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Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine Vol 02 Issue 18
------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine -------
Vol 2, Issue 18
Lisa and I just got back from our annual trip down to Atlanta for
the Dragon*Con Science Fiction Convention. I go to see the stars
of my favorite SF programs. She goes, primarily, to visit with a
friend she's known since college. To each his or her own, as it
were.
Thinking about the two of them, though, has me reflecting on the
importance of staying in contact, both for our personal lives as
well as in business. Some people use advanced (and expensive)
relationship tracking software, others get by with an address
book and a calendar. Me? I make use of Google Docs. I'll be
talking about that in this issue as well as some of the other
uses I've found.
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In This Issue...
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1. Article: Floating on the Cloud: Google Docs
2. Shameless Self-Promotion
3. The Fine Print
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1. Article: Floating on the Cloud: Google Docs
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I've written about Google Docs before. It's the offering from
Google which duplicates some of the features of an office
productivity suite. They've made a number of improvements lately
which make them much more suited to replacing your desktop
equivalents, at least for some purposes.
For me, it's not so much which features it has that makes the
difference, but rather the fact that the documents are stored out
in "the cloud". This means I can access them from anywhere so
long as I have an Internet connection. So, what sort of things
do I have in my Google Docs folders? Let's run through a few.
Maybe it will give you some ideas of the things you can do.
1. My Tickler File -- This is for me, one of the two most
important uses I have for Google Docs. I set up a
spreadsheet with my network of friends and business
acquaintances. I've included their company and phone number.
I've also included dates for the last time we've had contact
(and how), the last time we actually saw each other (and
where) and the next time I plan to contact them. I also
record birthdays in this list -- since I love to wish people
a happy birthday -- as well as a few other scraps of
information.
Some people might see this as being a bit impersonal with my
relationships. I don't see it that way at all. For the
longest time I had dear friends who for one reason or another
had moved away. Without a system to remind me, I would let
months or even years go by without contacting them. This is
just my way of keeping my relationships strong.
2. My Networking Journal -- This would be the other big use that
I have for Google Docs. Every weekday (or so) I create a
list of people whome I want to call or email, individuals I
plan to meet, and events I want to attend. I can copy the
list of people right out of my tickler file. I also include
notes about our conversation. The next time I call someone,
I can use the search facilities to remember what we last
talked about. After all, I know that when I last spoke to my
buddy Ray Singer, that he was a cool guy. What I may not
remember is that he was heading off to the Bahamas for
several weeks on a family vacation.
3. Script for a Bruce Tegner Documentary -- A while back, one of
my requirements to earn my thrid degree black belt was --
with my partner, Peter Gluck -- to create a documentary about
Bruce Tegner. We created a document to write the script for
the movie. This allowed us to get a lot more done despite
the fact that we had a hard time getting together due to our
busy schedules.
4. My List of 101 Goals -- Each year I create a list of 101
goals for the year. This year I decided to put that list
into one of my Google Docs folders. Now I can track how I'm
doing with the list, easily and quickly.
5. Comics Catalog -- I created a list of all of the comic books
I have (yes, I am a nerd). This way, the next time I have an
opportunity to buy some older comic books, I can use the Web
browser in my cell phone to look over what I actually have
and hopefully avoid purchasing duplicates.
I'm sure that you can think up a number of ways that you can
benefit from Google Docs, its centralized network location,
convenient search facilities, and easy to maintain work-sharing
features. If you aren't using it right now, I hope that some of
the things I'm doing will give you some ideas.
In fact, if you'd like to get a copy of the tickler file template
or the journal page template, drop me an email at
gpeters@cyberdatasolutionsllc.com and I'd be glad to send them
your way.
Take care until next time.
Copyright 2008, Greg Peters
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2. Shameless Self-Promotion
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The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg
Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data
Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better
web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us
on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your
webmaster.
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3. The Fine Print
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