The Idea Blog

More and more of the functions and applications - more and more of what I’m doing on my computer I’m doing with web applications.

1. Burris manages all projects on 37 Signals’ Basecamp, a great and affordable product that allows us to keep everything and share it with clients, with contractors - with anyone we choose. Want to know the project estimate for that website? It’s there, filed under “Estimates.”

2. Also by 37 Signals, I use a product called Highrise, a simple online CRM application. The cool feature with Highrise is its “dropbox.” Say I’m sending you an email, and I want to keep a record of it so that next time we speak I can call it up. I just bcc a copy to my unique dropbox address, and it files the email with your contact info. So a week or a year from now I can remind myself what we wrote about. (Or talked about, if I typed my notes into Highrise.)

Time was we would have passed a spreadsheet back and forth with project updates. And we all had our different address books and Day-Timers and the like. Now it’s online, and I can access the data from any computer.

3. Then there’s Grand Central, my phone system. One number you dial, and I direct it to the destination of my choice. For instance, my calls today are routed to my home phone (protecting my mobile minutes). Tomorrow the calls will likely go to my Skype number. Lots of great features with Grand Central, including the ability to record a custom message for anyone and everyone in my contact book. “Hi, Anne. Sorry I can’t come to the phone…” You get the idea. Google just acquired Grand Central, and it’s only going to get richer, better.

4. Finally (trying to keep this short, but sweet), I’m typing this post in a new program Eric Gordon told me about called MarsEdit2.0. I can create a blog entry now even without an Internet connection. It posts it when I’m online next time.

Have a favorite tool you care to share with me?