Stoaked!: September 2006

This weekend I was at my computer doing some work. I was also listening to a podcast, Skypecasting with family, and using no less than 10 different Web programs open in Firefox.

I thought it would be fun to put together a quick list of all the different Web programs and services that have really changed my life. Now it's up for discussion if all of these tools/sites/services have changed my life for the better, but it is certain that they are all seem to be open at least once a day on one of my computers.

So, whether for business or fun, I hope you'll get a lot of value out of this list; I know I sure do!

(This list is NOT ranked in any particular order)

Vonage - Getting rid of my land line was liberating! I've been a customer/evangelist from the beginning and for good reason: just like my cell phone, my Internet business phone travels with me everywhere in the world. Call me on my New York number and I might be in Brazil, Iowa or Cape Cod. And it's inexpensive, easy to use, and it gets better all the time.

Skype - Web calls and Skypcasts connect me to colleagues and friends all over the world - FREE!

AOL IM - All day, everyday...Can't live or work without IM and video chats now make meetings so much better and virtual work possible.

NPR.org - New York City used to have the worst program and timing line up from NPR. Now I simply get my news when I want online or via podcast everyday.

NYTimes.com - I do miss the print edition on the weekends sometimes, but not THAT much...I haven't read the times in print in probably two or three years.

Newshutch - confused by RSS? Not anymore. This is best/easiest news reader I have used so far. It makes it easy for me to keep up to date on over 50 blogs and news sources everyday and proves to me that RSS is only going to become more and more mainstream.

Google - This one is self-explanatory. You probably use it as much as me.

Wikipedia - Usually my first research destination.

OrganizedWisdom - As you would expect (since I co-founded the company and this is how I spend most of my waking hours working on) this is my resource for all things health related.

Basecamp - Less is more when it comes to project management. Basecamp (from 37Signals) gives you more time to focus on getting stuff done, rather than managing stuff to do. Cost-effective too!

TaDa Lists (from 37Signals) - Easy free way for me to track all my personal to do lists...and as a Capricorn, there's not much better than lots of cool lists!

Campfire - Workgroup chat, also from 37Signals.com, makes it easy for teams to keep ongoing conversations going.

Getting Real - The elegant e-book (again from 37Signals) I now recommend to everyone...no matter for work or your personal life, this short read offers tremendous wisdom.

Blogger and TypePad - One I use mainly for personal blogs, the other mainly for work related blogs. Like them both for different reasons.

Feedburner and Technorati - More free tools help me track my blogs, blog links, and relevant postings from others.

Picasa and Flickr - On and offline photo management. Simply awesome!

iTunes and iPod - to listen/watch my various podcasts.

YouTube and Google Video - There's a million of these services now, but these are my faves because they are fairly easy to use. In addition to access to lots of great content, I can now put up promotional material, marketing videos, and videos for friends and family without having to bog down my own servers.

MySpace - Not on it everyday like many, but it is a great way to market new services. I see it as a marketing channel rather than a network for friends.

Facebook - I like that Facebook is more focused and less available. Now that they are going to let anyone join, we'll see if I stick around.

LinkedIn - Business networking. I don't use it too much, but last time I logged in I realized how much it has improved over the past year.

Meet-Up - Great way to connect off-line to people with similar interests or goals.

Craigslist - Great for selling stuff and marketing things for FREE. Although, people never want to pay much for the things you are selling from Craig's List. I guess you get what you pay for right. I normally do better on Ebay.

Plaxo - I wish everyone used this service. Contact management keeps my address book up to date.

Google Analytics - Great free tool tells me most of what I need/want to know about my various Web sites' performance.

AdSense and my Amazon Affiliate Program - Generates some passive income I use to buy more books.

Fresh Direct - Where I buy all groceries and household goods the easy way.

Ebay - Where I sell my stuff when I don't need it anymore. As I mentioned, usually better than Craig's List.

Amazon.com and My Wishlist - Where I buy almost everything online and how I remember what I want/need to buy later. I love the Wishlist, because you can avoid from impulse purchases.

Birthday Alarm - My birthday and anniversary reminder!

iWeb - My business partner, Steven Krein, is becoming an iWeb Master. It's how we quickly mock-up, design and prototype everything.

Campaign Monitor - Easy email newsletter distribution. So far so great.

Delicious - Helps me store important blog posts and web pages.

Netflix - If this list was in order, this would be near the top. Brings me 5 - 10 DVDs a month.

Gmail, Yahoo! Mail (and Outlook) - And who could live without email?

Well, I'm sure I am forgetting one or two big ones so I will add them later. Feel free to comment and share your own...