photo credit: jared

Icons are an effective aid in helping users quickly find and gather information. They not only communicate information but help break it up and add visual interest to grab the users’ attention.

With thousands of icons available, with endless gradients, colors and reflections, it can be overwhelming as to what will best suit your minimalist design. There are alternatives to all those over-glossed icons, should you require a more simple, elegant design style.

Here are ten noteworthy icon sets which match the minimalist design ethos.

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1. Iconic

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Iconic is a beautiful set consisting of 120 icons in raster and vector formats. The icon set packages are in both PNG, SVG, and SWC image formats with Omnigraffle stencil formats also included. The raster-format icons come in 8×8, 12×12, 16×16, 24×24 and 32×32 pixels; however, if you require a different size you can create your own with the original SVG icons. Iconic also comes in 14 separate colors to meet most designers requirements.

The beauty of Iconic is it’s flexibility, with each icon rendering from eight to 800 pixels, while maintaining a high legibility. Many of the icons in the set come in at least two variations to further increase flexibility. The strict adherence to a grid system also helps keep the look of the set consistent. While the icons are minimal in style they are highly stylized yet subtle enough to be easily incorporated into most design projects. The icons were originally designed for a WordPress theme, and it is within a blog format where they would perhaps be showcased best.

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2. Mono Icons

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Available as a free download, this pack consists of 108 icons in a 32×32 pixel PNG format. While the icons are gray you can easily customize the color in Photoshop, by using layer styles and applying Color Overlay. In Fireworks, simply apply Filters → Adjust Color → Color Fill and choose your color.

The icons are simple, bold and extremely well designed and would fit well within most applications, perhaps best though within either a software application UI or blog format. The ease with which they can be customized and colorized make them an attractive option for your next project.

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3. Pictoico

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With over 100 fully scalable icons, available free for download, Pictoico is an attractive package which bundles both vector and SVG formats. It is the start of a visual initiative to create over 1,000 symbols which will be released to the public over the course of 2010. Pictoico aims to create a contemporary, simple icon which can be used in a variety of ways.

The icons could be incorporated into your online, print, mobile and software applications. The author even suggests utilizing them for signs in the real world around your street, campus, resort or even city.

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4. Gentleface Toolbar Icons

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Available free or with a Royalty Free license, the entire set totals 244 original icons (including eight cursors) optimized for 16×16 pixel size and available in 16×16, 32×32 and 48×48 pixel sizes. The set includes vector icons in EPS and flash SWF formats, which allow complete control to resize without loss of fidelity, color, and effects.

The icons include pagination arrows, ratings and voting controls, social interaction symbols, file system icons and text editor actions. These icons are extremely versatile and would be ideally suited to wireframes and software mock-up creation; however, they would also work well within software applications, toolbars, and even within iPhone and iPod apps.

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5. PICOL

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PICOL stands for PIctorial Communication Language and is a project to find a standard and reduced sign system for electronic communication. PICOL currently offer 3 sets of icons each totaling 517 beautifully designed icons. 16×16 and 32×32 pixel formats are available along with a SVG vector package, all free to download.

The icons offer a unique take on many of the standard symbols, such as application, firewall, internet, cut, copy and paste. Each icon has been designed to be simple, yet effective in conveying the message.

The PICOL icons were heavily featured in the History of the Internet video (by the same designer), which has amassed over two million views and explains the Internet in a fun and incredibly simplistic and elegant way using the icons.

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6. Brightmix

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Featuring 104 wonderfully elegant icons within one EPS vector format, Brightmix offers a flexibile package which can be resized, edited and colorized simply and efficiently to suit most projects.

The icons were originally designed for the relaunch of a newspaper site, and as the authors created and added to the set and utilized them for other projects, they later decided to release them as a free download. Of particular interest is the WTFPL license under which they are released!

The icons are an update to a previous version and include a wider range of icons, which would be useful for various mediums, such as presentations, iPhone applications, wireframes and software applications.

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7. Token

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A beautiful, minimal set of icons which is available as a free download or with a commercial license ($50), Token includes 128 unique icon designs, available as an ICO bundling of 16×16, 32×32 and 256×256 pixels icons, or as a PNG at 128×128 pixels. Each icon has both dark and light variants, and comes along with a PSD which includes the layer styles for each resolution.

Token was created as a sequel to the designer’s earlier icon set, Mnml, and has been regularly updated and expanded. You can now download the additional Token File Type set which includes 32 icons, has a dark and light variant, and is saved as a windows ICO that displays crisply at most resolutions.

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8. BackToPixel

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Designed in a retro pixel style, BackToPixel is available as a free download of 75 icons in 9×9, 18×18 and 28×28 size pixels, in both PNG and GIF formats. The package also includes the icons in over 10 separate colors.

This unique set also includes three button styles which are optimized for lighter backgrounds. The icons could be utilized especially well within a blog design (perhaps an 80s, old-school or retro styled blog) and equally well within both presentations and website design.

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9. Eclipse2

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Available as a free download, the package includes 116 system and 165 application dock icons in 16×16, 32×32, 48×48 and 128×128 pixel sizes in PNG format.

Whilst originally created as a replacement for system and applications icons, the simplicity and clarity of each icon means they would fit perfectly within presentations, as well as web and software applications.

You can also extend the set by downloading the supplementary pack for additional system and application icons (e.g. Acrobat Reader & Microsoft Office) and the complementary Syzygy icon pack which builds upon Eclipse2.

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10. Helveticons

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No minimalist icon showcase would be complete without including the beautiful Helveticons – a selection of vector icons, glyphs and symbols based on the Helvetica Bold typeface.

The purchasing options range from the basic set ($279) to the complete set of 477 icons with extras ($439), which includes a very helpful PSD file to inspire you on how to make the best use of the icons, with examples ranging from basic web buttons to strong logotypes. The set includes seven file formats of which six are scalable vectors as well as the GS format for Omnigraffle icons and CHS for Photoshop shapes.

The icons are stunning in their clarity and overall design and would be perfect for almost any medium, including; wire-framing, presentations, web applications, buttons and promotional material.

What other minimal styled icon sets have you discovered? Be sure to share your picks in the comments below.

photo credit:  Jesus Belzunce

If you’d like to enjoy the outdoors today, we suggest you stop reading right now.

What follows are five iPad addictive games that maximize screen real-estate with luring graphics, break ground in the handheld gaming sector. They ultimately exemplify why Apple’s tablet device is such an impressive device for gaming.

These games will capture your imagination, demand your attention, and may ultimately destroy your relationships with loved ones if you get too sucked in.

You can’t say we didn’t warn you.

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1. We Rule GOLD

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We Rule is like FarmVille for the iPad. Things start innocently enough in level one, but as you level up and tackle the tutorial challenges, a funny thing happens — the game gets serious and intricate.

Planting and harvesting crops is a key part of gameplay, but your efforts should be focused on trying to level up by accruing experience points. Levelling up allows you to continue expanding your kingdom, unlock more farm patches and grab other essentials like shops, plants, statues, roads and rivers for your kingdom.

Some of this may sound like nonsense, but most of your time will be spent designing your kingdom, and there’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to add a dragon’s lair or prison to your kingdom and not having the funds to do so.

The best part about the game is that everyone from your friends to tech celebrities like Digg’s Kevin Rose is in on the action. This makes for extra enticing gameplay because you can add your friends from real life and web life as neighbors and check out their kingdoms or buy goods from their shops.

After a few short days you’ll be hooked, even going so far as to set up push notifications so you know when your plants are ready to harvest, and your citizens are ready to hand over their tax payments.

A few tips: Build as many cottages as you can so you can collect taxes and earn experience points quicker. Plant the most expensive crops because you make more when you harvest them, and save your mojo to use in higher levels and plan around expansion.

Price Point: Free
Addiction Rating: 4.5 stars

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2. Angry Birds HD

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What’s so great about Angry Birds? How about “everything.” This is one of those games that will continue to nag at your sense of self-worth until you can beat a particular level — which may prove to be futile for some levels. Pick up this game and soon your dreams will be haunted by squawking birds, and the taunting grins of those green pigs that just will not die.

Things begin rather easily: You start with a few angry red birds that you sling at awaiting green pigs. The goal is to kill the pigs either by lampooning them with a bird dead-on, or craftily trying to topple bricks to crush them. In total, there are 105 different levels, each one more difficult than the last.

Beginner tips: Don’t play in front of friends or family because they will try to take the game away from you, sometimes the most obvious strategy is the right one, know your angles and learn the strengths of each bird type.

Price Point: $4.99
Addiction Rating: 5 stars

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3. GodFinger

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Oh the joys of playing God. In GodFinger, you’re a deity with a commanding finger you can use to turn people into followers and put them to work on your planet.

The idea of the game is to create a thriving planet populated with followers to do your bidding. Earning gold, mana, and awe let’s you level up and build better items to help you earn all three achievements as fast as possible.

You earn gold by placing followers at barns or farms. It is used to buy new items in the store. You need mana for rain, sunshine, lightning and the other natural elements required for planet functions. You can earn mana by placing followers at your shrine. Awe is a special element that you earn each time you level up, and you can use it at the Awe Store. You can also buy it if you get desperate.

GodFinger — like We Rule — is an Ngmoco game, so gameplay begins with a challenge-based tutorial. You level up based on the experience points you accrue through in-game actions. Pay attention to each task and prompt in the tutorial mode, as instructions include information that will become vital to the health of your planet and your followers.

Tips for ruling wisely: Wells and taverns are great for faster rejuvenation, gold that you don’t collect erodes, upgrade your shrine to generate mana faster, zoom out to visit neighboring planets and save your awe to buy cooler items in higher levels.

Price Point: Free
Addiction Rating: 4 stars

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4. Plants vs. Zombies HD

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Zombie fan or not, this game will suck the life out of you as you fall victim to each engrossing level.

The ultimate goal of the game is to prevent zombies from entering your home in each level. Should they succeed, you will die.

The game starts out with a few semi-harmless zombies and some less-than-potent plants that you will need to attack and kill the oncoming onslaught of the undead. As you level up, the zombies become more menacing and the plants more lethal.

Your biggest challenges will be deciding how many sunflowers to plant, figuring out how to protect them, and picking plants to use in your arsenal of attack for each level. Don’t forget that you will need the sunflowers to buy the plants you need. Also, the plants you choose for each level will vary on whether it’s day or night, and their ability to kill depends on the zombies you’re fighting against.

Tips to stay alive: Plant as many sunflowers as you can during the first few moments of each level, the double sunflower is a waste of money and space, always buy more slots for plants when you can and make sure you have at least one big attack plant for each level.

Price Point: $9.99
Addiction Rating: 5 stars

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5. Dizzypad HD

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Who knew having frogs leap from lilypad to lilypad could be so addicting? But in much the same way that DoodleJump can entertain and frustrate players for hours at a time, so too can Dizzypad HD for the iPad.

The object of the game is to get the frog from one lilypad to the next, by carefully timing each leap so as not to land in the water and lose a life. Unfortunately, this is one of those games that is deceptively simple: It will lure you in with its easy premise and then make you feel like a fool when you can’t beat your own high score.

Unlike most great games on the iPad, this one comes completely free of charge — but only if you’re fine with just playing the classic mode. If you’re anything like me, you’ll fork over the $1.99 (each) to add sliders, memory, and battle modes. They’re definitely worth the extra cash.

Pro tip for leapers: Learn to leapfrog as many lilypads as you can early on. For each lilypad you leapfrog, you earn an extra life. Those extra lives will come in handy as lilypads become harder to reach.

Price Point: Free
Addiction Rating: 3.5 stars

photo credit: Stéfan

When Google launched its panoramic photomapping service back in 2007, it was the first time many netizens had the chance to explore a swathe of detailed street-level photos from their armchairs.

In the U.S., Street View’s rivals now include Microsoft’s Silverlight-powered “Streetside” via Bing Maps and MapQuest’s 360 View. Elsewhere in the world, other international sites offer rival photomapping for their particular part of the globe, even as the reach of Google’s Street View steadily increases.

We’ve picked our five favorite websites from around the world that offer extensive street level imagery from places as varied as Munich, Mae Hong Son, Moscow and Miskolc. So grab your Panama hats and get ready to hit the virtual sidewalks of streets many, many miles away, then let us know your favorite services in the comments below.

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City8

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There are a number of Chinese services that offer street level photography of the country, with one of the first being “virtual tour” software designer Easypano’s City8. It claims to have beaten Street View to the web by a year.

City8 currently offers fairly comprehensive imagery for more than 40 Chinese cities, however, navigating the site can be a little tricky unless you read and speak the lingo, which sadly, we don’t. The photo maps won’t display if you’re viewing the site through Google Translate (in Firefox anyway) so you’ll have to navigate back and forth (or go for a dual screen option) to find out what you’re looking at. However, the photos of everyday China are fascinating so it’s definitely worth the hassle if you have an interest in the People’s Republic.

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NORC

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NORC’s photo mapping services cover Eastern and Central Europe. Currently, you can see landmarks and parts of cities in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia (Russia is accessed via a separate site — Mappi).

Luckily for those not blessed with multi-lingual skills, the site is available in English, making zipping round the back streets of Innsbruck, Austria a breeze. NORC ups the value by making most map views available as 3D images — if you have the correct glasses. You can identity which maps are 3D by the glasses icon on the top left of the display.

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MapJack

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Mapjack.com offers a slightly random mix of imagery from a few select areas on America’s West Coast and parts of Thailand.

“What others have done with NASA budgets and Star Wars-like equipment, we’ve done on a shoestring budget, along with a few trips to Radio Shack,” the site claims.

Those Radio Shack trips were worth the effort however, as Mapjack’s image quality exceeds that of Street View with particularly clear, bright scenes and vivid colors. We recommend Mapjack for seeing crisp photos of the Yosemite National Park and for soaking up the brilliant street scenes of Chiang Mai.

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SightWalk

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This German website offers street level photos of Bonn, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart. Thankfully it’s also available in English.

We were quite impressed with SightWalk’s option to share locations with your social circle via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail. It also overlays map data with points of interest along with Wikipedia links (which are in German).

The site is easy to navigate — we were headed down the Potsdammer Platz within seconds of selecting Berlin from the homepage — and the imagery is in decent quality.

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Yandex

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As Russia’s leading search engine, Yandex started a photographic index of Eastern European cities starting with the biggest ones: Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Kiev. It has just recently expanded to also offer panoramic views for Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara and Chelyabinsk.

The service is in Russian, which can make navigation fairly difficult, but the clarity of the street maps (designed by the geek legends of Art Lebedev Studios) make the site less of a challenge to use.

Whether you want to see the exotic roofline of the the Kremlin as it appears from the street, or view the brutal tower blocks that pepper the cities, Yandex is a great place to go, especially considering Google is yet to get its camera-equipped cars across the Russian border.

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BONUS: VideoStreetView

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This is a bonus site because it actually offers 360-degree panoramic videos. In a nutshell, this Swiss firm has recorded footage as it drives down streets, and as you watch the clip you can pan around at will, looking left and right, up, down and even behind you. The commercial possibilities for panoramic video are really quite exciting for lots of different areas and industries, so be sure to check this out to see what the future might hold.

photo credit: marcp_dmoz

Hayden Black is the writer, producer, and star of the huge online hits “Goodnight Burbank,” “Abigail’s Teen Diary,” and “The Occulterers.” He’s racked up multiple awards and nominations, and stellar reviews in the mainstream press. Follow @HaydenBlack on Twitter.

With web video exploding and the promise of GoogleTV around the corner, it’s a wonderful time to be able to upload your own content. But just because anyone can do it doesn’t mean everyone should. For every well-produced, entertaining and informative video, there are millions that aren’t. So what are some of the bigger pitfalls to avoid if you want your video to get people talking?

Firstly, remember that at the moment, the vast majority of content created for the Internet makes zero money, so everything you do should come from a place of passion. Here are a few tips to make that passion work for you.

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1. Take the Time to Write

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Unfortunately, few people who are rushing to get their stuff up on YouTube have actually thought it through. And you don’t have to take my word for it — just click on 99% of the web shows out there and you’ll find the script was clearly lower down on the priority list than craft services.

So here’s where you’ll need to roll up your sleeves. You have to actually sit down and come up with compelling characters and interesting situations. There’s no hurry to get it right either, so take your time.

It’s probably best to outline your show before you write it. And while you’re doing that, discard any parodies you’ve been thinking about. The web is bursting with them. If you want your content to stand out, you should focus on creating something original.

The wonderful thing about the Internet is that you are your own creative force. Nothing exists to dilute your voice or imagination as it might in more established mediums like TV or film, so use both to their full extent.

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2. Know the Medium

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The target length for most web videos is five minutes or less. You should be fully aware of this as you write and prepare for production. Know that within those five minutes, there needs to be a beginning, middle and an end — even if it’s part of a greater narrative structure that takes place over 10 episodes.

Remember that you must make it as engaging as possible: You’re competing with e-mails, Tweets, and whatever else is pinging away in the background.

It’s also important to note that most people watch web videos alone. The sharing is often done not with people present, but through social media and e-mail. So think about how habits change between lone and group audiences.

Take comedies, for example. Viewers tend to have more “laugh out loud” moments when they watch with other people. Sometimes that laughter is contagious — other times, a viewer will want his company to know he’s smart enough to get the joke. Either way, a lone viewer’s laugh out loud moments are going to be fewer and shorter. So when editing your web-based comedy, it’s wise not to leave gaping holes after jokes for the laughter you’re expecting. All you’ll end up with is a vacuum that reminds the viewer that the joke they just heard was even less funny than they thought.

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3. Pay Attention to Production Values

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You don’t have to compete with Mr. Spielberg, but there are a few basics that should be noted when it comes to producing web video — simple things like getting the lighting right (can we see your actors?), making sure all the dialogue can be heard, and ensuring the room tone matches.

Don’t know what room tone is? It’s making sure that everything sounds basically the same when you’re cutting from shot to shot within one setting. To do that, the editor lays down an audio track taken from the room while shooting, which can then be used to make the ambient audio uniform between takes.

Web audiences don’t expect something that looks like The Matrix — but they’re not going to put up with dialogue that sounds like it was recorded through a tin can. Find a good middle ground. Once you’ve got good acting talent and a great script, decent production values are what will set you apart from the thousands of other videos your audience could be watching instead.

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4. Focus on Grassroots Marketing

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Some people think that the best, cheapest, and easiest way to market a web show is to start a Twitter or Facebook account, follow everyone they can, and start “shouting” about the content.

So why is nothing happening? Because you’re yelling into a chasm that’s filled with the echoes from a million other people. No one’s listening for the same reasons they never look at the flyers that come in the mail or the marketing pitches that come to their inboxes.

Take a more engaging approach. It’s a longer route, but the payout is far greater because you’ll ultimately be talking to people who care.

If you’re producing a comedy series, don’t use the related Twitter account to only broadcast when new episodes are up. Between videos, use it as an outlet for news jokes or a free source of silly gags.

And if you are trying to share your content with specific people, take care to avoid hitting them with the same message from multiple angles. The more e-mails, Facebook messages, and Twitter DMs one gets about the same thing, the less likely she’ll be to naturally discover and enjoy it.

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Conclusion

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So there you go — a handful of simple tips that should serve as a starting point for getting your big idea off the ground, and hopefully out to the masses. What sort of production or marketing values do you look for in a successful web series? Be sure to share them in the comments below.

photo credit: CLF

The 2010 World Cup is going to be a very interesting one as far as social media goes — it’s the first to be played out in the Twitter era and the first to fully embrace the social media universe.

This bodes well for avid soccer fans keen to stay up to date with all the most recent news from their favorite players and teams. The real-time nature of Twitter may well entice these newcomers to hop on the micro-blogging site. To get new users ready for the action, we’ve got a few tips for how to follow the World Cup on Twitter complete with a list of who you should be following to stay informed on the games, news, and goings on in South Africa.

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1. Hashtags and Searches

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While Twitter’s hashtag system is a great way of monitoring a certain topic, and for getting real-time updates on what the Twitterverse is saying about a live event, the organic nature of exactly how the tags are decided can cause confusion.

Currently, there seems to be a fair amount of footie-related tags in circulation, although we’d imagine by the first few days of the tournament these will be narrowed down as the most popular ones become trending topics and are adopted by tweeters.

At the moment, #worldcup seems to be the largest tag by volume of tweets, but #wc2010 is also doing the rounds, as is #2010worldcup. Don’t forget, however, that the World Cup is a global event, so different languages also come into play. In Spanish, World Cup is “Copa Mundial,” in French it’s “Coupe du Monde,” and so on.

Other tags have, of course, sprung up around teams. #England is what most people are using to refer to the England team, while mentions of the United States team can be found under the tag #USMNT.

To quickly access a stream of tweets containing a certain hashtag you can save a search on Twitter, so that the results are just a click away from your home page — and the search can be easily removed after it’s no longer relevant.

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2. Lists

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The World Cup only lasts for a month, so it’s unlikely you’ll want to permanently follow all the World Cup-related sources you’ll be getting your footie news from over the next four weeks, especially as many sources have been created solely for the event.

The quickest and easiest way to get a month’s worth of World Cup info is to follow a ready-made list. Mashable’s Twitter list directory has World Cup lists ready and waiting and there’s also a Top Tweets account direct from Twitter that algorithmically selects the “top tweets” about the World Cup. Simply follow the list and then you can unfollow it after the final.

Alternatively, if you’re just interested in the big headlines, rather than blow-by-blow coverage, TweetMeme’s World Cup 2010 aggregated feed of popular tweets might be of interest.

It’s more work, but if you’re a little more selective then you can create your own list and simply delete it after the tournament on July 11. To get you started we’ve made some suggestions of World Cup Twitter news resources that can be found below.

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3. World Cup News Sources on Twitter

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Whether it’s the official FIFA feed, tabloid newspaper coverage, big broadcaster’s headlines or just the final scores, you’ll find the news you need in this list.

2010 FIFA World Cup – “The Twitter page of the 2010 Organizing Committee.” News and updates.

SA2010 World Cup – “Official 2010 FIFA World Cup South African Government website with all the information you need!” News, personal updates and commentary.

FIFAWorldCupTM – “The FIFA soccer world cup tweets. All the latest FIFA news and information on the 2010 soccer world cup.” Updates, human interest, emphasis on players and coaches.

TheFA.com – “The official website for the England Football Team and The FA Cup.” Updates on England players and live Tweets from England matches.

US Soccer – “U.S. Soccer: the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States.” Inside look at the US team, players and matches.

CNN World Cup – “All the latest news on the 2010 World Cup in South Africa from CNN International.” News and match scores culled from CNN reporters.

Telegraph World Cup – “World Cup 2010 news, analysis, pictures and video from Telegraph.co.uk” Links back to stories posted by The Telegraph.

NY Times Goal – “The New York Times Soccer Blog reports on the international game and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.” Live updates and links back to New York Times stories.

AP World Cup – “Join the conversation as @AP covers the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.” News, match scores and brief commentary.

BBC World Cup – “A feed dedicated to World Cup headlines from the BBC website.” Links back to BBC.

Sports Illustrated Soccer – “Soccer, World Cup coverage from Sports Illustrated and SI.com writers and photographers.” Player news and general features.

The Sun World Cup – “Follow all the latest news on the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with The Sun.” Mostly England updates and news, general match coverage.

Four Four Two – “Humorous but wholehearted, polished but readable, substantial but accessible, it’s football’s most insightful brand – with added F.U.N.” Quirky and off-beat updates, general news.

Fox Soccer News – “FOXSoccer.com headlines.” Links back to Fox Soccer.

World Cup Scores – “Live 2010 world cup soccer scores.” Match scores and live updates.