Fighting Back the Chaos

Today's world is full of information overload.  Perhaps it would be accurate to say application overload in some cases.  As we move from device to device or application to application, maintaining some semblance of organization is critical.  Yes, critical.  I'm not an organization freak as those around me will attest, but having some idea of how to organize information and resources is important.  We constantly run across websites we want to refer back to later.  We identify resources that are useful to share with others.  We also access certain information from different browsers or applications.  For example, I have about 3 different applications for twitter just on my laptop which I use interchangeably.  Then we move from our laptops to our iPhones to iPads etc.

CC Information Overload by Jorge Franganillo (Flickr)

We are not always on the same device so how do we make the "cloud" (internet based applications and storage of resources) work for us?  If we do not have a plan, chaos will take over and we will just miss out on resources buried in an overwhelming pile of stuff.  We need to help students with this skill too. I'll outline some of my own personal strategy to fight back the chaos.

I am always surprised how many people don't use bookmarks (see my previous post for more on bookmarking).  I have all my common sites in my toolbar.  This makes them easy to access anywhere.  I use Xmarks to sync all my bookmarks across all my devices.  This also makes them accessible by logging into the Xmarks site when on a public computer.  Although Xmarks can do other things like sync passwords and such, I use it solely for syncing bookmarks across devices and browsers.  It has an install plugin for almost any browser on any platform.  I have upgraded to the premium and find it worth every penny but a free version is available.

I also use Dropbox.  Lots of different applications allow you to use Dropbox to access information across devices (see more info here).  I find this is a valuable tool for having files and information easily synced across multiple devices.  It also makes a backup always available in case a device is lost or stolen.

I like Instapaper for reading articles later.

For example, I typically check my twitter network on my phone which regularly gives me useful links and information.  I have several methods to deal with this information.

1. I have created a free account with Instapaper.  I have added this bookmark applet to my toolbar on my browser which allows me to just click on "Read Later" and it is saved to my account.  Instapaper can be accessed on my iPhone or laptop easily.  It tracks what I have read and I just archive after I have finished.  I always know what articles are yet to be read.  
2. I often just skim my Twitter and don't do extensive reading.  So I email myself a tweet at my gmail account.  I have setup a filter that automatically removes it from the inbox and labels it so I can review it later.  Filters are powerful and often underused email feature.  This also makes it easy to search tweets I want to find later.
3. I can use my Diigo account to bookmark certain links right in my phone.
4. Xmarks makes a lot of this simply because it syncs my bookmark applet for Diigo and Instapaper across browsers and my phone.

Lastly, I also highly recommend RSS feeds.  I use Google Reader to keep up with blogs that I follow.  It is easy and accessible on my phone or laptop.  

How do you keep your life organized between browsers, applications, and devices?  Do you have other recommendations to share?

Sharing Files

A challenge for many people is sharing files with friends, particularly files too large for email. Some great free tools are out there to share your files. If you have really big files, you may have to pay some money, but anything under 100 MB can probably be done for free.

I have used YouSendIt.com in the past. It is easy to use. You just have to go to their website and sign up. Files can be sent via the web or with their desktop client you can run on your computer. Anything under 100 MB is free. You can send up to 2 GB with a paid plan. The nice thing about YouSendIt is that you can pay by use. You don't have purchase a full subscription if you just want to use it once or twice.

A colleague recommended Drop.io to me. I just used this twice this week. It is a free service again for files under 100 MB. I think you can pay for more premium services like password access and larger files. Your link is private and won't be caught by search engines. An additional feature is that others with whom you share your drop space can also add files. It becomes a common location of shared storage that can also store comments and you can even email attachments and information. It is reminiscent of a private wiki in many ways. It will also integrate with your Twitter account.

Dropbox a wonderful service that I have been using for a few months now. It allows up to 2 GB of space, and like other services, I think you can pay for more. An additional benefit is that any files you upload and then erase can be retrieved from the trash. You can use it entirely web-based but the real benefit comes in downloading the client on your computer (both Mac and PC work great). It can create a "dropbox" folder in your documents and anything added to your account will automatically sync across computers. I use this to share files between my home computer and school computer regularly. Although convenient for syncing files which can then be run locally on my computer, I find the real power in being able to share folders with others. By sharing a folder, any item placed in that folder is automatically synced to my colleagues' computer. It is a good way to collaborate on projects where multiple files are being used and updated.

These are 3 tools that I have found helpful in sharing files. Perhaps they'll help you as well.