Xpenser is a perfect illustration of a data flow service. It simplifies the recording of business expenses, producing simple reports and recording the various stages of reimbursement.
Xpenser – Tour via kwout
The applications strengths are in its convenience and simplicity. Once an account is set up expenses can be logged by:
- email
- SMS
- instant messaging
- voice
- web site
- browser toolbars
In all cases, the message takes a simple standard form
e.g. “lunch $35 with Fred, Ginger”
Xpenser then parses your message extracting a category, price and notes to add to a fresh entry in your current report. When you’re ready to process your expenses you can export your data in Excel, Quicken, MS Money or Freshbooks format.
You can also export your data as a secure RSS feed for display or transformation. With an API in the pipeline Xpenser will be capable of tighter integration with other business systems.
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How do we include people who are off-line in our on-line networks? Lately I’ve seen two demonstrations of different approaches that address this problem.
These Are My Kids
These Are My Kids | Facebook via kwout
This is a Facebook application through which families can keep in touch, sharing news and photographs in a safe secure on-line environment. Family members who are offline will kept in the loop via a printing service that regularly sends books of annotated photographs to them.
LiveVote (N.B. only available in Canada)
This is a little more immediate. Free SMS text message polls and surveys can be set up using the LiveVote web site. The poll questions, options and instructions can then be:
- embedded in a blog
- printed in a newspaper
- broadcast in a radio or TV show
Results are instantly available and can be displayed in a widget like the one above.
Though “These are My Kids” and “LiveVote” involve different processes and are targeted at different demographics they both show that the junctions between different channels of communication can be bridges instead of barriers.
