Funny, I *see* a lot of the new web apps and shiney things very early. Sometimes earlier than they start to get passed along from blog to blog. There are SOO many cool gadgets on the web. Twitter being one of them. I’ve seen it for a little bit now, then saw people starting to plug it / use it. I tend not to jump on the bandwagon super early, but hang back a bit and see how useful others find it. For example, I have a My Space page, and I hate it. It’s there, so I leave it, but don’t utilize it the way I should. It’s too much work, I’d have to keep on top of like 15 different web apps (not to mention a few blogs, a few email addy’s, a few messenger services).
I don’t have the time, or the desire to cross post that much info. But it IS important to at least be on the services, even if I don’t exploit them for all their blinky-goodness. I’ve been seeing Ewan Spence using Twitter for some time now. Today I decided to join. I actually like the idea, because it’s low maintance. Random scattered thoughts from my day – a “micro blog” almost. Is that a term? Can it be my phrase? Sorry… wandering… Mostly it’s the same crew of people all jumping in. Listen, I can see what you are doing via your blog, and micro manage my obession with your data via Twitter. What the hell happened to simplifying? WordPress blog here, Skype, Twitter, gMail & related calendars/apps (LinkedIn on occassion). What else do I need?
Oh, what I DO need is a killer (free) web CMS system. I am sick of having to rifle through my notebooks and binders to find info and notes I’ve got on clients. Any suggestions?
I wouldn’t use a cms for notes… I would either use Process 2 by jumsoft or Devonthink pro, both are very powerful information managers.
CMS for notes? CMS (Content Management System) is similar to what you have right here, with WordPress. It serves up content dynamically, you can manage it, manage who has access, and manage who can see and/or manipulate it.
Sounds like what you’re really looking for is a PIM, as Jeremy mentioned.
Some good content/information managers, as I have to use them for the many projects I run, are:
OnFolio (http://www.onfolio.com/) — now owned by Microsoft — is free, and can grab RSS feeds and full Web pages — in their entirety — and save everything to your computer in a filing cabinet style. You opt for the directories, the methods used. I save the pages, not links, as links disappear too often.
askSam/SurfSaver — two tools from askSam.com — askSam is a freeform database, and if you visit the site, you can watch a short video on the many ways it can be used. It’s a powerful database (but there’s no structure unless you create the structure, which is REALLY easy — basically the same as setting up a form in MS Word or OpenOffice. SurfSaver saves complete Web pages to your hard drive, much like OnFolio does. For much of the research I do, I like saving the Web pages, as that way I never lose the page, it doesn’t disappear, and I have the actual reference — even if I am on my laptop and working offline (or don’t have access to wireless connectivity).
MyInfo (http://www.milenix.com/) is a great freeform database, similar to askSam, but different. I use askSam for a lot of detailed research, as it can actually generate reports and other stuff “traditional” databases, such as MS Access, FoxPro, etc.
For over 15 years now I have used a cool tool aptly named Time and Chaos (http://chaossoftware.com/chaos.asp), and it manages all your contacts (contact info, notes, schedules, ToDo lists, and more!), and the company is great for any support questions, whether via email or phone.
The last and final tool in my arsenal of information management software is OneNote, another Microsoft product (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/). Think of those binders you have. It works identical to them, but in the electronic world. You can even add audio files to OneNote, and when you search, Windows will actually search the audio to find the keywords you’re looking for in your search.
I have a 250gig USB external HD that I picked up for $100 that I use exclusively for saving my “collected” content. Anything from Time and Chaos, OneNote, MyInfo, OnFolio, askSam, SurfSaver, etc., is stored on that drive, which I then unplug and carry with me anywhere I go. It’s a small device: only about 8″ x 5″ x 1″ in size. I plug it into any computer I am working on, and all the files I need are at my fingertips.