone public to your entire organization and all of your stakeholders. Now, imagine if they are reading this email and RESPONDING to it. That’s part of the power of your social media brand.

Who is leaving a legacy aligned with their brand on Twitter?

· @BreakingNewsOn - Why? All breaking news, all the time. I’m not confused about what I’m getting from them.

· @dannybrown - Why? He walks the talk on business with a strong emphasis on philanthropy.

· @barefoot_exec - Why? Her messages completely align with her goals—to empower women, celebrate success and encourage greatness.

Don’t be a social schizo

Multiple personality disorders do not work well in social media. If you confuse, you lose. If you are a business expert one day, a media maven the next and live news feed after that, people will ultimately stop connecting.

A very simple approach is to make a short list of what you WILL talk about via social media. Stick with it. The pay off? When someone thinks about an expert in interior design, they will think of you because you will have BRANDED yourself as one. (DISCLAIMER: This is not an opportunity to “play a doctor on T.V.” You should actually be an expert in the areas you claim to be.)

The same concept applies for joining multiple networks. Keep the same personality for each. 

Ever heard the compliment about a truly admired person, “he or she is the same in public as he or she is behind closed doors?” This is what I believe to be the golden rule of your social media personality. Live your brand across all networks (including offline).

The following people blog or vlog about specific topics and continue the dialogue via other social media platforms consistently:

· Aronado Placencia: (@Aronado) This man lives to promote entrepreneurs and new startups. With a goofy sense of humor and an ability to connect quickly, he is ultimately all about promotion (in a good way).

· Jeff Pulver: (@JeffPulver) Usually looking for social media speakers, getting ready for the next social media summit, or just talking about social media – he really does live “in” social media.

· Melanie Notkin: (@SavvyAuntie) She has branded the new, hip way to be an aunt. Her blog and online personality co-exist harmoniously.

Social climbing not the best approach

Social climbers beware. As you build your social media personality, don’t only connect with people who have a lot of “followers,” “friends,” “connections,” etc. It makes sense to engage the “big dogs” of social media, but it’s even better to connect with other quality audiences. Spending too much time looking for the big fish may take away from an entire school passing you by. Go grassroots and begin to build your personality one social media platform at a time.

A relatively easy approach on Twitter:

Use the search function and type in keywords associated with your brand. Reach out to everyone talking about these items with a personally crafted “Tweet.” Do not resend the same thing over and over. People you interact with will read your Twitter stream and want to see what useful information you provide.

Check out networks, groups, or fan pages on Facebook:

Creating a group or fan page for people to become a member of both gives you a new to interact with current customers and offers the opportunity to grow your reach exponentially. The Creative Commons fan page is a great example of a fan page doing it well. Their fan page has several discussion board posts (similar to a blog) and many wall posts – which demonstrates that people are engaged. They also have “REAL LIVE” employees who participate on the fan page.

Start a conversation on Seesmic, a video blogging community:

Post a 30 second video blog on Seesmic, asking for feedback and you’ll get it. There is a small, but mighty network of users on this video platform. If you’re looking for a way to jump on the video bandwagon this is a great way to get started. Todd Jordan (@tojosan) is an engaged member of the Seesmic community and offers “tell it like it is” advice. He gets that it’s not all about the numbers, and follows people who enjoy frequent video conversations with him.

It’s not a one-stop shop

There is no one-size fits all personality for your brand. In fact, think you know your brand? Explore social media and see how people really experience what it is you’re selling. You may need to adjust or reflect on your brand.

What is your brand offline? Social media isn’t an opportunity to reinvent a new brand, but to widen your brand’s reach. It’s all about the experience, right? People should get the same (or similar) experience with you online that they get offline. For example, a business owner talks up an impressive customer service experience at his or her business online without ensuring his or her staff truly delivers this service. Making a promise you can’t keep is worse than never having engaged your audience at all.

Remember Motrin Moms? Sharing information via social media without someone there to interact is a giant NO NO! A “must have” when branding on social media is being available to your public.

Return on engagement

It’s all about ROE - return on engagement. Is your social media personality working? You’ll know when opportunities arise that never would have been possible otherwise. A few ways to “quantify” engagement:

• Track incoming traffic from links

• Number of people subscribed to RSS feeds

• Number of people in social media groups, fan pages, etc

• Trackbacks or linkbacks to posts

• Conversation tracking tools like Twitter Search (Mashable guest writer Dan Schawbel previously discussed free and fee-based brand monitoring tools)

• Comments on blog posts

• Increased sales and general inquiries

Best advice? Don’t take anyone else’s advice

You know your brand better than anyone. Learn some of the social media fundamentals, then apply and find what works best for you.

More social media marketing resources from Mashable:

- 40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them

- Why Big Brands Struggle With Social Media

- Why Brands ABSOLUTELY DO Belong on Twitter

- Presenting: 10 of the Smartest Big Brands in Social Media

- What Are the Top Performing Brands on Facebook

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, lisegagne

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Mashable’s Upcoming East Coast Events: NYC, Philadelphia and AtlantaDeskAway is a Project Management Tool Your Boss Will LoveThanks to Mashable’s Valued SponsorsSXSW

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After announcing sweeping changes to the way it plans to shape its terms of service going forward, Facebook is today making another big move towards transparency: opening up its official corporate blog to comments. And, users are having a field day with it so far, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s post from yesterday about the company’s new “governing principles” attracting more than 1,000 comments.

Facebook says that “they won’t be responding to comments directly” on the blog, but it appears someone is at least monitoring it, as some of the more profane comments I saw earlier today seem to have been removed (see below). Nonetheless, there are hundreds of candid messages, both addressing the current Facebook turmoil over the ToS and additional features and changes that users would like to see.

The move to open up its blog to comments puts Facebook’s in rarified air amongst other top Internet companies. Google’s dozens of blogs have comments turned off, as does Digg (though you can of course comment on the stories once they get Dugg). Twitter used to have comments turned on, but appears to have disabled the option. Yahoo actually leaves comments turned on, with yesterday’s post from new CEO Carol Bartz attracting nearly 100 of them.

I think Facebook is smart to open up in this way. While comments are likely to be negative a lot of the time, especially when it concerns issues like privacy and community management, it also gives the company an opportunity to see smaller issues that might be bugging people, like numerous users who have suggested things along the lines of, “on people’s status boxes, there should be a “don’t like” and “don’t care option.”

Of course, the overriding goal of opening up blog comments in addition to yesterday’s announcements are to convince users that Facebook listens and responds to users’ concerns, which, will largely remain unclear until the company is once again tested on privacy issues.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Mashable’s Upcoming East Coast Events: NYC, Philadelphia and AtlantaDeskAway is a Project Management Tool Your Boss Will LoveSocial Media for Business: The Dos & Don’ts of SharingSXSW

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There are lots of options for designers and developers to show off their work, ranging from setting up their own website to communities for sharing portfolios. Whobuilt.it takes a simpler approach, establishing what is essentially a whois that associates designers and developers with a given domain name.

Here’s how it works: look up a given domain name, like carsonified.com (the example below), and if you contributed to its development, click “I worked on this site!” To verify you in fact did work it, Whobuilt.it asks you to upload a specific HTML file in your site’s root directory. Once Whobuilt.it confirms the file is there, your name is associated with the website’s profile page.

As you add your name to various sites, you build up your profile on Whobuilt.it, which lists all the sites you’ve worked on. There’s also room for a brief bio, a link to your Twitter profile, and a list of any co-workers you’re associated with. As a user, you can also “like” various sites, which will create a link to your Whobuilt.it profile.

Ultimately, Whobuilt.it could prove a good way to verify that a developer or designer you’re thinking about hiring actually works on the sites they’ve claimed. Meanwhile, as a user of the site, adding your portfolio and accumulating fans is another way to help build your reputation.

Additional Design and Development Resources

- Web Design Toolbox: 130+ New Tools to Make You a Better and Faster Designer

- Web Development Toolbox: 120+ New Tools for Web Development

- 10 Video Tutorials for Learning Basic Web Design Skills

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This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: DeskAway

Quick Pitch: DeskAway is a subscription-based on-demand project collaboration service for small businesses & teams.

Genius Idea: Online project management is big business. The space includes big fish like Basecamp and flashier newbies like Collab, with a myriad of options in between. Most of these tools make it easier to manage tasks, share files, and track milestones. Very few of them, however, actually work in corporate environments where senior staff just want a high level overview of the bottom line.

DeskAway, however, provides a convenient all-in-one online project management and collaboration environment that anyone can use, regardless of tech savvy, and bosses will love.

DeskAway’s feature set is exhaustive, but suffice to say it can definitely hold its own against more well-known competitors, because it provides the project creation, task and resource management, and milestone-related features you love with a simple to use interface and boss-friendly reporting options.

Not only can admin users assign known issues with priority levels to team members, but all tasks and issues can be time tracked, so project progress reports come complete with a comprehensive overview of overdue, completed, archived, and in-progress projects that you can print out or share online with management.

DeskAway does a number of things really well, including file management and document creation. Instead of writeboards that use a version of wiki mark-up language, they have docs with a rich-text editor so they function just like typical word processing documents. Docs also come with templates, and support sharing, multi-party collaboration, auto-saving, revision tracking, and comments.

We’ve barely scratched the service when it comes to DiskAway, but we certainly think it’s a viable alternative to other project management options. The online application can be used free of charge, but larger teams and companies will want to upgrade to subscription based plans that start at $10/mo and go to $99/mo for more features, storage, and unlimited projects.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:270+ Tools for Running a Business OnlineMVP – “India’s YCombinator” – Announces 7 New Startup Investments

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This has probably been my #1 Gmail pet peeve since I started using the service 4 or 5 years ago, and now it has finally been addressed: the ability to upload multiple attachments at once, rather than one-by-one. Additionally, when you attach files, you’ll now get a progress bar indicating how long until the file is uploaded and ready to be sent.

Now, Gmail essentially works like any other service on the Web that lets you upload files. When you click “attach a file” when composing an email, you can browse your computer and select multiple files by holding down the CTRL key on Windows machines, or Cmd on Mac. Once you’re finished, Gmail starts uploading and keeps you posted on the upload status.

It’s somewhat baffling that this feature took so long, while Gmail pushed things like beer goggles for email instead. But Google’s new found focus on adding utility to Gmail makes us happy, as in recent weeks we’ve also seen the addition of offline support and easier options for moving and archiving messages.

What other issues remain for Gmail to address? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

More Gmail Resources From Mashable

- GMAIL TOOLBOX: 60+ Tools for Gmail

- 13 Gmail Extensions for Firefox 3

- 7 Ways to Send HUGE Files: 25X Bigger than Gmail

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Springpad: An Intelligent Online Notebook for EverythingWarning: Google Talk Phishing Scam Spreading Like WildfireEffortlessly Share Contact Info From Your Mobile Phone5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed

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This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: Lumosity

Quick Pitch: Lumosity.com is the leader in online and mobile brain training and now offers 2 mobile games, Speed Brain and Memory Matrix.

Genius Idea: How do you spend your time when you’re away from your computer and left to just your mobile device? If the iPhone App Store’s list of top apps is any indication, most likely playing games. Lumosity is a company that wants you to make more productive use of your time, with an iPhone application that its scientific research claims will improve your memory.

The game itself, Memory Matrix [itunes link], is pretty simple, but more challenging than you might think. You’re presented with a “matrix” of squares, several of which are shaded in. The shaded squares quickly disappear, and you then need to identify which boxes were shaded in by touching them on a blank matrix. The game gets progressively harder as you do better, with the matrix expanding and more tiles getting shaded in.

Lumosity has done studies to show that this type of game improves what’s called “working memory,” which is used for “temporarily storing and manipulating information.” You’ll be able to see if they’re correct since the game lets you track your performance over time.

From a business perspective, the game is in fact designed to get you to upgrade to Lumosity’s web services, which include all sorts of different interactive activities to stimulate your brain function. To do that, the app prompts you to upgrade if you’d like to receive additional training on the Web, where there are dozens of different games to try with a $9.95/mo account. Alternatively, if you don’t want to make that kind of commitment but want another challenge to try, there’s also a 99 cent iPhone app called SpeedBrain.

In any event, Lumosity is a good example of using the app store mainly as a promotional vehicle for a web service, by offering a small taste of the real thing free of charge. There’s also a bit of a viral hook built in, as the game keeps track of high scores and encourages you to invite your friends to a challenge.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Pro Cycling on Twitter: 48 People Who Aren’t Lance Armstrong5 Facebook Features We’d Like to See Integrated Into Mobiles6 Gadget Trends and Their Effects on Social MediaWhen is it Time to Jump Into Yet Another Social Network?

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According to Reuters, Netflix plans to offer movie streaming as a standalone subscription service. Streaming is already a part of their $15 monthly subscription plan, but it has proven to be so popular that Netflix plans to offer it standalone at a lower price.

We don’t know when exactly this new plan will become available or at what price; Netflix’ Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said we can expect it in the “foreseeable future.” If the price is right, and if you have a fast broadband connection, a streaming-only plan will probably be a great option, especially since the service is now supported on a wide array of devices, such as PCs, Macs, TiVo, Xbox 360, and even some LG TV sets.

—Related Articles at Mashable | The Social Media Guide:Imeem Lets You Sync Your Music Library With Your Android MobileKyte Offers Branded iPhone Apps for Celebrities and MusiciansFacebook, CNN and Obama: The ReunionWatch The Oscars with Your Facebook Friends

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