Product Pipeline

Whether your work or personal goals for 2006 are to be more productive, get organized, or increase communication, the web-based tools listed here can help you meet them. Most of these products have been branded as part of the “Web 2.0” movement, but don't worry if you find the term to be vacuous. It's not the fault of the software!

These applications have a number of things in common. First, they are all either free or inexpensive. Being web sites, they can be accessed from any connected computer, providing a high degree of flexibility for where and when to use them. Next, most of them use Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, otherwise known as AJAX. Since these tools often run on XML, there is support for RSS, which is simply a flavor of XML. It is a highly flexible computer file that can be easily read by other computers and applications, so RSS feeds from one piece of software can be used in other places. Last, but not least, these programs are easy to use, so more time can be spent actually using them rather than struggling with them.

Ultimate IM

We have already seen the power of instant messaging (IM) for professional and personal communication (refer to the “Libraries That Use IM” section of the Library Success Wiki for evidence.). If you're using IM as part of your reference desk duty, you are likely familiar with juggling your AOL Instant Messenger™, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and GTalk (or other Jabber) accounts. Programs like Trillian and Gaim partially solve this problem by allowing users to aggregate screen names from competing networks into one interface. But such convenience can leave IM power users wanting when they're forced to use computers without a multinetwork client. This is where meebo comes in. Often described as a web-based Trillian, meebo allows users to connect to multiple IM networks without downloading a program. Through an AJAX interface, users simply enter their connection details and hit connect. A buddy list will appear on the right side of the browser, and the windows of IM conversations can be positioned inside the browser screen. Furthermore, users can connect to multiple screen names from the same network. In addition to easily customizable away messages, Meebo lets users become “invisible,” so you can have important discussions online without being bombarded by your kid brother, coworker, or friends. If you're a Firefox user, having meebo open in a tab while you work in other tabs is a great strategy. When a message arrives, the meebo tab flashes the name of the sender and the start of the message. Remember that meebo is in alpha stage, so features are bound to change, and you might find the occasional bug.

For Librarians If you want to offer IM programs on your public computers but have met resistance, meebo is the next thing to try. Librarians can alert users to meebo through signs posted by the computers, or an icon on the desktop. Also, the simplicity of meebo makes it a natural choice for IM training sessions. Since it is a stripped-down program, there aren't icons for sending links or files, connecting with voice, changing font colors, and other things that can be distracting for first-time IMers. Meebo can also come in handy for last-minute IM reference duty, since staff can sign on from any computer in the library.

Three tools from 37 Signals

37 Signals (www.37signals.com) is a neat company based in Chicago that provides simple, usable, web-based software filled with RSS. As a librarian, you'll find a warm spot in your heart for 37 Signals when you read the first part of the manifesto for its product Backpack: “Information is only useful if you know where it is.” Its four available applications are related but unique. Two of the applications are free and have full functionality, while the other two have limited though functional free versions. Here's some details on three of the products.

Ta-da Lists

Do you find yourself with a ream of to-do lists written on tiny scraps of paper? Ta-da Lists is a good solution. With one free account, you can create multiple lists in one online space to be accessed wherever you're connected. Signing up and starting a list takes about 15 seconds. Items can be added, deleted, and checked off as they are completed. Your lists will be kept private unless they are marked as public or shared with colleagues. If sharing lists is desirable (project management, anyone?), you can invite anyone to be part of your list via email. Collaborators can edit the Ta-da List, and you can keep track of changes by subscribing to the lists' RSS feed.

For Librarians Lists can be great for breaking up large goals into action-oriented tasks. Putting this online to be seen by all (authorized) parties has a few advantages over a file kept in a manila folder buried on someone's desk. Access to the document is much easier, as is editing so it's easier to stay on track. Ta-da Lists aren't just project oriented, though. They're a great way to devote your brain's RAM to more important tasks. Librarians in collection development can use Ta-da Lists to keep track of items they're interested in buying, checking items off as each acquisition is made. Reference staff can add to a “things we didn't have” list, and the librarian in charge can subscribe to the lists' RSS feed to stay updated. Perhaps there are things that you always forget to mention to the coworkers you don't see on a daily basis. Making an online list can keep these thoughts in one place. Then, of course, you just have to remember to check the list.

Writeboard

Writeboard expands putting lists online to full-blown online word processing. There are a number of things that you can do with Writeboard that you can't do with Microsoft Word: 1) access, read, edit, and save a document from any connected computer; 2) keep track of edits over time, compare versions, and revert to previous versions at will; 3) subscribe via RSS (seeing a theme here yet?) to the document to track when and what changes are made; and 4) discuss the document through blog-style comments. Bill Gates is clearly convinced about productivity software moving to the web. He recently announced that Microsoft will be developing an online component to its ubiquitous software suite.

Sharing Writeboard documents is as simple as sharing Ta-da Lists, where invites for collaboration can be emailed. Once the work of producing and editing the document is done, it can be saved as a Word document or an HTML page. The code it produces for an HTML page is surprisingly clean, accessible, and leaps and bounds beyond a “Save as Webpage” in Word. Unfortunately, Writeboard isn't (at this point) a “what you see is what you get” (wysiwyg) editor, so there is syntax to learn for formatting. For some wsiwyg goodness, try Writely (www.writely.com), an alternative web-based word processor. It has more features, including direct from Writely to your blog publishing, but it isn't as simple.

For Librarians Writeboard is great for situations in which numerous staff members must work together to produce a cohesive document—think of writing library policy, procedures, statistics, and reports. It solves the problem of files being shuffled around via email and getting lost, out-of-date, and out of control in the process.

Backpack

Taking Ta-da Lists and Writeboard to the next logical place, Backpack is an application that combines these two products and adds in a notes section along with image and file storage. The idea behind Backpack is to have related documents collated in discreet packages called Pages. Your Backpack can be filled with many Pages, each containing different subject matter.

What's more, Backpack can send users reminders via email or text message. Like most things from 37 Signals, setting a reminder is quite simple. Type your reminder in a box (e.g., pick up the dry cleaning, email the Friends of the Library) and choose a time for the reminder. Backpack is certainly project oriented but not limited to project organization. Free accounts are limited to ten active reminders, so you'll either have to upgrade or be selective. Any pay account (ranging from $5–$19/month) increases the number of reminders, Writeboards, and storage space allowed in a Backpack .

For Librarians Having a page that collects documents, tasks, notes, and images related to a proposed library service that's being studied; a web site redesign; or the purchase of new library furniture could come in handy. For decisions that involve many staff members, having the information online is a good practice.

Feed the calendar

RSS Calendar is a free service that lets users create online calendars. The interface is straightforward and acts like most electronic calendars, so users of Outlook or iCal will be right at home and can actually import data. Scheduled events can be marked as public or private, repeated, and annotated with notes, addresses, and other information. But the real unique feature about RSS Calendar, as its name implies, is that it spits out RSS feeds of your calendar. Daily, monthly, yearly, rolling 30-day, and other feeds can be displayed on a web site. They provide a single line of code to be pasted into web sites and the feed is displayed in an attractive format.

For Librarians If your library needs a quick and easy calendar for staff or meeting room scheduling, RSS Calendar is a viable option. Libraries can also display their RSS Calendar feed on their library web site; a small “What's Next at the Library” box on the homepage is a great idea. You can save yourself the trouble of updating the list daily—it manages itself! Libraries can also encourage aggregator-using patrons to subscribe to the library events calendar RSS feed. Since it's so easy, why not try to get it on a local newpaper's or other community-related web site?

Integrate feed reading

Netvibes wants you to use it as your homepage, and it makes a compelling case to do so. It allows users to customize their very own start page with information from a variety of sources you may often be using. This idea also finds iterations in Google's IG (www.google.com/ig) and Microsoft's Start (www.start.com). There are different types of widgets from which to choose, including weather info, RSS feed display, flickr picture displays, note taking, Gmail, Writely documents, and more. There's even a metasearch box that includes search engines and wikipedia. All of this takes place in expandable, collapsible, and movable boxes, powered again by AJAX. Unlike the ability to position boxes in meebo, these stay aligned in a grid.

For Librarians While not the most fully featured RSS aggregator, Netvibes could be a great way to integrate feed reading into your own workflow, or introduce it to staff. Setting up Netvibes as the homepage for the reference or magazine desk might be a great way to get staff the freshest information, whether it be the latest about libraries, weather reports, or U.S. and world news.