I’ve been busy trying out some new software, sites and applications that I learned about either at Blogworld, P0stiecon or through others that were also at those conventions and I must say I’m quite thrilled with these new products and websites!

One new application I’ve been trying out on a few of my sites in the last week or so is Triggit. You can add links to Amazon, Commission Junction or wine related products as well as add photos from Flickr and Youtube videos on the fly directly from the public/published portion of your site. I wrote about my experiences with Triggit on Webstyle if you’d like to learn how to use this great new application.

I’ve also been granted an access key of my own to give out to anyone that would like to become an Alpha tester for Triggit. Just create a login for the site and when asked for an access key type in tricia. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Next …

You might have noticed in some of my recent posts that the photos I’ve used have a Photrade watermark on them? Yes, I’m using a new site to store some of my photos.

I met Andrew, the CEO, of Photrade on Saturday Nov. 10th at the Bl0ggers Ch0ice Awards at TAO. He saw my husband carrying our camera and stopped to talk to us about photography and his new website, Photrade, which is still in Beta.

The beauty of Photrade is that visitors to the site can browse your photos and purchase them as prints, have the photo placed on a mug or turned into a Canvas. Photographers can set their own prices for prints, mugs and canvases.

Also, every time your photos are viewed on the site and elsewhere if you say embed them in your posts you’ll get paid. You’ll also make money if the photos are clicked on. There’s no information on the site yet (that I’ve found) that states how much you get paid per view or click but I’m willing to give this site a try.

One feature that I like is that when I do embed one of my photos in a post it is water marked. That will help prevent photo theft and if someone really does like one of my photos well, they can buy a copy for themselves. I don’t know how many times people have asked me if they can buy my photos or if I could please “provide them with a high definition copy” … why? I don’t know. I don’t mind if someone wants to buy a photo, but to ask outright for a high def copy without explanation as to how it might be used? No.

I’ve only just started using Photrade and I think it will take a while to upload a decent amount of photos to my gallery/portfolio, but once I’ve used it for a while I’ll write more about the site and let you know if I think it’s going to be a winner or not.

At this time Photrade.com is a closed, invite only beta project. I had one invite and I’ve already used it, however I expect to get more invites in the near future. If you are a photographer and would like to try the site out let me know.

Check out my Photrade home page if you’d like.

And finally …

Fix8 is an application that I’ve yet to try, but it looks totally cool! If you use your webcam for chats or perhaps to create podcasts I think you’ll love Fix8.

So what is it? Well … if your like me and you’d like to use your webcam more often but perhaps you’ve still got bedhead you can mask your image with some very cool avatars. The avatars cover your face and move when you move. They are even expressive – so if you smile or raise your eyebrows your avatar does as well.

I believe you can even use Fix8 to create fantasy backgrounds behind your image and add fun accessories that your avatar might use while chatting too.

Here’s a description from their site:

Fix8 is a free and easy to use interactive communication tool that animates expressions and movements in real-time over 3D avatars. All you need is your PC, a webcam, and a dash of creativity. Use a wide mix of creative tools and accessories to “dress up” and create animated videos for sharing. You can also share avatar animation with friends in real-time IM webcam chat.

I’m sure you could think of lots of different ways to use Fix8. You can watch one of their demo videos to see some of the avatars in action if you’d like.

Chris and I spent quite a while talking with Peter Singer, the director of Fix8 affiliate partners group and he was telling us how Fix8 is being used on television series in China and gave us some ideas as to how we can use Fix8 in our videos and for live streaming.

Once I’ve experimented with Fix8 I’ll post more about it and maybe I’ll even post a video using Fix8.

You can download a free copy of Fix8 directly from the Fix8 website.

I’ve got a few more interesting applications and sites to tell you about and I’ll get to that soon. In the mean time have fun exploring the sites I’ve just told you about and give the applications a try!