The Smart.fm website

Every so often I stumble upon a website which makes me feel like a child that’s been given a shiny new toy. And this certainly was the case with Smart.fm. A social learning network, which claims to help you learn faster and remember better. And these are not just empty promises, they have the science in place to deliver results. Although they started as a language learning tool in Japan, Smart.fm is now a platform which accommodates practically every learning goal you set.

I don’t get (too) easily excited, but the tools available to users, and the bustling community of eager learners, really made me say “wow” out loud. And of course, no matter how good an online service is, it would only go so far without a catchy video explaining what it’s all about (remember twitter’s early days). Watch the video below to get a better idea of what Smart.fm is all about. Registration is free and only takes a sec.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I cannot guarantee how much time it will take you to reach your learning goals. However, after having explored the service, I would easily believe them in that it would be one of the faster methods around.

Copyright laws wouldn’t allow for real magazine titles to be used, so the magazines you’ll be on are called things like “National Geography” and “Vague”, but still it’s a fun effect and saves you a whole lot of photoshop work. Try it out and see what you think!

It makes use of Google Maps, and there’s lots of cool stuff you can do there. These include embedding your favorite spots on your blog, writing reviews on spots and events, bookmarking, adding friends, sharing photos and videos on the places you bookmark.

Nomao’s user interface is about as web 2.0 as they get. Without sacrificing usability. In reality, it’s one of the most simple to use and effective user interfaces I’ve seen on a web service in quite some time. Well, at least according to my liking.

I think I’m going to like using this

Magnolia lets you add more information about every new link you add to your collection, making it easier to find later. Also, it stores a copy of the text on the page you bookmark, so you can still access the content if it moves or shuts down.

Privacy controls allow you to set just how much of your favorites you’d like to share or not. Community features allow for contacts and user groups, making link sharing all the more fun and easy to do. Check it out here.