Sunday, January 11, 2009

What kept me going in 2008

When reviewing the Crunchies, it made me think about the tech innovators that I use.  Which ones are so core to my work or life routine that, if they went away tomorrow, my routines and productivity would suffer?

Here's my list of "important stuff" that helped me make it through 2008:
  • Twitter: I still love Twitter.  It's concept and simplicity are so refreshing.  More than following just friends, I'm finding it increasing valuable to follow media members, services, or companies I regularly use.  I hope these guys figure out a business model in 2009, because I know one is there, and I can't imagine it going away.
  • Facebook: 2008 was a Facebook year.  The surprise: how well it keeps me connected to family (especially Julie's family).   My Facebook wish for 2009: a better UI.  I understand the need for adverstising (hey to Pete!), but the current design is a bit obtuse.
  • Meebo: Simply the best innovation to come to IM since ICQ in the mid-90s.  Since I regularly use 3 IM providers (Google, Yahoo, Facebook), and I'm constantly switching computers, meebo has become my one source for IM.  My Meebo wish for 2009, a better mobile interface, and plenty of funding to keep going.
  • Remember the Milk: Still the best personal productivity tool I've found on the Internet.  Where should RTM go?  Intelligently incorporating some different sources, like Evernote has done, would be a good start.  List and tag management interfaces could also use a refresher.
  • Google Reader:  Google Reader is entrenched in my daily routine.  I start every work day in it, reviewing industry and client news and blogs.  The one thing it lacks is a network for collaboration -- what about a Digg acquisition in 2009?
  • Google Docs:  For my personal and community projects, I don't know if I could get by without Google docs.  The ease of multi-user document collaboration and publishing is is outstanding. While I'm sure Google has added some great features in 2008, I really only need the basics in word processing and spreadsheets -- without having to send them around to different people for input.
  • Google Calendar:  Because I'm burdened with the least intuitive calendering system imaginable at work, Lotus Notes, Google Calendar saves the day.  Thanks to Google Sync, I can use my Blackberry as an intermediary to sync my work and personal calendars.  Google's design team definitely got this one right.  Can someone at Lotus pay attention?
  • StatSheet:  Okay, so maybe this is a productivity drain, but this combines so many of my vices: sports (college basketball), data, visualization, and social networking.  And I have a soft spot for bootstrapped start-ups that are thinking outside the box.  I'm rooting for these guys.