Tumblr: This service offers users publishing via iPhone app, desktop widget, the Tumblr bookmarklet, text message, email, AIM and even via audio call-in. Tumblr's theme gallery offers hundreds of options for design. Users can also add their posts to Facebook and Twitter via the free customization. Tumblr allows users to create more than one blog and add more than one contributor for free; however, all edits show up in the same dashboard in chronological order. This means you may have to dig to revise an older post.

Posterous: Posterous is the original email publishing microblog. Users can email posts, publish them via the web editor or upload them from the PicPosterous iPhone app. The service allows users to set up auto posting to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, Vimeo, Tumblr, Blogger, Wordpress and Xanga. You can also choose to post to just one service in addition to your Posterous account by emailing flickr@posterous.com to specify Flickr or twitter@posterous.com to post to Twitter. Of the three services, Posterous offers an advantage in its ease-of-use and while it's lacked design abilities in the past, the company recently launched themes and theme import from Tumblr.

Other notable light blogging services include Soup.io, Vox and Noovo. If we've missed your favorite service let us know in the comments below.

This weekend 8tracks is publicly launching its music playback API in the hopes of leveraging the collective brain power of Music Hack Day attendees. Some of the tools already built using the API that will be demoed include an iPhone player, a player widget for Facebook and a weekly Hype Machine mix. For those interested in getting involved with 8tracks on Music Hack Day, the developer API is available tomorrow at developer.8tracks.com.

Photo Credit: Albert L. Ortega

Trendly allows users to track analytics with up to a three year history. Instead of showing you every dip and curve in the metrics of your site, for $5 dollars per month the company offers a better alternative. Users view highlighted site changes via a newsfeed and timeline. In what is clearly a different approach from the basic Google Analytics interface, Trendly offers color coded layers displayed alongside the newsfeed. Each layer represents the timeline of a single keyword and wider layers represent the keywords most searched. The service also allows users to click on keywords to bring up related word clusters and the percentage of search around each. Trendly also tracks referrals, content and ad campaigns. Once the service is set up, users can pull reports on content traffic analysis, AdWords conversions, search, referrals and direct traffic. Given Dabble's track record in putting together great tracking and database systems, Trendly is certainly worth a try. To check out the site visit trendly.com.

m-Via: This service offers international users a chance to transfer money via SMS without owning a bank account. Users can transfer funds across borders and cash out their accounts via ATMs and debit machines. The company currently provides services in more than 25,000 villages in Latin America.

Boku: One of last year's presenters, Boku offers users a chance to buy online goods via SMS confirmation. Specializing in virtual goods, the company lets you buy gaming-related products and charge the purchases to your phone bill. The company has already reached more than 200 million new customers across 250 casual games. As of today, the company announces 12 new gaming partners including 6Waves, Snap Interactive and Zoosk via the Facebook platform.

Payfone: This service allows app stores and aggregators a chance to bill users through direct operators rather than through separate accounts. The company lets you add purchases to your phone bill with real-time balance query and transactions. Payfone takes a percentage of the purchase and also offers one-touch checkout.

Photo Credits: Milica Sekulic

As of today, in addition to the above results, the site also allows users to view each other's dream pages and subscribe. Once you subscribe to a dream page you can message like-minded users and delve deeper into their content. While sites like Hunch.com match like-minded users via a survey process, Dorthy matches them on their actionable interests. To test this unique approach to search visit dorthy.com.

The idea for Reframe It comes from Fishkin's days at Yale spent pouring over scholarly annotations of Shakespeare. The CEO launched the company to capture this spirit of intelligent discourse and expose it to the wider web community. Today, in addition to sharing Sidewiki's features of basic web annotations and notes, Reframe It also offers enhanced social features such as comment sharing via email, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed. Other interesting features include enhanced privacy settings, comment feeds, embedable widgets, search term tracking and perhaps the most groundbreaking feature - what Fishkin calls "branded community comments".

Communities and publishers will soon invite users to contribute to relevant Reframe It conversations in roving groups across the web. One of Fishkin's earliest partners is UK-based financial community Interactive Investor. In addition to helping Interactive Investor generate real time comments on stocks and market indicators within its own site, Reframe It also helps the company monetize group conversations even when they're on external pages. Through community-specific sidebar advertising, Fishkin has found a way to generate revenue for publishers outside of the confines of a domain. As feeds cannibalize advertising revenue, new revenue generation like Reframe It becomes an increasing need for publishers. To test the service visit reframeit.com.

In the past Hulu has featured music content like its Live from the Artists Den and Live From Abbey Road series', but this latest EMI deal may mean further plans to branch into the music business. Although EMI is Hulu's first external music partnership, the fact that the company began as a collaboration between NBC Universal, Fox Entertainment Group and ABC / Disney means that its music-related reach is likely further than we realize. What's more, the company already has the technology to stream music from their service as the same means can be used for delivering video and music. While it's too early to say how this will play out, if Hulu's decides to bundle on-demand streaming video and music, this iPhone owner would happily subscribe.

While there's a great deal of overlap between Brizzly and Br.st, the two companies are clearly close competitors. Test Br.st by registering here and let us know your favorite Twitter tool in the comments below.

RWW: A number of companies are offering cheap all-you-can-eat music services where users pay a set price for unlimited playback and streams. How important is price in this instance?
While price and large catalogues are important, having full songs goes without saying as the most important feature. People will pay for convenience and I personally am not interested in a service that only lets me play the entirety of a few songs and then forces me to listen to 30 second clips.

RWW:The killer mobile music application appears to offer offline caching of streams. Is this a make or break feature for streaming music services?
It's important to have a killer mobile app or device integration, but as connectivity improves, I'm not sure just how important offline caching will be.

RWW: While some services offer a community curation feature, it's a select few (Hype Machine being one of them) that manage to maintain a sense of cool. How important is curated discovery?
I don't think this will be the most important feature of a service, but I could be wrong. I mean, how many folks would listen to the Village Voice Annual Picks or the Amoeba Records picks even if they were available online?

RWW: If not through editors, then how do you like to discover new music?
One of the features that I love is the ability to drill down into the music any way you want. For example, with Spotify you can search on a band and find their albums, and then start listening to their body of work chronologically. From there, you can choose whatever song you like, listen to it again and again, and then pivot on that song to hear versions from the other folks who have played that same song.

RWW:And what about social features?
Zisk:Lala's feature where you see what your friends are listening to is cool, but I think the social aspect or the curated aspect is more important to others than it is to me. While I think it matters on a favorites level as in "You have to hear this band", I don't know how deep it actually reaches. I wonder if folks don't already feel like they hear what they want from a radio station or recommendation-based radio like Pandora.

Zisk is hosting a SF Music Tech mixer tonight as a precursor to his Dec 7 San Fran Music Tech Summit. To register for the event visit sfmtsmixer.eventbrite.com.

Photo Credit: Rossina Bossio Bossa

Rather than looking at the web as a series of linear pages, this service lets us build tree graphs of connecting arguments, share them and then break them at any time. Using a browser bookmarking tool, we can add and connect related pearls or ideas, place them within other pearls or start a new pearl tree (or train of thought). Rather than displaying a list of items, your pearls connect to your profile. You are literally the center of the universe and your thoughts follow you wherever you go.

Naturally, as a newly anointed God of information, other great thinkers will gravitate towards you. Shared pearls connect you to others and allow you to view their collections. From here you can choose your favorite content and omit the noise. From here you can email your pearls, embed them in your blog or broadcast them to Twitter and Facebook.

The Future of Touch Interfaces

Given the unique user interface of Pearltrees, Lamothe expects that the company will roll out feature releases and enhancements on an ongoing basis. Says the CEO, "Once we've launched the web interface, the potential of a touch product will be very exciting."

At this point, I almost fell out of my chair thinking about the possibilities. Using Pearltrees in conjunction with a touch interface would be extremely practical. Rather than swiping down long lists of links to find articles, images or videos, users could tap on their desired pearl and follow the connectors to the information they wanted. Not only would this greatly improve the research experience, but it could also change device design.

For some reason, many touch interfaces mimic the experience of the first personal computers. We are offered a series of boxes from which to start our applications with little room for reorganization or prioritization. The Pearltrees model may prove to be the most efficient way to navigate period. To try the product register at pearltrees.com or click on ReadWriteFrance's pearl below.

2. Platial: Although slightly busier, the great thing about Platial is that users can follow an RSS feed of a particular point of interest. For example, if you're hoping to reconnect with a childhood friend who isn't searchable on Facebook, you can subscribe to a feed of their home in the hopes that they'll leave a comment.

3. Zoom Atlas: Zoom Atlas lets you edit and upload text and images on top of a map layer. One of the unique features of this site is the LifePath tool where users edit the places they've lived and share their personal timelines, via Facebook. Rather than editing on a Google Map layer, this tool offers users a chance to edit ground layer and set up buildings and landscaping exactly as they remember them.

4. 43places: This service is less about the remote past and more about our adult histories. Users create wish lists of where they'd like to go and tag the places they've already been.

5. Map My Life: Map My Life is a Google mashup where users can add stories to a map. Users upload an xml file with their life's history enclosed and the tool loads and plays that history in both a map and timeline version.

6. Wikimapia: Wikimapia specializes in regional histories; however, many users add their personal histories in the comments below. One of the great things about this site is that rather than trying to edit disparate Google map layers, community residents can come together and take pride in the rich histories that unite them.

7. Wayfaring: Wayfaring is a site where you can add routes and points of interest to your personal map and embed it to your blog. The service takes advantage of Google Maps and lets you invite others to collaborate. This is a great site for hash house harriers and other social running clubs. One user has already created a map of tech companies in the Bay Area below:

Intrigued, we visited the location of LoveMachine's virtual office for more information. Judging by the posh waterfront property and lack of outside distractions, the real world's down economy has not affected the peaceful Second Life metaverse. While startup companies in San Francisco are downsizing from their SOMA lofts, Rosedale and Downe have built themselves a tropical paradise. The duo have left their boardroom open for potential contractors to view the company worklist. Contractors have a choice of being paid in US or Linden dollars and must complete an initial project before becoming a long term employee. From the projects given to potential employees we know there is an iPhone app and database involved. At this early stage, other tasks include setting up a server, printing 50 decks of cards and delivering Ryan Downe a steak burrito. For the sake of the company we're hoping the burrito is a lower level priority.

Given Rosedale's success at Linden, it will be interesting to see if the plucky entrepreneur can infiltrate middle management and monetize employee incentive programs. While the Second Life universe has been a boon for virtual learning environments, widespread adoption in the boardroom has yet to materialize. Depending on the barrier to technical entry, Rosedale may find more mainstream appeal in this latest venture.

While you may share calendars with your closest pals, a wider circle of friends would quickly make that overwhelming to track. Sponty is a great social calendar substitute and offers users a chance to plan impromptu events without the constraints of multiple registrations. What's interesting about this service is the fact that instead of offering us real-time event updates, it's more usefully giving us a look at real-time intentions. To register and test the service visit thesponty.com.

It'll be interesting to see who budgets for this very reasonable deal in their holiday ad buy. Whoever does will have the unfettered attention of thousands of high income, gadget-loving check-in addicted consumers. Meanwhile, Foursquare has found a way to put together a stellar community stewardship campaign while also helping a group who needs it. To inquire about the campaign email info@techiesgiveback.org.