Source: Shutterstock

There’s a new app coming out called Pikinis that “automatically finds swimsuit photos on Facebook. You can quickly find your friends’ pikinis or meet new people by exploring pikinis in your network, city or campus!”

The app is currently in beta and is being tested by bros all over the country. Basically, Pikinis syncs with your Facebook account, and you select the friends you want. Then Pikinis filters through their photos to find bikini shots. You can even “pineapple” a photo to save it and look at later!

App creator, Ted Kramer said “I realized a lot of people express frustration about all the photos on Facebook and how difficult it is to find the ones you really want to see.” I have never once gone through someone’s photos and been like “UGH I wish there were any easy way to find half-naked pictures of this person!”

Oh but it’s for women too, y’all! The name is deceiving, but “To be clear, Pikinis is for men and women – women can just as easily find men’s swimsuit photos.” I like to see hot shirtless guys in swimsuits as much as the next gal, but I’m not going to use an app to sort through FB photos when I can navigate it just fine on my own.

I honestly don’t think this app is directed toward girls at all. And having fraternity guys test it out all over the country certainly doesn’t make it seem appealing to women. This app is just plain creepy.

It seems you can also see photos your friends on the app have pineappled. The website says, “Drop by the Pool Party to meet new people through your friends or cruise the Beach to explore all the pikinis in your city or campus.” There isn’t much explanation on this yet, but that seems really weird to me.

It’s one thing to have your bikini photos from spring break on Facebook. But it’s another that they’re screened through a third party app where guys can share them with each other. They say they aren’t violating any of Facebook’s privacy rules. However, if someone who I’m not friends with can see my pictures because one of my friends pineappled it, that would be a violation, right?

Personally, I have my photo settings set to private except for a select list of people, but this app is making me think twice about putting beach shots up at all.

What do you think about Pikinis? Do you think it’s creepy? Would it make you consider taking your beach photos down? Tell us in the comments!
 

Are you scared of wearing a bikini or being naked?

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Source: Shutterstock

“Every message on Burn Note is automatically deleted using a timer when it is opened. Deleted Burn Notes are completely erased and can not be recovered. While being viewed, our patent-pending Spotlight system makes message contents resistant to copying, capture via screenshots, and the glances of curious bystanders.”

Some are saying that this is great for “safe sexting,” but I completely disagree about that because there’s no such thing as safe sexting, even with an app like this.

These days, flirting via text is a big part of our culture. I’m not encouraging you to send sexy pics to anyone, but there’s nothing wrong with some flirtatious texting when you’re being smart about it. You can still have fun without sending explicit messages or pictures.

That being said, there’s the “What if?” factor here. I’m always wary about third party apps. I mean, Snapchat pictures weren’t supposed to allow screenshots either, but you can still do it. And it actually turns out that you can take screenshots of Burn Note messages, but only part of them:

“While recipients can take a screenshot, the patent-pending “Spotlight” display system we use limits the amount of information which will be released at one time into the screenshot by only allowing the recipient to view a small portion of the note in the Spotlight area.”

What if someone figures out how to get around their “Spotlight” technology and screenshots a whole message? And what happens if their database gets hacked and all of these messages go public?

This seems like it would be pretty cool app for harmless flirting or having a secret conversation like planning a surprise party or talking to your friend about your boyfriend. But as far as sending anything explicit, I’d say that is still a no go because you’re sending information out into someone else’s hands no matter how protected the app seems. No matter what you’re sending, if it’s something you have to self destruct the message over, you probably shouldn’t be sending it anyway.

I’d much rather pick up the phone and have a conversation than risk trusting an app.

What do you think about Burn Note? Have you used it before? Do you think it’s safe? Would you use it? Tell us in the comments!
 

Also, you probably shouldn’t use an app to find out if he has an STD either

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Over Facebook? Will you check out Pheed next? | Source: Shutterstock.com

I’m not sure what kind of emoticon Facebook wanted to use when they saw this news, but it’s probably a very sad one. According to a new study, the number of teens who said Facebook was their favorite social media site fell from 42 percent in Fall 2012 to its current 33 percent.

The same study also looked at the popularity of other big-name social media sites like my beloved Twitter (second most popular!), Tumblr and Instagram. However, the ABC News report where I read about this study also talked about another social media site growing in popularity with teens: Pheed.

According to ABC News, Pheed told them that the majority of their users (84 percent in fact) are people in the 15-24 age range. I actually first heard about Pheed when I read an article in Forbes back in February about how teenagers were responsible for making Pheed the top social download in the Apple App Store. That’s right, ahead of the big name sites like Twitter and Facebook. So why had I not really heard of it?!

So after seeing it mentioned yet again here, I figured it was time that I check it out for myself. Pheed came out in 2012 so it’s pretty new on the scene. The About page on their website describes it as, “a social media platform that enables users to create, inspire and share texts, photos, videos, audio tracks, voice-notes and live broadcasts.” So basically a whole bunch of multimedia options at your fingertips. Sounds pretty cool, so I decided to sign up and get a sense of what the hype is about.

I do not claim to be a Pheed expert, but a few things stuck out at me as I played around on the website. The best way I can describe it is the co-child of the other common social media sites. There’s a lot of images and you have a Timeline like with Facebook, you use hashtags and have a feed of people you subscribe to like on Twitter, and the layout is kind of like Tumblr. You can sort your Pheed into more narrow categories, like all video.

You can either choose to have a free channel or charge people a subscription fee to access your activity. Likewise, that means you have to pay to access some of Pheed’s content. There is also some interesting features regarding settings, like how you can rate your account content like you would a movie.

You actually are able to post to your Facebook and Twitter without ever leaving Pheed, and when you do post something specifically to Pheed, you have the option to “copyright” what you’re about to do which is an interesting idea - especially since I feel like not everyone thinks about copyright online all that much.

Again, I’m pretty new, but it’s piqued my interest. If it’s really gaining as much popularity as these articles seem to believe, my guess is some of you out there have more experience than I do with it, so definitely feel free to share about your experiences here. I don’t know, will Pheed be the next social media page that Gurl gets?

All that said, even if the numbers are falling a bit for teens, I don’t see Facebook really going anywhere, but there’s pretty much always room in the social media world for new faces. I’m thinking Pheed might be the next site to come join the party.

Have you been losing interest in Facebook? What is your favorite social media platform? Do you use Pheed? Do you think it is going to grow in popularity? Tell me in the comments!

What Does Your Favorite Social Media Network Say About You?

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Binge-watching is for me and me only! Source: Shutterstock

You’ll get two new rows on your Netflix homepage. The “Favorites” row will show what movies your friends rated with four or five stars, while the “Recently Watched” row will display movies your friends are watching or have watched recently. But that’s not all, there’s also the option to post these tidbits to your Facebook wall.

WHY?! I do not want this. I do not want to know what obscure shows my Facebook friends are watching. Why are we over-sharing everything? I want to binge-watch Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill in peace! And what if I want to watch old episodes of Instant Star that I don’t really want people to know about? (Note: that is just an example…)

I know you’re all going to be like, “Well then don’t sign up for it.” But don’t you remember what happened when Facebook introduced Timeline? You could hold onto your old FB profile for a bit. At least until Facebook forced you to get it.

The same thing is going to happen here. I’m going to hold out as lost as possible to not share my Netflix queue until they make me.

I get that we’re living in this digital age, and we feel the need to share everything with everyone. But can’t some things remain sacred? Can’t we just have one thing that we don’t share with our friends? Can’t we watch all the seasons of Laguna Beach one weekend while crying into Oreos dipped in Nutella without anyone knowing that level of shame?

Not that I’ve ever done that.

What do you think about Netflix Social? Do you want your friends to see your Netflix queue? Tell me in the comments!
 

Do your Facebook likes really represent your personality?

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Source: Embrace+

Well, people are about to get way more attached to their devices. Embrace+ is a bracelet that lights up when you get a call, text, email, Facebook message, tweet or whatever else you program it to alert you about. You can customize the colors, notifications and type of vibrations for a cool $49.

Now, I love technology but this is a little much. I understand if you are a ridiculously busy person who’s running in and out of meetings. This is a good way to notify you without being intrusive. But why do we need to be SO attached to our phones?

I secretly love it when I accidentally leave my phone somewhere because I’m disconnected for a minute. It’s so nice to not have the urge to check Facebook or Instagram every five seconds. It’s refreshing to not feel like I have to respond to a text right away.

This bracelet, while I’m sure very practical in certain situations, is just another way for us to sink deeper into our technology addiction. Think about how distracting this could be! What if you’re at the movies and a bunch of people’s bracelets are lighting up? Or in class and your lab partner’s notifications are going off?

We love making things easier and more convenient, but do we really need to be wearing our notifications?

What do you think about Embrace+? Would you get one? Why or why not? Tell me in the comments!
 

What’s up with the Tinder dating app?

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Source: Socialmatic.com

Sadly, no one wants to shake it like a Polaroid picture anymore. We’re just too digital. Well, Polaroid took note and decided to hop on the digital bandwagon by backing a Polaroid-Instagram mashup camera.

The touchscreen camera allows for social sharing as well as printing out Polaroid-style photos. It was originally a concept design by Socialmatic, and the internet loved it so much that it became a real, live boy invention. Polaroid and C&A are both backing the product, and they hope to have it roll out by next year.

How does it work? Well, it’s just like Instagram. The camera will allow the user to snap a pic, add a filter and share it to whatever networks they want. But it also contains a small printer that will print photos with space for a caption and prints them with a sticky strip on the back so you can share photos in the real world as well.

Sure you can print out your Instagram photos or have them turned into canvases and magnets, but you have to wait for that. I think it’s really cool that you’d have the ability to add more “instant” to Instagram by being able to immediately print out your pics.

I’ll be adding this one to my future Christmas list!

What do you think about this Polaroid-Instagram camera? Would you get one? Why or why not? Tell me in the comments!
 

Check out last week’s Gadget Gurl featuring the best study apps!

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What exactly is Google Glass? It basically allows you to do everything that you do on your smartphone completely hands-free. The device is a glasses frame without lenses that has a little projector on one side. There’s a tiny window that displays things like messages or whatever you tell it to pull up.

You can tell Glass to take a picture, record a video, call Mom, get directions and whatever else you can think of. Google released this video on how Glass works today:

I think this is a cool idea, but it is a little strange. We’re already so connected to technology, and I feel like this may be a step too far. Do we really need our Facebook timelines and email inboxes right in our eyeballs? I don’t think so.

I saw a Glass tester on the subway a few weeks ago, and it was probably one of the creepiest things I’ve seen. I noticed her after two large men with jumbo-sized Kraft parmesan cheese containers in their backpacks exited the train. First I saw a girl with glasses. Then I realized she was making a scrolling motion on the side of them.

I grabbed my friend and said, “Omg! She has Google glasses!” I watched in fascination as this girl sat there scrolling through something on her glasses and laughing to herself. It was absolutely bizarre.

If everyone had them, it would obviously be normal. But I don’t think everyone is willing to pay out the $1,500 price tag for these puppies. And I really can’t shake the idea of having everything just displayed in my eyes like that. I’ll stick to my iPhone for now.

Have you heard of Google Glass? What do you think about it? Would you get them? Tell me in the comments!
 

What if you told it to text in your sleep?!

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Be still my heart – this awesome ’90s toy is being reborn as an app! | Source: Amazon.com

I consider myself pretty lucky to be a ’90s kid. I mean, from the fashion to the music to the television shows, it was a pretty sweet time to be a carefree kid. Perhaps the best part though, was the toys.

Well, cue my excitement when I saw an Associated Press article today all about one favorite ’90s toy that’s back in 2013 style. A new (free!) app called “Tamagotchi L.i.f.e.” is available (now for Android, soon for Apple products), bringing the old school digital pet into the modern age. I remember that little egg shaped toy fondly, with the ability to feed and care for the little on-screen creature with TLC.

With the new app, you’ll be able to take care of it ’90s style by pressing the buttons, or there’s a second option that’s more touchscreen based. And guys, this is official Tamagotchi – not some off-brand nonsense. The app is just the beginning! Apparently they’re looking to expand the brand into things like clothes and accessories.

Since it came on the scene, 78 million Tamagotchis have been sold. Know who was NOT one of those millions of children? This girl. My mom was always all, “Meghan, you don’t need a Tamagotchi because you have a REAL pet.” Which to be fair, yes, we had just gotten a puppy. That didn’t stop me from wanting a Tamagotchi super badly. Besides, I couldn’t take my puppy on the school bus and show her off!

My chance to be a Tamagotchi owner, if only temporarily, came one day when my neighbor was going on vacation. She bestowed upon me the task of caring for her Tamagotchi while she was away. Eight-year-old Meg was thrilled – however, thinking back on it, a Tamagotchi is like, the size of a small rock, so couldn’t she just have taken it with her? Whatever, I was still careful to make sure the Tamagotchi didn’t die while she was away.

The real question though is if I have developed enough responsibility in the last 15 years to take care of this electronic pet. Sometimes I can barely remember to clean my room or cook my dinner or DVR my TV, so can I handle looking after another (albeit digital) being, as well?!

We shall see. Until then, please brainstorm a perfect Tamagotchi pet name for when I am bragging about how awesome my Tamagotchi is on the subway.

Do you remember Tamagotchis? Did you ever have one? Do you think you would download this new app? What other ’90s toys do you wish would be brought back? What should I name my future Tamagotchi? Tell me in the comments!

Which ’90s TV character is your BFF?! Take the quiz!

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How do they know?! Source: Shutterstock

So you know the ads that pop up when you’re surfing the web? Or when you’re on Facebook? Or doing anything on the internet? Google tracks your activity through cookies, which are little bits of data that are stored in your browser. Cookies allows Google to remember what sites you frequent and products you look at. That’s why you get ads that are relevant to your interests.

I know it sounds very stalker-esque, but it actually improves your internet experience. How many times do you see an ad that doesn’t apply to you and get annoyed? Google just wants you to be surrounded by things you love!

Now, Google is asking you to tell it what you love. If you click on the link, it’ll bring you to the new Ads Preferences where you can actually see what Google thinks you like. Sometimes you’ll get ads based on sites you’ve only been to a few times, and this allows you to set your preferences so the ads you see are always relevant. You can remove anything that doesn’t apply to you and add preferences that you would like Google to know.

Google knows I’m into fashion, beauty, celebrities, coffee, blogging and technology. They’re definitely on point. I was really amazed that Google knows me as well as it does. There wasn’t one thing in my ads list that didn’t apply to me, which means Google knows its stuff or I only visit the same collection of websites every day. Google also lists the demographic you fall into, your gender and language, which can also be changed to better fit you. Google correctly picked up that I’m female in the 18-24 range who speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.

How well does Google know you? Did Google get anything drastically wrong? Tell me in the comments!

Apparently we’re not as good at multi-tasking as we think!

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Have you heard about the Vine app? Source: Shutterstock.com

If you are a Twitter user, perhaps you’ve noticed the new app that launched yesterday called “Vine.”  I haven’t used it, but NPR explained that you make videos in Vine by pressing and holding on your phone screen.

Right now, you can only download it for the iPhone or iPod touch, but it is reportedly going to be available on other devices in the future. Before you start planning out a feature film though, the maximum video length is only six seconds.

Twitter owns Vine, but they are separate apps. That said, the appeal is that you can embed your mini-movies right into your Tweets, thus allowing your many followers to admire your directing skills.

NPR really summed it up best when they wrote, “Twitter’s video initiative looks a lot like animated GIFs.” And the results totally do look GIF-fy. GIF-esque? GIF-ish? Like a GIF (soooo look out, Tumblr?). Actually, I’d add that a lot of the videos I’ve looked at kind of took a stop-motion type approach which actually is pretty cool.

From my brief search around Twitter, I am mostly seeing different companies using Vine, but there are also some individuals out there using it so I feel like it’s only a matter of time before it becomes the trendy new celeb thing. Anyway, here’s one of my favorites I’ve seen so far.

WHERE U GOIN MOUSE??!! vine.co/v/b5jEeX70Pw7

— iJustine (@ijustine) January 25, 2013

Basically, now instead of looking at still photos of people’s dinner, am I going to have to watch six seconds worth of people’s dinner? Because now the amount of time I waste my life online has obviously just multiplied by six. Sigh, I guess only time will tell what sort of future Vine will have… and how much time I will waste watching what people make with it.

Have you heard about Vine? Does this sound like an app you will use? Do you think celebs are going to start making more Twitter videos now? Tell us in the comments!

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