social search: get questions answered by your friends through Aardvark

People think I am skewed towards Google a lot. Actually, am not! Google, is almost always, the second choice when I need information. The first I turn to, are most always people. If I am stuck with UI, I usually turn to Renjith; if it's python, then there is Vikalp; if it's machine learning, there's Srinivas to lend a helping hand; if it's about the latest in web technologies, or anything about good food joints in Bangalore, then there is always Arjun.

People, unlike Google, can give factual answers, and that allows me to complete my task fast and easy. I would rather go by what my friends have to say than what I find in some obscure website discovered through Google.

And then, there's always the trust factor, and of being approachable. Would you mind, if your friend (or a friend's friend) asks you a question about a topic you are knowledgeable about? Chances are, you would happily oblige!

And, it is for this reason, that I believe Aardvark is a cut above the rest.


Welcome the next generation in Social Search. It is somewhat related to web search, in the sense that you search the web to find information within them; whereas in Social Search you try and find people who are capable of giving you the information that you seek. Simply put, Social search is all about finding information from real people.

I have a few invites left. So, if any of you are interested in trying it out, then drop me a mail, and I will send you one.

review : mozilla add-on : FireShot

Once in a while (like 5 times in a day) I find the necessity to take a screenshot of the webpage, edit it for annotation, and then send it across. My normal procedure was PrtScr + open MSPaint + paste the screengrab + edit according to requirements. Yeah! I know.. Ugly!!

And then I chanced upon FireShot; a firefox add-on. Yes again! Firefox is my browser of choice.

FireShot is one hell of an awesome application. I can instantly save (or) edit the current page. Annotate it as I wish; save it in different formats; or even copy it to the clipboard and paste it to Word or PowerPoint.

The following grab details what all functions it allows -


It even has a Pro version; albeit a paid one, and more suited for content creators. For me, the free version works just fine. I highly recommend FireShot. It greatly enhances one's productivity.

review : mozilla add-on : firebug

I have created a web page. Now, should I align that DIV to the left? Or should it be centered? Will it look good if the font size is 11px or 12 px? should I change the background color to yellow or magenta? Now again, what was the class selector that I used on that DIV? How much should I specify the left value as for this element, to align it with the rest?

Imagine wanting to do all that and more... You update your web page on the server. Refresh! Tweak the page on the server! Refresh! Tweak again! Refresh!

Enter Firebug. Firebug is a mozilla addon that helps ease a web developer's life. It allows you to inspect the html elements on a page; edit and modify them; run remote scripts; see the network utilisation; view the various requests that your page makes; view each request's query and response; inspect the DOM; inspect the layout of the page; and the list goes on and on.

For someone looking to architect the web, firebug is a must-have.