From the Links List page of this blog, I have pulled out what I term the productivity tools.  I’m going to try to present them in a manageable format and hopefully, you can just use what you need, and not bother with the rest.  The cool thing about all of the online tools is that it is like a brain-matching game.  Finding someone who has a brain that matches mine is my goal (except their brain has the patience, intelligence, education, motivation, desire, and skill to build an on-line tool).  Let the brain-matching begin.

I have divided these productivity tools into three sections.  The first I will call Strategies for Getting Organized & Beyond. The second will be Paper Clip Sites – These are sites that do one thing really well as does a paper clip. And the third is called Scary Excellent – Sites that have Great Reputations but Scare Me.  The second and third sections will follow in blog posts over the next few days. On to section one:

Productivity Tools

Strategies for Getting Organized & Beyond

http://www.stumbleupon.com/ discover the best of the web in less time
I checked books as my interest and did stumble upon a lot of cool sites but for the most part, I became irritated about not having any control over what come up though this could be a great site for finding content you might never see otherwise, like a phone booth that was turned into a lending library.  It feels more like a time waster than a time saver.

http://www.shareaholic.com/ the better way to share across Twitter, Facebook, Email and More
I find this site somewhat overwhelming but also appealing.  I will go back and take another look at it as it looks like something that would be worth the one-time investment to get it set up…Looks like a timesaver to me.

http://springpadit.com/ a free personal organizer and online notebook
It appeals to me.  I don’t have an account yet but Gary Vaynerchuk  likes it and I like Gary’s brain so it might be a match.  It is one I will go back and spend more time with but I also have to say I am really digging my Google Calendar and it has helped me get more organized. (It reminded me I needed to get this blog post up tomorrow so I went ahead and started the draft tonight.  I’m shooting for one post a week.)

http://www.evernote.com/ Remember everything.
Okay, I dig this.  I love the clipping notion.  Again, I will need to set up an account and get back to you but I will visit this again.

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ online to-do list and task manager
It looks like it will do everything one would need as a task management tool but it seems a little too advanced for me.  I can’t really explain why it makes me feel that way but I’d probably visit the seemingly easier options.

http://gtdiq.com/ test your getting things done IQ
I am a huge David Allen fan and relate to his brain and love his strategies.

Crush It! with Gary Vaynerchuk from Nicki Leone on Vimeo.

Hear Gary Vaynerchuk on indies, silliness, social media, Web2.0, & more.

Video Clips (posted by Trey Pennington)

Consuming Books Blog Post

Novel Thoughts

Photos (taken by Curtis Rogers from the SC State Library)

#ssns twitter feed

Southern Social Networking Summit (#ssns)
Meeting on the application of on-line social networking to the arts, humanities & business

Dates:
Wed., Jan. 6, 2010 (starting at 10am) & Thu., Jan. 7 (ending by 3pm)

Location:
Hyatt Regency Greenville, 220 North Main Street, Greenville, South Carolina, USA 29601
Tel: +1 864 235 1234 Fax: +1 864 232 7584
Mention code: SSNS when making reservation
Hotel Reservations Online

Thorny Details:
Registrants should have a working knowledge of the Internet and already be making some social networking efforts. Minimally, you should have a Twitter account and Facebook account set up, and have either a blog or website or both that is maintained somewhat regularly. Meals will be provided except dinner which will be dutch treat.

This event is free to the participants who stay overnight at the Hyatt Regency Greenville. The room rate is $99. If you do not stay at the Hyatt, the cost is $135. There will be no refunds. You will be required to forward your reservation confirmation for the Hyatt Regency Greenville to wanda@sibaweb.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to receive a special discount coupon and avoid the $135 summit registration fee.

Register here

You must pre-register by Jan. 1, 2010, Limited to the first 150 people. Every participant is invited to bring promotional materials, products, brochures, or other materials that they would like to share with other participants. Take this opportunity to increase your visibility across the south. We are all in this together.

Motivation and strategy:
The arts & humanities have made strides in applying insights from their field to social networking, particularly those involving reaching their direct constituents. So far, however, it has had a minimal impact on what may be the most significant challenge: reaching the masses. This meeting brings together those from varied domains to brainstorm about policies and programs aimed at invigorating our social networking efforts. The main thrust of the meeting will be to brainstorm about practical solutions to specific problems that are impeding progress in dealing with the ever changing explosive opportunities in social networking. There will be four sessions (see below), each focusing on a different broad topic area. Each begin with a briefing by a domain expert who will provide background information about the topic and propose some concrete problems for the group to address. Brainstorming will then take the form of breakout group meetings followed by larger group presentations. The four topic areas are:

1. How to make time for all the social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Ning, LinkedIn, Glue, Google, Delicious, Wet Paint, Net Galley, Author Buzz, Library Thing, Squidoo, FourSquare, CloudProfile and so many more…
2. What’s on-line that will feed my work? What’s free and how do I get it? Marketing Partnerships and how to make them work?
3. What does the research tell us? What trends are coming down the pipe? And how do we manage it all with small staffs and smaller budgets?
4. Increasing the effectiveness of our combined efforts. How do we move the conversation from insiders to outsiders?

Schedule (subject to adjustments)

Day 1, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010

• 9:00-10:00    Breakfast (please come and meet the other participants)
• 10:00–11:00 Welcome and Presentation on Motivation & Strategy for Successful Social Networking with business guru and wine guy Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It! http://garyvaynerchuk.com/
• 11:00-11:30 Break & Book Signing with Gary Vaynerchuk & David Allen
• 11:30-12:30 Introduction and questions for brainstorming: How to make time for all the social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Ning, LinkedIn, Glue, Google, Delicious, Wet Paint, Net Galley, Author Buzz, Library Thing, Squidoo, and so many more with the world’s leading authority on personal and organizational productivity David Allen, author of Making It All Work, Getting Things Done, and Ready for Anything. http://www.davidco.com/
• 12:30-1:00  Break & Booksigning with David Allen
• 1:00 -2:00   Breakout group brainstorming (over lunch)
• 2:00 -2:30   Breakout group reports
• 2:30-3:00    Break
• 3:00-4:00    Introduction and questions for brainstorming: What’s on-line that will feed my work? What’s free and how do I get it? Marketing Partnerships and how to make them work with social media marketing & viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella, author of The Social Media Marketing Book. http://danzarrella.com/
• 4:00-4:30    Break & Book Signing with Dan Zarrella
• 4:30-5:30    Breakout group brainstorming
• 5:30-6:30    Breakout group reports
• Dinner 7:00  Table 301 Family of Restaurants (Dutch Treat with a 20% discount to all)

Day 2, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010

• 8:00-9:00    Breakfast
• 9:00-10:00  Introduction and questions for brainstorming: What does the research tell us? What trends are coming down the pipe? And how do we manage it all with small staffs and smaller budgets? Expert to be named soon.
• 10:00-11:00 Breakout group brainstorming
• 11:00-12:00 Breakout group reports
• 12:00-1:10   Lunch to include SIBA presentation
• 1:10-2:10      Introduction and discussion: Increasing the effectiveness of our combined efforts. How do we move the conversation from insiders to outsiders? Expert to be named soon.
• 2:10-3:00     Group discussion and closing reflections

Twitter Summary:
Southern Social Networking Summit #ssns: Greenville, SC Jan w/Gary Vaynerchuk, David Allen, Dan Zarrella- http://www.sibaweb.com/ssns