Google's long awaited service which would enable the users to upload and store their music collections on the Web and then listen to their songs on Android phones, tablets, or computers will kick off today. The new service has been christened Google Music Beta by the company. This is going to be a test version of the service. Read More

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April 2010 was the month when the Facebook 'Like' button made its first appearance. It was accompanied by a endearing, little thumbs-up sign which indicated users' appreciation of stuff posted on FB (and the internet). Within no time, it became a rage.

There were people whose happiness knew no bounds if someone liked what they posted on FB. Netizens really liked the “Like” button. Cut to the present times, the 'Like' button is all over the web. It is installed on thousands of websites on a daily basis.

Facebook first introduced the 'Like' button at its F8 developer's conference, along with Facebook Open Graph and instant personalization. It was immensely helpful for Facebook to expand its social base on the web. “50,000 Like buttons were installed in the first one week of its launch, and the number rose to 100, 000 in less than a month,” reports Mashable.

The ease with which the websites can integrate the FB Like button has made it a faiy-tale success. Facebook is celebrating its first birthday by asking the users what Like button means to them. On its official FB page, Facebook writes: “Happy 1st birthday, Like button! For a one-year old, the Like button sure has a lot of friends. More than 10,000 sites add the Like button every day. Tell us what the Like button has meant to you”. About 56,000 people liked the post within seven hours of it being posted and about 7000 comments poured in from the users. FB also posted a profile picture showing how the Like button looks like in 75 different languages.

About 10,000 websites add the Like button every day. Google, in an unimpressive attempt to take over the Like button, launched the +1 button recently. It is not expected to do any wonders. Studies have pointed that a Like on Facebook is more profitable than a tweet.

So what do you think of the Like button? Has it altered your life in any way? Do let us know and don't forget to like this article on FB. Happy Facebooking!

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It's been more than a century since photography knocked on our doors but it still remains a powerful to tool to convey emotions and feelings. It is one of the most expressive and enduring way for us to capture and share experiences. It's hardly strikes as a surprise when we take note of the fact that photo sharing sites were some of the first social sites to hit the web. People love to click pictures and then share them with their friends and family.

In the present times, Facebook, Flickr and Google Picassa dominate the photo-sharing websites' space on the internet. These sites provide users a great, easy-to-use platform to share photographs and videos with their friends and family, online acquaintances and even random people on the web. Now in case, you are kind of bored with these same websites after using them a repetitively, there are several other photo sharing alternatives available on the web.

Let's take look at some of them

SmugMug

It is paid photosharing service on the web. Mashable says its prime focus is making easy for users to showcase and organise pictures - whether they want to sell them or not. There are no bandwidth caps and you can upload and share an unlimited no. of photos. Your photos can password-protected, you can add watermarks, and share them on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr quite easily.

Now the thing with this service is that it is paid. There are Basic, Power and Pro versions of SmugMug and they are priced in ascending order. SmugMug Pro is ideal for a professional photographer who can avail the service for $20 a month or $150 a year and also avail tons of e-commerce options. It also has dedicated apps for iPhone, Android, and iPad.

Smugmug(dot)com

Instagram

Instagram is an easy-to-use iPhone app using which the users can upload photos on Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and Foursquare. Filters and customizations can be easily applied to these photos. The application is compatible with any iPhone or iPod Touch running Ios 3.1.2 or above. What sets it apart from its counterparts is its ease of sharing, browsing and commenting. The best thing about it is that comes for free.

Instagram had more than 100,000 downloads in its first week of release.

Instagr(dot)am

deviantArt

Often abbreviated as dA, deviantArt is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. Headquartered in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, devianArt aims to provide a place for any artist to exhibit and discuss works of arts. Photography finds a dedicated spot in this website.

devianArt consists of 14.5 million registered members and receives about 1,40,000 submissions each day. It is a free service and is gaining rapid popularity on the web.

Deviantart(dot)com

picplz

It is a photosharing app that makes sharing of photos on Facebook and Twitter like a walk in the park. Users can browse, comment and upload photos using this website. However, the core focus of this service is the mobile phone. It enables users to apply amazing photo effects and turn “average into amazing” as is claimed on its website. 'Cross Process', 'The 70s', 'Russian Toy Camera' etc. are some of the effects to choose from.

Picplz is free and is available in the App Store or Android Market.

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