Google reader is probably the best RSS reader available today. Here are some tips and practices for power users (hopefully, you) to help you better manage your RSS reading time and leverage it, tweak Google Reader to use first and second level categorization, and optimize you RSS subscription list.
Use folders to prioritize your reading
At a certain point you’ve probably realize that it is just not possible to read all of the new items you get. One possible solution is to use folders to categorize your feeds. Once you categorized all your feeds, you can read prioritize your reading by urgency level.
For example, I use a folder called ‘Immediate‘ where I put feeds that I want to read the moment they publish something new because it is important for me to know about them as soon as possible. These could be work related or new trends, usually things that if no read within day or two (sometimes less), they became irrelevant.
Other folders I use are ‘friends‘, ‘Podcasts‘, ‘Premier Blogs‘, and some more. I also use a ‘must read‘ folder for things that I want to read sometime, but it doesn’t really matter when (such as family blogs or new WordPress plugins).
Every day we read, hear, and see tens of web pages if not more. How do you process the useful and interesting information you find online? Do you send it to yourself via email? Do you star it in Google Reader or add tags? Or maybe you just rely on the good old brain to retrieve the right information at the right time?
To participate, write in the comments what are your online information processing methods.
Next month I’ll post a summary of all the answers.
Upon undertaking a new project it is a good practice to search for related work done in your organization. Asking co-workers if they are aware of such a work is one (good) way to do it. Another way is to search for documents in your file system. The latter can be done using the built-in search feature in windows.
To search for documents related to you project, do the following:
Go to the root folder (found it under ‘My Computer’, you can use the keyboard shortcut Winkey + E).
Click the “Search” button on the upper toolbar (see image below).
A new window will open inside the current one. Write a keyword related to the new project in the search box and hit search. You can search all or part of file names or a word or a phrase inside files.
The built-in search feature in windows folders
The results of the search you performed are a good base for the new project. It will allow you to continue previous work undertaken in your organization and save you time reinventing the wheel.
Numerous Collaboration tools and online storage applications offer a variety of collaboration abilities. Online collaborated editing, synchronization across computers, multiple file sharing , and on-the-spot windows and document sharing are just some of them. The following review will help you know and choose the right collaboration tools for your needs.
If you’re thinking of setting up your own personal Website or blog, or considering using one as a collaboration tool for you team, using WordPress or Google sites must have crossed your mind. These two platforms has some overlapping abilities but they actually suit for totally different uses. Here is a review of WordPress and Google sites that will help you choose the right platform for your needs.
WordPress
WordPress is an open source blog tool and publishing platform. It is the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world.
Google sites
Google Sites is an online application for easy creation and sharing of webpages. It allows you to gather information (such as videos, calendars, presentations, attachments, and text) in one place and share it for viewing or editing with others.
If you’re lost into the clutter of web 2.0 buzz words and definitions, CCH’s recently published survey report might come in handy. The objective of the report is “to gauge the effects that Web 2.0 and user-generated content are having on the way professionals access, absorb, and disseminate information”. It offers short and clear definitions for “Web 2.0″, “Blog”, “Wiki”, “RSS”, “Social Bookmarking”, and “Social Network”. What’s more, it presents paragraph-long scenarios for using each of them in professional settings (starting page 9), which can be useful if you’re looking to make a case for these kind of tools in your organization.
Every day we send and receive tens of emails (some of us less, some of us a lot more…). Have you ever thought of reusing some of them? I’m talking about the ones you spend more than a couple of minutes writing, those elaborated answers that take time to think of and write. Instead of sending and forgetting about them, here are some suggestions of how to leverage the time and effort you spend writing emails by transforming them into a whole new deliverables.
Additional uses for emails
Source for F&Q
Let’s say you’re a product manager. You frequently get question regarding the product (from external and internal customers). Collect these emails and display them on you company’s website in an F&Q format. It will improve the service your customers get (since they will spend less time searching for answers) and will also save you the need to answer repeatedly the same questions.
If you’re interested in social media in corporate settings, this post is for you. A paper by Deloitte, presented in a Workshop on Social Networking in Organizations, briefly reviews the design and deployment of social networking tool, D Street, in the company.
D Street is a web-based application created with the goal to increase the points of connectivity among Deloitte’s professionals. The tool allows them to create profiles that share their professional and personal brand.
D Street is described as “a ‘mash-up’ that takes data from human resource systems and combines it with employee-generated content.” It is comprised of selected elements of social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIN, which were applied to the specific business environment of the company.
What does it offer?
The following are a sampling of the data included on each personal profile (see screenshot):
Firm directory data including geography, contact information, service areas, service lines, function
People affiliations
Personal interests including hobbies and personal favorites
Suggested restaurants, things to do and places to see when visiting
Blog module
Presence awareness
Resume, publications and content
Work interests including affiliations, certifications and specializations
Deloitte programs, community and affinity group participation
Google reader is probably the best RSS reader available today. Here are some tips and practices for power users (hopefully, you) to help you better manage your RSS reading time and leverage it, tweak Google Reader to use first and second level categorization, and optimize you RSS subscription list.
Every day we read, hear, and see tens of web pages if not more. How do you process the useful and interesting information you find online? 
Every day we send and receive tens of emails (some of us less, some of us a lot more…). Have you ever thought of reusing some of them? I’m talking about the ones you spend more than a couple of minutes writing, those elaborated answers that take time to think of and write. Instead of sending and forgetting about them, here are some suggestions of how to leverage the time and effort you spend writing emails by transforming them into a whole new deliverables.
