ColinAke.com…until I write a book.

Here are some of the Web 2.0 ish programs and websites I’ve been using to help organize my online life… It’s been requested in the Skribit widget so I’m going to write about them.  We’ll start with the Web 2.0 sites/companies that still use after a while because they add value to my life.

Twitter
Many people don’t ‘get’ Twitter, but I use it for networking. I’ve met some really cool people and learned of some really cool events over Twitter. It also amuses me and keeps me up to date on current events I’d never hear about otherwise.  And yes, I spend TONS of time on Twitter. I follow 114 people and 141 people follow me. That’s a lot of data incoming. Oh, and if you use Twitter, you should UseQwitter - it tells you when people stop following you. And TweetDeck - awesome Twitter client. And follow me.

RescueTime
I blogged about RescueTime recently and even though it doesn’t enhance either my life or my productivity I still use it to see what I’m spending time on. Useful, even if not THAT useful.

Mint.com
Mint is awesome - it keeps track of my finances in one place. Bank accounts, credit card bills, etc - it’s all there. Transaction data is pulled in in from all places and lets me manage my purchases and see how much over budget I’m going (as is normally the case). I think Mint is probably the most useful tool overall from a utility standpoint, as it’s helped me curb my spending just by keeping track of it. Give it a shot.

Skribit
Skribit is pretty cool and they have the blog content suggestion thing down. If you have a blog (and people who read it), check it out and give it a try. Until then, just recommend it to friends who fall into that category.

GrooveShark
I use GrooveShark as my primary and only web radio client. I tried Pandora, never liked it (not enough control), and haven’t gotten around trying last.fm, but GrooveShark lets you make your playlist up as you go along and also has a pretty cool autoplay option.

And then there are sites that I don’t go back to after signing up. I can only think of one because they’re that forgettable.

Gyminee.com
I’m not saying it’s not a cool idea, I just don’t work out enough or care enough to take the time to input EXACTLY what I had for lunch and how much I worked out. Just didn’t stay atop the priority list long enough.

And last, but not least, stuff I want to try.

Cloud Crap
Whether it’s data backup or some server instances, I want to learn more about the cloud and how to use it. JungleDisk looks way cool.

I’ve lost time and motivation to complete this post, but feel I should post something, so here ya go. Suggest something else for me to write about, if you want.

Colin

Nancy Pelosi dismissed the House of Representatives yesterday and the Democrats went home, but the Republicans stayed around today to protest that they weren’t given a vote on domestic offshore drilling.  Now, I’m not sure the details, but Republican Texan Congressman John Culberson began using Twitter to update people on the goings on.  Follow @JohnCulberson if you’re into that sort of thing.  I believe @PeteHoekstra is a Representative as well.

A couple things -

• I don’t follow politics nearly as actively as I used to, but what good did this do besides be symbolic?
• Filibusters don’t end at 5 PM with a press conference.
• Awesome to see Twitter used as a communication tool directly between Representatives and their constituents.
• I’d LOVE to be able to hear directly from my Representatives and Senators like this.  I wonder if I can write my reps and encourage them to get on Twitter?

Those are just some thoughts… Not sure what I think of the actions in D.C. on either side (I think we should have had a vote, but I don’t see the point of a publicity show like the GOP tried to pull off) - but I LOVE seeing Twitter used as a method of direct communication at least so we can know what people are working on.

We elect them - shouldn’t we have the option to easily find out about their day just like we find out about our friends’ days?

Colin

I’ve been using Twitter for not quite a month now and I have to say I like the microblogging idea.  When one doesn’t have time for this real blogging stuff, it’s a great way to keep in touch and communicate.

I like:

• Easily staying in touch with my friends
• Asking questions and getting quick answers
• Seeing what topics people I know are interested in
• The fact that I have it linked to everything.  I can call Jott, post to my blog, which posts to twitter, which posts to Facebook.  Overconnectivity?  Probably.  But it’s cool.

I dislike

• The fact that their server has down time every couple days.  Buy more servers, guys.
• The random spam people that follow you for no reason - they don’t even have a website that talks about what I talk about in my status updates.

So there we go - quick review of Twitter. Take care.

Colin