Helping readers take blogs offline, Zinepal lets any user convert their favourite online content into ebooks and printable, magazine-style PDFs.

Users of British Columbia-based Zinepal begin by selecting content they like from blogs, Atom/RSS feeds and other websites. Zinepal then reformats that content into a printable PDF and ebook format for use with the Amazon Kindle and other electronic readers. Users can preview and edit or reformat the resulting "zine," even adding a title and logo of their own to customize the publication. Advertising images can also be included at the bottom of each page. Once their zine is complete, users can print it or request an e-mailed copy; they can also request that new zines be automatically created each day or week from the content they choose. Zines can be made public on the site for sharing and searchability; zine feeds, meanwhile, provide a way for users to offer subscriptions to their publications. There is currently no charge for using Zinepal. A video on blip.tv explains how the process works.

Similar also to BlueMailCentral, Peggy Mail and other tools that help forge the OFF=ON connection, Zinepal gives readers one more choice in deciding how their content is delivered. Even beyond that, though, it has the potential to spawn a whole new generation of small, niche publications similar to the (discontinued) The Printed Blog but put together by independent thinkers, organizations or even brands. One to try out! (Related: Magazine publishing for everyone and every niche.)

Website: www.zinepal.com
Contact: info@zinepal.com

Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel

Smart recruiters are increasingly recognizing that resumes just aren't enough to predict success in a job. Much the way MedRecruit incorporates lifestyle into the hiring picture and CareerTours uses video storytelling, KODA is a new site that aims to provide social recruiting capabilities that are "more professional than Facebook but more personal than LinkedIn."

Launched in late May, KODA allows emerging talent and smart companies to go beyond the resume or traditional job posting with employer and employee profiles that allow both sides of the hiring equation to get to know each other. Currently free to use during its beta period, the site allows users to post photos, PDFs and videos along with the information about their education, skills and experience that would normally be part of a hiring profile. Rather than providing long lists of opportunities, KODA focuses instead on matching talent with the right career and the right organization. Toward that end, it uses a recommendation engine to suggest connections that may be worth exploring. Specific opportunities get pulled from employers' internal career pages for highlighting on the site, and companies can also give prospective employees a "look inside" their organization. Illustrative "compatibility bars," meanwhile, indicate the compatibility between an individual and an opportunity or organization based on historical information, profile content and other criteria. As users look through KODA, they can send messages or bookmark profiles for future viewing. They can also “wave” at a particular organization that they would like to stay in contact with, causing a notification to be sent to that employer.

Based in San Francisco—but with another branch to serve the transformation currently going on in New Orleans—KODA is also planning to add more functionality in the near future, including additional ways to publish opportunities, advanced search capabilities and printable KODA profiles. One to partner with and bring to the hiring front near you...?

Website: www.koda.us
Contact: customerservice@koda.us

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Travellers planning a trip can already tap a variety of sites for creating guides and itineraries, including TripIt, Offbeat Guides and Tripwolf—to name just a few. Focusing more on travellers' own search process, however—specifically, the time they spend scouring the web for ideas—comes Gliider, a Firefox plug-in aimed at organizing all the best results in a single, online place.

Now in invitation-only beta, Brooklyn-based Gliider is essentially a digital file that lets travellers keep track of all the interesting ideas they come across while researching and planning a trip. Users begin by downloading the application, causing the Gliider icon to appear in their Firefox browser bar. (Currently, Gliider works on Firefox 3, but support for Explorer, Safari and Chrome are coming soon, the company says.) When they're surfing the web and come across a hotel, restaurant or photo they want to remember as they make their plans, they need only click the icon and Gliider drops down on the right-hand side of the browser. Into that window they can then simply drag and drop whatever it was they wanted to save, creating a neater, more organized alternative to a list of bookmarks. Users can share their trip files with up to four other users, and they can also create a summary travel document PDF for emailing and printing. Perhaps most interesting of all is that Gliider tracks deals on hotels relevant to a specific trip and allows users to take advantage of them in a single click.

Through a partnership with Expedia, Gliider currently earns revenue from affiliate fees when users click on the deals it presents to book a hotel, according to TechCrunch. Coming soon are deals on flights too, as well as an iPhone application and an “ask around” feature that taps Facebook. Hospitality entrepreneurs: one to get in on—or emulate—early...?

Website: www.gliider.com
Contact: talk@gliider.com

Spotted by: Carmen Magar

For all but the most organized consumers, greeting cards are something that tend to get purchased in a hurry when a special occasion looms. Jack Cards—which we covered a couple of years ago—uses a prescheduled service to remove some of that haste and help customers get their cards out on time, and now TOTA Press takes a slightly different approach by offering unique, handmade cards by monthly subscription.

New York-based TOTA's subscription service is essentially a card-of-the-month program whereby subscribers get two copies of a one-time, handmade card sent to their door each month. Photos of each new letterpressed design are posted on TOTA's website on the first of the month along with a description of what inspired it; August's, for example, is based on an Asanoha pattern. The handmade cards are all standard sizes that can be used for any occasion with no extra postage required. Prices range from USD 13 for a trial subscription of one month to USD 140 for a 12-month subscription, amounting to 24 cards in all. Domestic shipping is included in the price of the subscription, but international orders cost an extra USD 2 per month.

In an era when greeting cards are increasingly combined with digital elements—such as in CD-equipped Burney Cards, which we just covered last week—it's interesting to see an offering that takes what's almost the opposite approach, revelling instead in the physical richness and artistry of a handmade card. Reminds us, in fact, of the hand-drawn A la Carte Maps that we also just recently covered. The world may be digital, everyone may be online, but there's still plenty of room for the handmade, the unique, the personal, the still-made-here offline design. Combine that with the convenience of home delivery, and you may just cause some pangs of anxiety in the Hallmark boardroom! ;-)

Website: www.totapress.com
Contact: beintouch@totapress.com

Fitness enthusiasts already know that goals can be much easier to achieve for those with a workout buddy to help them stay motivated. With that premise in mind, Comotivate aims to help users succeed in attaining a variety of goals by pairing them with motivation 'buddies' who share the same objectives.

Now in beta, Australian Comotivate focuses on collaboration as a route to success in achieving life goals. When users register with the social networking site, they provide information including a key objective they're hoping to achieve—losing weight, for example, or quitting smoking. Comotivate then uses its database to match user profiles, creating team buddies who resemble each other as closely as possible. Those buddies can then create personal pages and set deadlines for achieving their goals. They can also share video, images and encouragement to track their progress and help each other along the way. Inactive users on the free site are "benched" to minimize the number of lurkers and maximize the proportion of engaged, committed people. Users can always change their goals and buddy teams, but when they achieve a set objective—success is simply self-reported—they are awarded a certificate in PDF.

While it's not yet clear what Comotivate's business model will be, it is planning a relaunch at the end of this year, and we'd be surprised if some sort of targeted ad support isn't involved. Comotivate also hopes to translate its site into other languages in the near future, as well as optimizing it for mobile devices. One to try out, partner with, or otherwise get involved in...? (Related: Community for tracking life experiences — A public incentive to stick to one's goals — Nagging service for dieters.)

Website: www.comotivate.com.au
Contact: listener@comotivate.com

Spotted by: Edward Baral