I, like a lot of other people, enjoyed reading Jay Baer's recent post where he outlined the 39 social media tools he uses in a typical day.Like a lot of other people (I imagine), his post encouraged me to do my own 'tools review' - and, quite worryingly, I'd used / tested more than 100 tools in the first two months of 2010.
Once I stopped hyperventilating, I took a great deal of solace in the discovery of five tools / services that have made my social media world A LITTLE SIMPLER (so far) in 2010.
threadsy - integrated messaging hub
They say: threadsy is the world's first integrated communications client. It combines email, Twitter, Facebook and the broader social web into a unique, enjoyable experience that provides deep context on the people you message with.
My translation: Gmail + Hotmail + Facebook + Twitter + IM + contact information + archiving = living 'happily' together on one busy looking, but manageable, screen (see below).
What's missing? I'm a PC, so if it integrated my Outlook it could potentially mean I finally have the ultimate messaging solution. Nudge, nudge.
Evernote - online filing cabinet and sorter supreme
They say: Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your notable life using your computer, phone and the web.
My translation: Electronic post it notes + an automatic filing system + user-friendly 'searchability' = a place I trust more than my bank to store, file and keep all the important information I find everyday, mostly online.
What's missing? Until recently I thought it, like most other cool tools, it wasn't available on Blackberry...turns out it is...lovely! I'm even tempted to go premium on this one...which as they point out is pocket change.
NutshellMail - social media personal assistant
They say: NutshellMail takes copies of all your latest updates in your social networking and emailing accounts and places them in a snapshot email.
The NutShellmail update is then set to your primary email address on your schedule.
My translation: New followers + latest quitters + latest direct messages + latest replies + latest status updates = my twice a day snapshot of the things I need to respond to / make note of.
This is such a time saver, it really is like a virtual personal assistant.
What's missing? A nice cup of tea and some biscuits.
Posterous - easy-to-use, 'mid-level' blogging
They say: Posterous is the dead simple way to post everything. Just email us.
My translation: Twitter + Blogger / Wordpress = the mid-sized love child of Blogging / Micro Blogging.
I use Posterous as my half-way house. If my Blog is my social media hub and Twitter is my real-time connection to the social-sphere, Posterous fills that gap in the middle, allowing me to post mid-sized bites / thoughts that require more than 140 characters but less than 250 words.
What's missing? Until yesterday, I found posting images via the web option impossible - however this can be solved via a simple plug-in (h/t to @emilycagle)
AlertRank - Google alerts on steroids
They say: Better Buzz Management for Google Alerts. The 'secret weapon' of top SEOs, online marketers and PR pros, that helps them instantly identify top priority buzz, stay focused, and on top of their workloads and their clients' expectations.
My translation: Google Alerts on steroids.
Once you've set up your Google alerts, this very simply ranks them in order of importance as the content featuring those key words 'goes live' and delivers them in priority order at times that suit you.
What's missing?
So, there you go.
Not quite 39 like Jay's impressive list, but if you fancy a bit of streamlining, these might come in handy.
Until next time.
AV
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Thanks Adam for the kind words and the cool post. I've used Evernote, but could never adopt it fully. I'm a fan of Nutshell. Unfamiliar with Threadsy and Alertrank. I'll check them out ASAP. I appreciate the heads up.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
j
J, my pleasure - I spotted a bunch of tools in your post the other week that I've since adopted - cheers!
ReplyDeleteA
Great suggestions! I wasn't aware of some of these tools, but I'm a fan of Evernote. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteInfo looks like it will be very helpful. I can't wait to try some of these features and see how they'll make me a better PR/SM specialist.
ReplyDeleteSome I hadn't heard of here, which I'm now off to test! Thanks so much for this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, there's a few on here I've never heard of and am now off to test out. Cheers!
ReplyDeletePing.fm, Seemic and Hootsuite are all better than Nutshell in my opinion in organising social media.
ReplyDeleteLove Posterous, but its got to be Wordpress for me for blogging. Matter of what you are doing really.
Matt, those tools are great, and they all make up my mix of tools I use on a daily basis - this post was aimed at highlighting some tools that aren't as well known, and some uncommon uses for tools that have been around.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, it does come down to what you are using them for.
A
Adam, thank you for this post. I had heard of Evernote but never used it - I was using posterous instead but it doesn't seem to work as well. You're right, it is a better halfway house - I use it as a random lifestream.
ReplyDeleteSeems threadsy is still in beta and you need an invite so I have signed up for that. But thank you - this is brilliant.
I downloadad evernote after reading ur post last week and I must say I love it! Really useful and fast to use.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tips. Looks like evernote is the take away tool. I signed up and love how it expands Twitter's functionality to include note capture.
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Posterous is awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf interested in Social Media Monitoring, check out Actionly-http://bit.ly/actionly
Thanks,
Sam
Community Outreach Manager, Actionly