Years ago, I created a portal site on Typepad. The idea was to have one place where I could send everyone to find links to my blogs, podcasts, resume, social networks and references.
Today, Flavors.me offers this service for free.
Unlike other sites that do something similar, Flavors.me is extremely simple; even the tech novice can figure it out. The pages are easy to generate. The clean lines make them easy to read.
When I first heard about the site, I was skeptical. Did I really need to add another online network to the overwhelming number I already belong to? Would it even add anything to my online branding campaign? My tech junkie curiosity would not let me simply ignore it, though. When I started using the service, I realized it has some terrific benefits:
- Authors who don’t have Web sites can use it to connect social networks – including Facebook, WordPress, Twitter and Vimeo – to one page.
- Authors can upload photos of themselves or the cover art to their novels as the background.
- Premium members can have a specific domain for their page for about $20 per year, according to TechCrunch. That is a lot cheaper than monthly Web hosting. So, if you are just getting a Web presence, you could start with this until you can afford a Web site. (Don’t count on this being here forever, though. The web changes FAST. Get a Web site as soon as possible.) Premium members can also include a contact page.
What is terrific about this is it is another way to increase your online brand . Basic accounts are free.
One of my concerns: When you add social networks, your streams are live and shown within your Flavors page. If you have a network that you use only for private reasons, do NOT list it here. Also, once you give Flavors.me permission to access your sites, that permission will override privacy settings.
You can find my basic page here: http://flavors.me/angelawilson. At post time, the Facebook stream was inactive.
Thanks for the comment!
I got into my Flavors profile today (Flavors.me/angelawilson). I see they now offer several paid options. So far, I haven’t found anything on privacy settings and don’t see it as a service with the paid option. Here is a link to the FAQ:
http://help.flavors.me/kb/faq
Will keep checking and let you know if I find anything!
Hi! thanks for your article.
Maybe you can help me with something. Is there any chance I can open my flavours personal page, but arrange its privacy settings so that no everyone can see it? And Google doesnt find it? basically: can I set it up to be private, not public?
Thanks!
G
You know, I’d just deleted my account with Flavors.me. I’m glad you’re getting some use from it, but after giving it a few days, I didn’t understand why I’d personally need it over the basic social links I already have on my site. Maybe I’ll go back it someday, I’m not ruling anything out, but for now I’d just prefer folks go to my site if they want to know what I’m doing on other sites.