"What did they say?"

How often does this happen to you? You're flipping through some notes of a meeting that could have been a week or two ago. As you try to interpret the hastily written scratching you try to remember, "What did they say? What was the context of the meeting when I wrote that down?"

Or it could be you're with a project stakeholder who told you one thing two months ago and they're now changing their story. "No, that's not what I said. What I've been saying for months is...."

My talented and insightful colleague Payson Hall recently shared one of his favorite new tools with me. It's called Livescribe. Here's how it works:

• While you're in a meeting (or class or any other context where you're taking notes while someone else is speaking), you use this special pen which has an audio recorder built-in.
• You take your notes on a special notebook that has uniquely identifiable markings encoded every millimeter or so--so small you don't see the markings. The pen understands where you are writing because of this encoding so it can sync your notes with the audio.
• Later on when you review your notes, just tap on the note and you can hear the accompanying audio. Imagine that project stakeholder's reaction when you can play back what they said!

Beyond that functionality, you can transfer your notes to your computer, organize them, and even search for words within the notes allowing you to find what you want in seconds. They even have the ability to transform your notes and audio into interactive movies.

The notebook and pen refills are reasonably priced, not to mention the very high cool factor. Looking for a new tool to help you manage your notes and stakeholders? Check out Livescribe on Amazon!

Labels: managing stakeholders, requirements, tools I love

posted by Andy at 4:04 PM  

Do You "Get" Twitter?

For months I watched my friend and colleague Ron send Twitter updates such as "Leaving for work" or "Traffic really nasty today." As much as I really like Ron, I had to wonder: does anyone really care that he overslept this morning?

For six months I didn't get Twitter. Against my better judgement I started using it. And now I get it. Finally.

The idea of Twitter is remarkably simple: answer the question "What are you doing?" in 140 characters or less (each update is referred to as a tweat).

What seemed like an impersonal platform for the self-obsessed suddenly became a tool to bring me closer to people I care about.

Are there people you'd like to stay in touch with but there's no way you would call them or e-mail them daily?

My sisters come to mind. I got them to start tweating as well and now I've never been more in the know about what's going on with them and their families. In fact, I even call them more often. Even my dad in his mid-70's is tweating. By integrating Flickr and Twitter we're sharing memories more easily than ever.

Can it work beyond close family and friends? Absolutely. Imagine getting short updates from team members, particularly when you are not co-located. Business owners can use Twitter to develop closer relationships with customers. There are some intriguing possibilities.

I encourage you to try it. Sign up for Twitter for free at http://www.twitter.com/. Invite some people you want to stay in touch with. Keep in mind that they'll probably look at you funny and think you have way too much time on your hands.

That's OK. But once they get it, you'll be glad you started.

You can find me on Twitter with the user name "andy_kaufman". Happy Tweating!

P.S. As with any social networking tool, Twitter can be a major distraction to your attempts to manage your time. Contact me for some ideas on how to avoid that.

Another P.S. Click here to find out how Ron is doing. :)

Labels: networking, teambuilding, tools I love

posted by Andy at 1:56 PM  

Tools I Love: Online Backup

Every once in a while I like to share a tip about a tool that I love. For years I was a bit concerned about what would happen if my system crashed… How good are my backups? If you work for a reasonably sized company, your work systems are likely sufficiently backed up. But what about your home system?

My typical backup strategy was to an external hard drive at home or the office, but what if, for some reason, that drive failed, burned, or (more likely) I was not diligent in backing up to it?

For a couple years we used the online data backup system called: Data Deposit Box. I was very happy with their software and reliability. However, they started getting too expensive as our backup size got over 10GB.

We’ve now been using a product called Carbonite that is under $50 for a year (I was spending over $20/month) and there’s no limit to how much you backup from a single computer.

Click here to download a free 15-day trial subscription to Carbonite, and get an extra free month of service when you buy.

I love saving money and not being skimpy on what to backup. Back it all up for one price. That's a tool I love!

Labels: tools I love

posted by Andy at 12:17 PM