Viewing Category: Tools
I've been looking for an expanded way of managing my ToDo List for years. Currently, I just use a text editor, and set up my list something like this:
TODO LIST
JULY 27 2005
o Go grocery shopping
. Fix formatting bug in blog
x rewrite header function
o refactor code using header function
x Process party photos
What I like about this format is that it's pretty fast to edit, delete, and reorganize the list. It's no good for scheduling or keeping track of a large pool of ToDo items though, but it's way faster and more flexible. The only downside is that the text editor is dumb: the items in the todo list are not otherwise manipulable programmatically as you could in a real system. However, on the front lines of productivity, the quick-and-dirty list works just fine. I also miss the lack of formatting in a plain text editor, like with bold text (you know I'm fond of it if you read this blog regularly).
While I was browsing Digital Media Minute, I came across a link to WikidPad. A Wiki is a document system that allows you to create hyperlinked pages of information on the fly just by running words together. The beauty of the system is that you don't have to manually create pages in HTML, create new files, or worry about organization. The wiki software manages that for you by keeping track of the links you've created and providing search. So if you're the type of person that tends to branch off into tangeants, a Wiki might be a good way for you to capture the information as you're doing your brain dump.
The main problem I have with Wikis is that they're ugly. I have three criteria for applications I use on a daily basis, if I have a choice about it:
- Fast interactive entry via keyboard; workflow is self-evident without wizards; no bloat; fast startup,
- Flexible at accepting and depicting different kinds of information
- Formatted output is aesthetically pleasing, as is the organization of the GUI itself
Wikis tend to lose on the Formatted critera, because they just aren't nicely set up typographically. The in-line markup language also tends to make things look a little unfinished.
Anyway, I've just started using the WikidPad, which runs only on Windows. There are a couple of other options I have not yet tried: Project Forum is a self-contained version that can run on a desktop; Personal Wiki and VoodooPad, which are Mac OS X only. VoodooPad looks particularly cool...I'm going to try it on my PowerBook because it looks like it manages picture links.
I'm surfing instead of working, so to win back some productivity, I'll describe my basic searching strategy!
When Google doesn't find what you want, it's because you are probably using an overly-general search query, or one that has been polluted by e-commerce junk information. Argh!
To get to the real opinions on the Internet, you need to search for words that people use, as opposed to the lifeless copywriting you see in a lot of "professional business communication."
Look for reviews and opinions. For example, I've been looking for information on a particular computer peripheral, something called the DAC-100. So I do a search on DAC-100 review, DAC-100 opinion, and even DAC-100 compared. I'm using the words you're likely to see in a review, as opposed to marketing copy.
UN-search for marketing copy. I remember looking for reviews on a particular ricecooker (the Zojirushi NS-KCC05), and the entire search result space was saturated with Amazon and Amazon.com feeder microstores: basically, the exact same information over and over again. Use this against them! Find a unique phrase in the copy and ignore it in the research results by adding a - in front of it. For example, if the ad copy says something like, "re-heats rice to the perfect serving temperature", do this search: zojirushi NS-KCC05 -"re-heats rice to the perfect serving temperature". You'll not see any results that contain that phrase. Thank God.
Try Model Numbers or other ID. This sometimes helps to isolate a particular product. Use Amazon or Epinions to narrow down which model number you're interested in. However, as models are often quickly replaced, you might not have much luck finding the dirt on a specific generation of unit. Sometimes Shelf Keeping Units (SKUs) are helpful--those are the numbers on the barcodes you see on retail packaging, and eCommerce sites sometimes list them in their online catalogs.
The more specific you can make your search terms, the better your search results will be. There are also nifty advanced search options at Google that can filter your results by date range, file format, and so on.
When all that fails, it's time to go to the mattresses. Try other information sources on the Web to learn more about the topic, and search on the cues that point to expert commentary.
Search eBay. When you can't find information or photos on some object, you might actually find it on eBay, which is not indexed by Google. I spent days looking for a reference photo of a Hebrew keyboard, eventually cobbling one together out of scraps of information from programming reference articles. Just yesterday I searched eBay and a dozen photos of the keyboards were there. Sometimes the sellers write a great deal of personal history about the items in general. Don't forget to search past auctions, and it may be worth looking at other specialized auction sites (gunbroker.com, for example) that cater to specialty markets. In either case, you might find a seller who is willing to tell you want you want to know about the item.
Search Wikipedia. Wikipedia entries don't often get ranked high in Google results, so go there first. Chances are, someone's written something about what you're looking for, and some high-quality links have been already researched for you.
Search The Top Specialty Information Sites. For nerd stuff, that means going to Slashdot. For digital photography, that's Digital Photo Review. And so on. You'll probably start to get a sense who's on top once you've visited a dozen sites, particularly smaller ones that have lists of links to other informational sites. They are usually the same, so eventually you will see who they all point to.
Search USENET. USENET was the primary Internet discussion system, a kind of global bulletin board system, until the World Wide Web balkanized the infosphere into millions of website-states. Prior to the mid 1990s, USENET was our primary community-driven information database covering thousands of topical interests. It still lives on at Google Groups. USENET will often deliver pieces of insight you will not have found on the Web.
Search The Blogosphere. Technorati, for example. [UPDATE] Google has added blog searching. Try that!
:http://del.icio.us
* Search Social Bookmarking Sites. I recently became aware of [del.icio.us], which is a compendium of bookmarks that users can share with each other. May be most useful when researching a topic that you're unfamiliar with, and are looking for "valuable" links. Can also be used for tracking "what's hot" on the Internet.
Search FAQs. One byproduct of the USENET era was the creation of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) post. Groups like comp.graphics were often inundated by newcomers to the group who asked the same questions over and over again. Over time, the FAQ postings have become quite comprehensive. While not all of them are actively maintained, they represent a trove of practical information on a broad range of topics. A lot of them are archived at faqs.org. You can do a full-text search.
Search Magazine Indexes. Sites like FindArticles.com index articles in magazines that may not always float to the top of a Google search. Worth a try.
Search Amazon. Type in your search subject, and see what books pop up. The titles alone, the people mentioned, and the commentary left by other amazon shoppers are immensely useful when mapping out a new information space. You can then use that information to narrow down your search on Google. Searching the Wishlists for a particular book title can also help narrow down the search field.
Find Secondary Information Sites. There is often useful commentary on the smaller personal websites. They don't rank high on Google, so use a blog indexer like Technorati and see who's linking to that major blog you like. Use Google to find sites that link to two or more other good sites you've found. Are there people out there who read both Dooce and Crossroad Dispatches, and feel strongly enough to provide a link? That might be an interesting person to read.
Look for Color Commentary. Sometimes you really just want to get some random guy's opinion. I like to search for terms like "really sucks", "I think", "I would", "technically speaking", and other phrases that someone giving your their opinion might say. The general principle here is to mix the topic of your search with some kind of "biased phrase." Slang that's in use by a particular generation can be useful too. For example, "friends with benefits" versus "casual sex" versus "free love"...all used by different generations (20-somethings, 30-somethings, hippies...) Likewise, if you are looking for negative opinions, try words like "stupid", "dumb" and "sucks". Use your imagination, and you'll be rewarded.
Look for Expert Cues. The relative obscurity of a word can help narrow down the results. So instead of searching for best plasma tv television, which will turn up crappy e-commerce websites, look for color balance reproduction fidelity plasma tv television...you're more likely to get an article that's written by someone who edits Audiophile magazine on the side. Or if you're looking for something more academic, use academic words or titles. "Ph.D.", "professor", "research", and "bibliography" might slant the results more in that direction.
Search Patent Databases. When you're looking for a utilitarian or specialty item that isn't directly used by the average consumer, the trail often goes cold, or is polluted by unrelated commercial offerings. Find out who holds key patents by searching the US Patent Office Database. There are other patent registries online too, so just look around.
The wealth of information you can gain from patent applications can put you back on track: names of inventors, manufacturers, and related patents--not to mention the description of the apparatus itself--can give you more to Google. Or look for the patent number on an actual object you're interested in (if there is one) and look it up online. That can save you buckets of time.
Don't Neglect Your Local Research Librarian! If you are lucky enough to live near a university library, or even a decent public library, go check it out. The good libraries have people trained in navigating piles of information...librarians! The specialist ones know where everything is. You can also find out how to access the library's card catalog over the Internet, which might save you some legwork. In a pinch you might go to Barnes and Noble or Borders or a decent independent bookstore, and ask someone where the books on XYZ are.
Look for Accessibility / Required Policy Markers. I just read someone complaining about trying to find the "real" website for a hotel; there are so many two-bit hotel portal sites that they drown out the real sources. I noticed that most of the hotels include the phrase En Espanol, whereas the portal sites tend not to worry about that kind of accessibility because it's expensive to implement for relatively little gain. Likewise, including a phrase like Section 508 (a requirement for government sites) might narrow down search results. Try slogans associated with the company, if you know them...a portal site is unlikely to completely parrot the corporate line, but you can bet that the corporate web team had that requirement tattooed on their butts before they started the project :-)
Search Flickr. Those photo sharing websites, with their full keywording and text descriptions, provide a secondary image databank in addition to stock photo and Google Images. I've found some pictures of pretty obscure stuff much more quickly on Flickr than I have through Google. Try it!
Search 9rules. 9rules is a blog network of several hundred sites that emphasize quality of conent. They've recently added 9rules search, which is a quick way of seeing what some thoughtful writers have said about a topic of interest to you. It also searches through a new other services like YouTube, so this is an interesting alternative search you can try. Full disclosure: This site is a member of the 9rules Network.
:http://del.icio.us
- Search Social Bookmarking Sites. Sites like [Del.icio.us]
are filled with links to the web content that people find useful; they are therefore much more likely to be interesting than general search, and the collections of links may reflect a theme or approach to the topic that you hadn't considered. And even better: you may actually discover someone who has relevant interests that you can contact directly...you never know!
Of course, all these techniques can be mixed together. This will give you raw data to work with, from objective and subjective sources. Determining whats's useful and what's not is up to you. Have fun!
Kevin Kelly posted an article on how to get published on Amazon. It doesn't take a whole lot of cash outlay (around 150 bucks plus two copies of your work), though you get only 45% of the listed price. Kelly notes that this isn't a way of making money, but to get your message out there by leveraging Amazon's huge traffic and e-commerce system. Cheaper than the vanity press, with more eyeballs! Via BoingBoing.
I caught an episode of NPR's Day to Day regarding the creation of expertise-sharing websites at the company commander level. At companycommand.com, military commanders at the company level (a company being from 100-200 troops) exchange practical tips on how to get the job done. Say you've got to lead a convoy out of Falujah...ask your fellow commanders on this password-protected site for their advice. Listen to the Day To Day audio segment.
While the companycommand.com website is not open to the general public, there's a link to Tomoye, the company that apparently makes the knowledge system behind it. It seems to be a social network package designed to facilitate the creation and management of what they call a Community of Practice. The powerpoint demo provides a good general overview of what the product is supposed to do, though I wonder how many people really get it.
You'd need motivated leaders and contributing experts to make any community happen, but it's interesting to see how social networking is developing from beyond simple roll-ups like LinkedIn to make it easier to happen. A few months ago, Meetup added something similar, but that site seems pretty dead these days.
Wikis have been on my mind lately, tangentially through some posts on the Markdown mailing list regarding the addition of tables, images, and so forth to its syntax.
I came across this posting regarding productivity tips via Weblog Without Honor. The suggestion that a personal wiki or Wiki-like editor to help organize on-the-fly is very compelling.
Think of it like this: Markdown makes it easier to seamlessly write and format as you go, without a lot of clicking around with the mouse. It's even better than most keyboard shortcuts, because you don't have to grapple with the control and alt keys in awkward ways.
Awkwardness kills productivity, and it pervades modern software. Don't get me wrong, keyboard shortcuts are great, but there are very few software application that have keyboard/mouse interfaces that really feel seamless. In fact, there are only two pieces of software that I've used that really achieved this:
* The pixel painting program DeluxePaint, published by Electronic Arts
* The word processor WordStar from MicroPro International
Both these applications had a unity between keyboard/mouse interface and the task at hand. The shortcuts chosen and philosophy behind tool mix allowed you to keep your hands working over the home keys and mouse. Because of this, you could keep your eyes focused on the exact space that you're working. It seems like a small thing, but you drop into "the zone" faster without the hundreds of tiny interruptions caused by looking for a button, shifting your hands to reach the control key, and so forth.
You might argue, "Yeah, but you eventually learn the shortcuts it's not that much time lost really. Just look at the screen!" You're right. But you're missing the point. I don't want things to merely work...I want to achieve work-fu... the fluid execution of creativity and productivity. Every glance that takes you from the task is a wasteful glance; it is better to excise it from your habits. Every extra inch of movement is a waste of energy and time. Excise these wastes from your habit, and divert that energy into production action!
There's a similar concept in military aircraft called HOTAS -- Hands on Throttle and Stick -- that puts essential task-oriented functions right on the primary flight controls. You know, things like arming weapons, selecting targets, and so forth. You could mount those controls in a very logical and easy-to-read panel on the dash, but the time it takes to take your HAND OFF THE CONTROLS to manipulate them forces you to not control the aircraft fully for that time. Of course, you end up with a potentially confusing cluster of buttons and knobs on your controls, but they've been shaped by years of experience and (hopefully) do not alter their primary function of controlling flight.
So back to the task at hand: What is my Primary Task? It's thinking and writing. What's the problem? Structuring and connecting more than a few pieces of information because more of an exercise in finding things than actually structuring them. Authoring a good hypertext document takes a lot of cutting and pasting of different kinds of information all over the system. My ideal information management system would allow me to write, organize, and link text with other media by keeping my hands on the keyboard 90% of the time.
