The technology, aps & websites currently garnering my attention

Don't say you weren't forewarned about the lack of pattern or relationship between my posts.  Leaping from social media to gardening back to technology and over to random musings is... well, a typical day for me.

Today I'm going to leap upon my soapbox to tout the wonders of some recent websites and related discoveries.  I'm truly enthused and amazed at the fantastic arsenal of tools that are released and finessed every day.  While I don't claim my list of favorites (below) to be the most cutting-edge in tech reporting, I do feel compelled to share my adulation of each:

Evernote
My new favorite site allows me to grab favorite websites without the hassle of Del.ici.ous (which torments me with logging in every time when I just want to quickly bookmark a site across multiple access points).  Evernote's web clipper is a stroke of genius.  Even better, when reading magazines I can grab images and articles for future reference and save to Evernote while still passing on and/or recycling the magazine.  In fact, this recent article in Fortune by Josh Quittner titled "The Future of Reading" basically quantified my love of reading a magazine while simultaneously bookmarking via iphone or laptop: http://bit.ly/cefurl.  Just read the first five or so short paragraphs if you suffer from a short attention span.  Then, be sure to visit http://www.evernote.com/ and download it to your desktop to have access to the web clipper and an enhanced version.  You'll want the iPhone ap too, I suspect.

Dropbox
I love Google everything - truly, I do.  From Google Aps to the calendar, reader, Google for Nonprofits, checkout and a gazillion other lovely open source products, I'm smitten.  However, I need to calmly state that Dropbox is so my new favorite, and it really outperforms Google Docs in one major way: it automatically syncs documents across mediums (say, my home and work laptops and my iPhone) without the need for an external hard drive.  More importantly, it does this all automatically, making it far more intuitive than Docs, where I had to remember to save documents and upload them to the site.  Breaking the immediate save-to-My-Documents habit is hard, which is why I love that Dropbox places a nifty folder right in My Docs and automatically opens it for saves.  No more lugging even a laptop home, since I can access everything no matter where I'm working.  Even better, it's all backed-up online due to the likelihood (for me, anyway) that I will crash every computer to which I have access.  In short: LOVE.

There's a nap for that
My Dad has taken to making fun of the iPhone tagline by slurring the words (he's also prone to placing the em-FA-sis on the wrong sy-LAH-bles).  And I, as firstborn, feel compelled to laugh (just don't tell him I actually find it funny... every time).  Regardless, I need to extol some new favorite aps: Dropbox and Evernote, obviously, followed by Opera (the new speedy browser and much better favorite site bookmarking option as compared to Safari on the iPhone) and Kindle for iPhone. 

For social media management via iPhone: I like the LinkedIn ap and Twitterific rather than Twitter, and Facebook really seems to function far better through the browser than as an ap.

For reading/entertainment: Again, Kindle for iPhone, but I also can't part with Mashable (the best for tech/social media news), Huff Post and Treehugger (see below).  My poorly-behaved alter-ego enjoys Epic Fail and ifmylife (foul language alert!), and GoodReads has a lovely new ap for logging books read, to read and opinions of others - I keep the list to a short one of those whose book opinions I truly admire vs. friending everyone on the planet.

Best green aps: Again, Treehugger takes the cake followed by the GoodGuide (for checking and comparing products in the grocery store and elsewhere), CO2 Tracker, EcoSnoop and iRecycle (via Earth911.com), although the latter is not well developed in non-urban areas as yet.  Kiva Alerts is also very cool, for reviewing microloan projects around the world and supporting them through $25 investments - you can also check repayment and reinvestment schedules.  Learn more about them at http://www.kiva.org/.

Lazy Humanitarian Outreach
Speaking of Kiva and doing good, I've been absolutely intrigued by a recent article in Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com/) about IBM's World Community Grid: bit.ly/alR5Ri.  The gist of it is this: you sign up for the program and install "dumb" software on your computer (i.e. it does what it is supposed to do but leaves you alone, and doesn't affect your use or track your activities).  WCGrid "harnesses" your idle computer time to run computations related to research to fight cancer, end world hunger and dozens of other humanitarian causes.  By idle time, it means when you pause to think, get up for a cup of coffee or take a phone call.  You don't have to leave your computer on all the time or change your habits.  This basically turns all of our computers into a group supercomputer.  It's truly fascinating.  If you read it and feel comfortable enough to enroll (I would think you would, it's a thorough article), feel free to join my team at http://www.worldcommunitygrid.com/ - Team NWA.  I think it will be fun to see what can happen.

That's the list of the things making me tick this month.  Hope it turns out to be of interest or use!

Personal Branding in the age of Google

The previous post reminded me to add one of my favorite blog posts ever via Seth Godin (find him in my list of favorite blogs at right, or via http://sethgodin.typepad.com/).  It's good advice.

Personal branding in the age of Google by Seth Godin


An individual advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper. Three interesting resumes came to the top. She Googled each person's name.


The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking." The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings." And the third? A match came from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier. Three for three.


Google never forgets.


Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

Tips for tackling social media

I've had the opportunity both through my previous post at the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and more recently as a downtown enthusiast to offer some social media classes.

My seester gets a huge kick out of this, because in late 2008 she was still extolling me to get on Facebook, and I vehemently refused.  Alas, she was right.  Social media speaks to me, and it is a no-brainer for my personality type - I relish keeping up with all the trends.  Because I dove in so enthusiastically when I did take the plunge, I became something of an evangelist.  It also gave me an opportunity to save others the trials and tribulations of figuring it all out by offering a crash course in how to use these tools.  I like nothing more than to see a small business thrive thanks to ingenious use of one or more of these tools. 

And frankly, I find it a smidge disappointing that so many folks are snide about it.  No, we're not all going to stop writing with pens and pencils, forget how to send a handwritten thank you note, forgo all face to face meetings for online connections and stop leaving our homes because we're staring at screens all day.  Yes, it's easy to go overboard, but in an ideal world the very best social media users turn out to be (gasp!) outstanding communicators in all contexts.  Some of my very favorites (examples: @ghidotti, @elisemitch, @guykawasaki, @rahafharfoush, @kylesexton, @chrislmarsh) all turn out to be absolute rock stars when it comes to the various arts of public speaking, top-notch written word, branding prowess and all around great people.

In celebration of the idea that tech tools are a fabulous addition to a marketing arsenal which includes an understanding of how to connect with others, create partnerships, build relationships, appreciate kind works and generally make the world a better place, here are a few of my unsolicited tips:

1. Hone your social media skills just as you would your outstanding written communication or interviewing skills. 
2. Don't abbreviate, use excessive acronyms and trendy lingo or speak in a way only a handful of others would understand.
3. These tools are intuitive.  Don't stress about using them the "right" way.  Just dive in - you'll find yourself able to navigate them with a little time and common sense.
4. Don't hide or protect your updates.  If you're truly fearful of the world, social media may not be right for you.  It's ok to do this at first while you get comfortable using Twitter, blogs and the like, but then it is time to step out into the real world.  It will be ok.
5. On Twitter, follow thought leaders.  Connect with these folks via LinkedIn and Facebook as well.  If they're the kind of people who get your wheels turning 90 miles an hour when you're around them or you aspire to meet them, connect with them and reach out to those they admire as well.
6. Consider social media your daily dose of inspiration.  It's the online equivalent of those tear-away (gasp! the waste!) calendars with a daily quote.  When you hop on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or your tools of choice for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of the day, for example, it can redirect your energy and inspire you if you're connected to the right folks and organizations.
7. Who should I follow?  In addition to thought leaders, try your professional and trade associations, your peers and colleagues, definitely your competitors, people and companies you admire.  Pick an ad agency or two for inspiration, and a handful of news outlets for updates that won't overwhelm you.
8. These are conversational tools to supplement (not replace) your marketing efforts.  It's fun to see folks at those real, face to face, old-fashioned networking events with their @username on their name tag.  Shake a hand in the real world, and connect with them later online to keep the conversation alive.
9. What are your goals for social media?  Here are a few ideas: customer service, maintaining awareness of your brand, keeping up with your competition, monitoring trends, providing timely updates, engaging inactive customers or supporters, providing a positive voice and a conversational tone, maintaining top-of-mind awareness of your organization or cause.
10. Variety is the spice of life.  Please, please, please don't be one of those people who tells me you had oatmeal for breakfast.  While I may love and care about you, I don't care unless it's some earth-shattering oatmeal.  Don't feel compelled to keep your updates "work-related" or on just one topic.  People find you interesting as a human being because of your intricacies, various interests, your job and your hobbies.  Tell that story.
11. Be humble.  It's not about you (although it really is).  Trust me - folks who mention their customers, post interesting articles and share good news rather than ranting like a car commercial about their deals, their sales, their company and their news have something figured out.  They are intrinsically adding value and gaining a following in the process.  Mimic their success - sincerely.
12. Be circular.  If you're using Twitter, mention it on Facebook.  Encourage people to follow your blog through LinkedIn.  Place links for all the tools you're using on your website and in your email signature.  No one will find you if you don't offer them a roadmap.  Be shameless in inviting others to follow you, asking for connections and so forth.
13. Finally, embrace these tools rather than looking at an online presence as a chore or duty.  It will show if you're just doing it because you think it is what you're supposed to do.  Have a little fun with it!

So, for the few who care, there are my unsolicited tips.  Obviously, I believe these things can all be used for good.  Just give it a shot.  Let me know if I can help!