TextbookRevolt can help you save money on textbooks

I recently read an article on CNET about TextbookRevolt and just had to mention it here. As most students are painfully aware, purchasing textbooks each semester can be a real strain on your checkbook. TextbookRevolt attempts to alleviate the pain of buying books by allowing registered users to swap textbooks with each other. Simply create an account, add the books that you’d like to give away, then browse the list of available free books for titles you need. The idea behind the site sounds promising, although I haven’t tried swapping books with anyone yet.

Have you used TextbookRevolt or another similar service to avoid costly trips to the bookstore? If so, share experience with other users by leaving a comment below!

What TV Shows are You Watching?

The past few days of cooler weather and the first sightings of leaves changing color reminds us that it is now officially Autumn. I’ve always enjoyed this time of year because it marks the beginning of the UT football season, because of the beauty it brings to the mountains of East Tennessee along with the demise of the mosquitoes and yellow jackets that prevent me from enjoying the great outdoors during the summer months, and because it ushers in a whole slew of reasons to relax in front of the television. That’s right, we’re in the heart of season premiere country now and I’m wondering what everyone thinks about the offerings this year.

As a web developer/internet junkie that spends more time at Best Buy than in the gym, I was particularly excited about the premiere of my favorite series from last year, Chuck. While I did enjoy this week’s episode, it just didn’t seem quite as entertaining this time around. It looks like several highly anticipated season premieres didn’t get the numbers they enjoyed last year, including Heroes and Life.

Reviewing the numbers made me wonder- What is everyone watching and how are you watching it? Has DVR, the ability to watch full episodes online, and the addition of more shows to the iTunes music store changed the way you watch television? I’d love to know what you think. Let me know what about your favorite series and your favorite way to get your TV fix by leaving a comment below. I’ve got some free music download cards that I’ll give to the first 5 people who leave a comment. Sorry, I can’t mail them, so you’ll need to swing by the credit union on White Avenue to pick them up.

More Cool Uses for Text Messages

I love all of the new and interesting ways individuals and companies are using sms (text) messages these days, and judging from the number of people I see texting and walking on Cumberland Avenue, it looks like I’m not alone. In a previous post, I mentioned a few of my favorite mobile productivity tools, several of which made use of text messaging. In this post we’ll talk about two additional services that allow you to use text messages in new, interesting ways.

Tatango

Now that school is in full swing, you probably find yourself juggling homework, your social life, your job, and probably even a number of school-related projects all at the same time. There’s a good chance that you use your mobile telephone to call teammates or friends to schedule things like study sessions and meetings, but what if you could send one text message to update an entire group of people?

Tatango helps make life easier by allowing you to create groups of contacts and easily send messages to all members through your mobile phone or a web interface. As Tatango describes on their website,

“Send one message directly from your computer or mobile phone to all of your group members, keeping them connected anytime, anywhere.”

Using the site is extremely easy. After you’ve activated your account, simply use the control panel to create a contact group. Although you can join several groups with the free plan, you’re only allowed to create and manage one group at a time without opting for the pro account. Once you’ve setup your account and created a group, update members by sending text messages to Tatango’s short code or login and use the web interface.

ReacTee

ReacTee helps you “promote your causes and express yourself with shirts that text back.” The site allows you to create and purchase interactive shirts that you can use to help spread the word about your organization or your interests. Each shirt features a keyword that anyone can text to 41411 for additional information. Within seconds, users receive a reply with a custom message you create just for your shirt. Changing the outgoing message is easily accomplished through a control panel on the company’s site.

Some examples mentioned on the ReacTee website include a New York DJ who uses her shirt to accept requests during parties and a sports fan who updates his response with his favorite team’s schedule.

Drop us a line if you’re using either of these tools or any other service you think we should know about. You can also text UTFCU to 25827 for important credit union news and promotions!

Digital Life: YouTube

It’s only fitting that we begin our weekly Digital Life series of blog posts by paying homage to the site that helped bring the online video revolution to the mainstream – YouTube.  Everyday, visitors to the site watch hundreds of millions of videos, making YouTube the number one video site on the Internet. Whether you’re in the mood to watch music videos, viral classics such as Star Wars Kid or the Diet Coke + Mentos Experiment, or learn how credit unions and banks are different, you’ll find it on YouTube.

The site’s extreme popularity has also helped launch acting careers and create the “Internet superstar” phenomenon. That’s why we’ve decided to use YouTube for our “Sing Rocky Top” contest. All you have to do is record and post a video of you or a group of friends singing Rocky Top on YouTube and send us a link to it. We’ll feature the video on the Contest page of this site and you’ll be on your way to getting your 15 minutes of fame! Make sure to check out the Contest page for more details. Don’t know how to get started? Well, keep reading . . .

The first thing that you need to do is sign up for a free YouTube account. Go to http://www.youtube.com and click on the Sign Up button at the top of the page.

Fill out the form and then access your email account. You’ll need to find the email from YouTube and click on the link to verify your account. Once you’ve verified your email address, you can go back to YouTube and start uploading videos. To upload, click on the My Videos button under the Account drop-down menu.

Now click on the Upload Video button and choose the file you want to upload.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or have video you’d like to share with others!