Media & Communications Corner: Fueling Your Knowledge

Like many knowledge workers fueled on caffeine and trying to create art and value out of the endless stream of information we process every day, we are always on the lookout for tools, tricks and any advantages we might find. The following tools are some of the latest to cross our radar ' and we've found them to be remarkably useful. What do you think? Read on, explore a bit and feel free to let us know whether you agree.

15 Tools

Greplin (www.greplin.com) is a personal search engine that allows you to search much of the data you store online in one centralized location. Greplin indexes the information you create in places like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Docs, and provides a lightning-fast search of it all. Never again will you have to log in to multiple websites and dig through mountains of data just to track down a single piece of forgotten information. What's more, it's free! How cool is that?

TaskRabbit (www.taskrabbit.com) is your personal errand-runner. You post a task, naming how much you would pay to have it done. Vetted runners consider it and make offers, indicating how much they want to be paid. TaskRabbit adds a fee to the offer, aiming for a price that gets everyone a deal. Et voila! Next time you're obliged to stay late at the office, you can still get your dry cleaning picked up. What's more, TaskRabbit makes payment easy. When the task is closed, your credit card is charged and the runner is paid.

Tasked with writing the company blog? Under the gun to find graphics to boost the impact of your posts? Enter Zemanta (www.zemanta.com), your virtual editorial assistant. Zemanta looks over your shoulder while you blog, and suggests related content and images. It's a quick download that works with your blog platform of choice. Also worth noting: Copyright law is taken seriously here, so you don't have to worry that the app will suggest a fabulous photo only to discover later that you're breaking the law.

Whether you're looking for tips on how to hire, how to compensate interns, how to create a Facebook page for your company or how to nab a line of credit, Work.com's (www.work.com) guides and experts cover it all. The straightforward format provides guides, and helps small business decision-makers solve their most pressing business problems and maximize opportunities.

If the word “fax” is still in your vocabulary, consider MyFax (www.myfax.com), which allows you to send faxes via e-mail. No more hovering over a clunky fax machine listening to the whirls and beeps and wondering if your ten-page report will make it through in one piece; There's even a Microsoft Outlook plug-in for frequent senders. Test the service with a 30-day free trial, after that it's as little as $10 per month, less if you buy an annual plan.

If you'd like an alternative to muddling through the dozens of news stories your social network pals post on Facebook, Twitter and the like, Summify (www.summify.com) is the answer. The company surveys the content in all of your social networks and sends you the articles that are likely to interest you the most. You decide how many you want to receive, and how often.

Another great tool to simplify your reading and save you time is Readmeo (www.readmeo.com). Always tripping across interesting articles online that you don't have time to read just then? By adding a “read later” button to your tool bar, all you need is a click to save a relevant URL to your Readmeo library. When you're ready to read, simply go to the website and catch up on everything you've saved. It's even Twitter-friendly.

Speaking of Twitter, one of the best tools among the myriad out there to assist your daily tweets is Timely (http://timely.is). Add it to your toolbar, sign up multiple accounts if you have them, and when you next come across something you want to tweet about, “create a Timely” and it will add the post to your queue. You can click through to your queue and bump your posts up and down to adjust the schedule of your tweets.

Ever been blown away by a presentation that zooms in and out and moves non-linearly, unlike the classic mundane slide show? Then you probably saw a Prezi (www.prezi.com). Prezi insists that anyone who can sketch an idea on a napkin can create stunning non-linear presentations that incorporate text, images, video, PDFs, drawings and more, and enable zooming in on details and making adjustments according to an allotted presentation time without the need to skip slides. It's one of the best ways we know to wake an audience up ' and ensure that they'll remember you.

If getting a grip on your unwieldy Outlook inbox has been on your backburner to-do list for a long time, check out Single Click Filing (www.singleclickfiling.com). This tool enables you to easily move emails from folder to folder with ' as you might have expected ' just one click. You can define up to ten filing buttons on your Outlook toolbar to file messages quickly and efficiently.

Need even more Outlook aid? Sperry Software (www.sperrysoftware.com) offers a suite of handy add-ins for Outlook to help you maximize your productivity. Tools include the ability to automatically save attachments, to automatically print e-mails and/or attachments when they land in your inbox, reminders to follow-up with people who haven't responded to your e-mails, the ability to easily send individual e-mails to members of a distribution list, and more. They're not free, but isn't it worth $15 to get a reminder every time you try to “reply all”?

Chances are you've heard of Skype. But Skype on steroids? That's the claim VoxOx (www.voxox.com) makes. Its free software allows you to import and store your contacts from multiple devices (various phones and IM and e-mail accounts) in one place. You're then assigned a unique phone number that you can use to e-mail, IM, text or call anyone through VoxOx. After you've surpassed the limited quantity of free calls, you can either pay a fee or be subjected to ads. Could prove a lifesaver if you're perpetually on the go!

If you want to have a brainstorm session but can't get the team in one place at one time, Threddie (www.threddie.com), which utilizes an easy-to-use post-and-comment system, may be the answer. All you have to do is start the discussion and invite people to participate. Threddie offers a free 14-day trial and free personal accounts, and for $39/month users get unlimited use, 50Gb of storage and customization options.

When it comes to the virtual office, Podio (www.podio.com) is hard to beat. The site allows you to organize work spaces for your projects, teams or customers, and select and customize apps specific to your needs. The best part? No technical skills required, which means no dependency on IT! A free account provides unlimited spaces, apps and storage for up to ten users. It even offers a host of social features and an intuitive interface to enhance team interaction and make work more fun.

Co-op (http://coopapp.com) is an indispensible connectivity tool for small and mid-size businesses, particularly when employees are dispersed across the country or even the world. Co-op helps teams stay connected through shared status updates, agendas, time tracking and more. For managers, it's an easy way to find out who's working on what and who may need a bit of prodding ' no more need for time-consuming daily status meetings. For a quick overview, check out an entertaining (and informative) mock-up of what a day might look like a la Mad Men at http://coopapp.com/anatomy.

Nicholas Gaffney, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is a lawyer and former journalist. Nick manages Infinite Public Relations' San Francisco office and can be reached at [email protected] or 415-732-7801.

Like many knowledge workers fueled on caffeine and trying to create art and value out of the endless stream of information we process every day, we are always on the lookout for tools, tricks and any advantages we might find. The following tools are some of the latest to cross our radar ' and we've found them to be remarkably useful. What do you think? Read on, explore a bit and feel free to let us know whether you agree.

15 Tools

Greplin (www.greplin.com) is a personal search engine that allows you to search much of the data you store online in one centralized location. Greplin indexes the information you create in places like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Docs, and provides a lightning-fast search of it all. Never again will you have to log in to multiple websites and dig through mountains of data just to track down a single piece of forgotten information. What's more, it's free! How cool is that?

TaskRabbit (www.taskrabbit.com) is your personal errand-runner. You post a task, naming how much you would pay to have it done. Vetted runners consider it and make offers, indicating how much they want to be paid. TaskRabbit adds a fee to the offer, aiming for a price that gets everyone a deal. Et voila! Next time you're obliged to stay late at the office, you can still get your dry cleaning picked up. What's more, TaskRabbit makes payment easy. When the task is closed, your credit card is charged and the runner is paid.

Tasked with writing the company blog? Under the gun to find graphics to boost the impact of your posts? Enter Zemanta (www.zemanta.com), your virtual editorial assistant. Zemanta looks over your shoulder while you blog, and suggests related content and images. It's a quick download that works with your blog platform of choice. Also worth noting: Copyright law is taken seriously here, so you don't have to worry that the app will suggest a fabulous photo only to discover later that you're breaking the law.

Whether you're looking for tips on how to hire, how to compensate interns, how to create a Facebook page for your company or how to nab a line of credit, Work.com's (www.work.com) guides and experts cover it all. The straightforward format provides guides, and helps small business decision-makers solve their most pressing business problems and maximize opportunities.

If the word “fax” is still in your vocabulary, consider MyFax (www.myfax.com), which allows you to send faxes via e-mail. No more hovering over a clunky fax machine listening to the whirls and beeps and wondering if your ten-page report will make it through in one piece; There's even a Microsoft Outlook plug-in for frequent senders. Test the service with a 30-day free trial, after that it's as little as $10 per month, less if you buy an annual plan.

If you'd like an alternative to muddling through the dozens of news stories your social network pals post on Facebook, Twitter and the like, Summify (www.summify.com) is the answer. The company surveys the content in all of your social networks and sends you the articles that are likely to interest you the most. You decide how many you want to receive, and how often.

Another great tool to simplify your reading and save you time is Readmeo (www.readmeo.com). Always tripping across interesting articles online that you don't have time to read just then? By adding a “read later” button to your tool bar, all you need is a click to save a relevant URL to your Readmeo library. When you're ready to read, simply go to the website and catch up on everything you've saved. It's even Twitter-friendly.

Speaking of Twitter, one of the best tools among the myriad out there to assist your daily tweets is Timely (http://timely.is). Add it to your toolbar, sign up multiple accounts if you have them, and when you next come across something you want to tweet about, “create a Timely” and it will add the post to your queue. You can click through to your queue and bump your posts up and down to adjust the schedule of your tweets.

Ever been blown away by a presentation that zooms in and out and moves non-linearly, unlike the classic mundane slide show? Then you probably saw a Prezi (www.prezi.com). Prezi insists that anyone who can sketch an idea on a napkin can create stunning non-linear presentations that incorporate text, images, video, PDFs, drawings and more, and enable zooming in on details and making adjustments according to an allotted presentation time without the need to skip slides. It's one of the best ways we know to wake an audience up ' and ensure that they'll remember you.

If getting a grip on your unwieldy Outlook inbox has been on your backburner to-do list for a long time, check out Single Click Filing (www.singleclickfiling.com). This tool enables you to easily move emails from folder to folder with ' as you might have expected ' just one click. You can define up to ten filing buttons on your Outlook toolbar to file messages quickly and efficiently.

Need even more Outlook aid? Sperry Software (www.sperrysoftware.com) offers a suite of handy add-ins for Outlook to help you maximize your productivity. Tools include the ability to automatically save attachments, to automatically print e-mails and/or attachments when they land in your inbox, reminders to follow-up with people who haven't responded to your e-mails, the ability to easily send individual e-mails to members of a distribution list, and more. They're not free, but isn't it worth $15 to get a reminder every time you try to “reply all”?

Chances are you've heard of Skype. But Skype on steroids? That's the claim VoxOx (www.voxox.com) makes. Its free software allows you to import and store your contacts from multiple devices (various phones and IM and e-mail accounts) in one place. You're then assigned a unique phone number that you can use to e-mail, IM, text or call anyone through VoxOx. After you've surpassed the limited quantity of free calls, you can either pay a fee or be subjected to ads. Could prove a lifesaver if you're perpetually on the go!

If you want to have a brainstorm session but can't get the team in one place at one time, Threddie (www.threddie.com), which utilizes an easy-to-use post-and-comment system, may be the answer. All you have to do is start the discussion and invite people to participate. Threddie offers a free 14-day trial and free personal accounts, and for $39/month users get unlimited use, 50Gb of storage and customization options.

When it comes to the virtual office, Podio (www.podio.com) is hard to beat. The site allows you to organize work spaces for your projects, teams or customers, and select and customize apps specific to your needs. The best part? No technical skills required, which means no dependency on IT! A free account provides unlimited spaces, apps and storage for up to ten users. It even offers a host of social features and an intuitive interface to enhance team interaction and make work more fun.

Co-op (http://coopapp.com) is an indispensible connectivity tool for small and mid-size businesses, particularly when employees are dispersed across the country or even the world. Co-op helps teams stay connected through shared status updates, agendas, time tracking and more. For managers, it's an easy way to find out who's working on what and who may need a bit of prodding ' no more need for time-consuming daily status meetings. For a quick overview, check out an entertaining (and informative) mock-up of what a day might look like a la Mad Men at http://coopapp.com/anatomy.

Nicholas Gaffney, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is a lawyer and former journalist. Nick manages Infinite Public Relations' San Francisco office and can be reached at [email protected] or 415-732-7801.