networking on the go « All Things Networking

Posts Tagged ‘networking on the go’

Review: Byline for iPhone

Friday, July 16th, 2010

My regular readers know I am big on aggregating content and taking it with me on the go.

I use Google Reader to manage all my blogs, and the mobile version of Google Reader is okay for reading blogs on my phone, but it didn’t really do it for me. I like being able to load content and access it even if I’m not connected (like on the Metro).

I’d read review of several RSS reader programs for the iPhone, and none of them excited me until I found Byline.

I’m using the free ad-supported version, and I don’t find the ads intrusive at all. Here’s a screen shot of the preview page. The ad at the top isn’t intrusive. There is one ad per 10 items, so in this shot, I have 9 items and only one ad.

What is really nice about Byline is that it caches longer articles for later reading. See the little blue arrow at the right of an article? That indicated cached content.

Open the abstract version of the article to see if you want to read more.

If you do, tap the arrow in the upper right corner, and it takes you to the expanded version of the article.

Caching can be done over WiFi for those who downgraded their iPhone data plan and no longer have unlimited data.

My usual procedure now is to sync Byline before I leave the house and catch up on blog posts throughout the day. A good use of time and technology, in my opinion.

Anyone else have a mobile RSS reader to rave about? I’m always willing to try a new iPhone app.

Tags: iPhone, networking on the go, task management, time management
Posted in Time and Task Management | 1 Comment »

iPad as Productivity Tool. Guest Post by @jarehart

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

About a month ago, I saw a tweet from Jonathan Arehart of Cavendo about how the iPad was allowing him to virtually eliminate paper. Naturally, I was intrigued, and I asked him to write a guest post about how he is using the iPad as a productivity tool. He has some good points, especially on that paper elimination and extending the purchasing life cycle of his laptop. Take it from here, Jonathan!

iPad as a Paperless Business Tool
by Jonathan Arehart

Apple is known for creating great consumer products. The current success of the Apple brand really started with the introduction of the first iPod launched in October 2001. Ever since then Apple has progressed into every aspect of the home and office, and especially the mobile computing environment with new and faster MacBook laptops, more robust Mac Mini desktops, and more recently the iPhone. Many of these devices have great business applications, especially the MacBook Pro laptop series, popular among graphic design and video production firms (aside from the traditional Mac Pro desktop series, of course). However, Apple made a huge leap into the business space, perhaps unknowingly, with the introduction of the iPad in early 2010.

Part laptop, part tablet and completely mobile, the iPad has quickly become a powerful clutch for the busy professional. With a 9.7-inch LED “multi-touch” screen and 9-10 hours of battery life, the iPad fills a void many devices before have tried and mostly failed at. Tablet PCs have had a slow adoption over the past decade since their introduction in the early 2000s, and laptops have had a hit-or-miss utility in meetings and the boardroom.

A challenge in the quest to go paperless, or as close to paperless as you can get, has always been the ability to limit new paper creation. It’s very easy to create a pile and folder full of loose papers full of notes and annotations, and finding a non-obtrusive and user-friendly way to eliminate this entry point has been a mission of mine for many years. Tablet PCs were overpriced. Laptops don’t have handwriting capabilities or touchscreens, and mobile phones are simply too small to take notes on by hand. The iPad is the perfect marriage of a touchscreen, useful web-based applications, and always-on access and integration with existing business systems.

Through the combination of various applications (listed at the end of this article) I have found the iPad to be the perfect companion for Board meetings or client meetings. No longer do I have to carry Board packets or bulky client files, I can simply reference all of my past notes and record new notes using the iPad. I use Penultimate to author new notes that I can then easily email to myself or anyone else as a PDF file. Dropbox is the perfect application for retrieving stored notes, including old archives that have been scanned. I imagine in the near future you will be able to save items such as PDF files generated by applications like Penultimate directly to Dropbox, saving the step of emailing it to yourself and then saving to Dropbox.

More than a month into the iPad life I have significantly reduced the amount of new paper generated in my office. This is evidenced by not only smaller piles in my inbox/outbox but also far less administrative time expended by my team on scanning, organizing, and filing papers. I fully expect over the next 6-12 months to realize a full return on the investment not only in the hardware but also all software and connectivity costs on my iPad upgrade.

It is also interesting to point out the impact of the iPad on my regular technology purchasing cycle. I typically move to replace or upgrade major equipment such as my laptop (currently a MacBook Pro) every three years. This being the third year of my replacement cycle I instead opted for the iPad, at a third of the cost, over a new MacBook Pro. I have found my three-year-old laptop is plenty sufficient for my complex mobile needs when I need full processing power on the road. The iPad has filled the gap on less complex needs such as note taking, document retrieval and entertainment. The overall impact is a noticeable increase in productivity and lower overall technology costs, although my travel bag has become noticeably heavier! The trade-off is well worth it though.

Pros

1.Compact design works well in meetings and is far less obtrusive than a laptop.

2.Full wireless capabilities (3G and Wi-Fi), plus 3G service is available as a prepaid option and no contract is required.

3.Synchronizes well with Apple’s MobileMe service and other enterprise platforms like Microsoft Exchange Server for contacts, calendars, and email.

4.Reasonably priced between netbooks and more powerful laptops.

Cons

1.Doesn’t work with every corporate or enterprise environment.

2.No stylus is included and there is not an official stylus, but there are great third-party devices available.

3.Difficult to hold and maneuver by itself, so get a good case. I am a fan of the M-Edge cases especially the Executive Jacket ($59.99 leather). (It is often confused for an actual notebook!)

4.AT&T is the only carrier available for 3G service and you cannot link your wireless service with an existing AT&T account.

Applications

Mail (Included) – Email is a pleasure again with the intuitive and full HTML experience of Mail included on the iPad. If you’ve ever used the iPhone, it’s the exact same application except that as of this writing the new Mail included with iOS 4, with a unified inbox and threaded conversations, is not available for the iPad (coming in Fall 2010).

Penultimate ($2.99) – This is by far my favorite note-taking application. Paired with the Pogo Sketch stylus I no longer carry legal or notepads with me on meetings.

Dropbox (Free with an account) – If you use Dropbox for file sharing and syncing across your desktop and mobile devices, the iPad application is a must-have. If you’re not using Dropbox, you’re missing out on one of the simplest solutions to the age-old problem of sharing files across your devices.

Echofon ($4.99) – There are many Twitter applications for the iPhone and iPad, but Echofon wins hands-down, especially on the iPad for its speed and ease-of-use.

Netflix (Free, but an account is required) – Take a break and catch up on The Office or your favorite movie or TV series with the instant streaming capabilities of the Netflix application, and yes, it works over 3G as well.

USAToday (Free, for now) – One of the smoothest news applications I’ve seen anywhere, plus it even looks like a real newspaper on the screen. The presentation is top-notch and provides you the latest news from USA Today updated throughout the day.

Thanks, Jonathan! Cavendo is my web designer and host, and I can’t recommend them enough. To learn more, visit their website or contact Jonathan directly at ceo@cavendo.com.

Tags: networking on the go, task management
Posted in networking on the go | 2 Comments »

Networking at a Funeral

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

You may have noticed that my blog has been quiet for almost a week. There’s a reason. Last weekend I was at a funeral and right after we got back from that, we had to put down my dog. It’s been a rough week.

But when I was out of town, I realized I had a good blog topic. I’ve always said you can network anywhere, even at a funeral, and last weekend I had an opportunity to prove it.

No, I didn’t network at the actual service, but there were lots of family gatherings that weekend, and I managed some good networking there.

One of the cousins needs to learn more about blogging and social media, and he wanted my website so he could start reading my blog.

One of the uncles just started a real estate business and had come back from a three-day workshop on branding and marketing. One of the topics had been social media, and he wanted to pick my brain. I gave him some ideas of social media outlets that hadn’t been covered at the workshop.

And finally, one of the aunts is looking for a job. She has an offer, but it’s not something she is passionate about. I asked her a couple of coaching-style questions and gave her some ideas of how to find her passion.

That’s networking! You’ll notice I didn’t “get” anything from the exchanges. But I certainly gave some things of value. And giving is the most important part of networking. I even had an opportunity to give out my card to the real estate agent. I wanted him to be able to easily contact me if he needed support or a sounding board.

As long as you remember to honor the occasion and focus on giving before receiving, you really can network anywhere. Even at a funeral!

Anyone else have any stories of oddball places you’ve successfully networked?

Tags: communication, Giving, Networking, networking on the go, Relationship building
Posted in Networking | 1 Comment »

Coffee House Tech Trends

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

As we move to the end of the year, I wanted to share an observation of technology and how we are using it.

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I spend a lot of time in coffee houses. It’s where I meet my clients, prospects and people I network with. I am also a people watcher, and a gadget freak, so I like to see what gadgets other people are using.

Last year and very early this year, I saw a lot of Blackberrys, laptops and some netbooks. Those appeared to be the mobile productivity tools of choice.

As 2009 progressed, I saw a change. I now see fewer laptops and Blackberrys. What I see now are more netbooks, iPhones and other brands of smartphones.

It’s actually surprised me how the number of Blackberrys has dropped off. It’s a good mobile tool, but based on my unscientific measurement, it seems to be losing ground to the iPhone and other smartphones. I expect to see more Android-powered phones next year, especially as long as Verizon continues to not have an iPhone. People seem to like the touch screen phones, and the Blackberry Storm has not taken off here. I see it, certainly, but compared to the iPhone? No comparison.

The switch to more netbooks does not surprise me. More portable is better. Hence my recent netbook purchase. Most of the work done in coffee houses seems to be web browsing, basic word processing, email (and watching YouTube videos). Netbooks perform those functions very well.

What did surprise me until I thought it through was what I perceive as a switch from netbooks to iPhones and the like. Note the work I mentioned above. iPhones and many other smartphones perform most of those functions very well. Word processing is the only one where a computer is clearly better, but I have written plenty of documents on my phone, so it certainly can be done.

My observation is, of course, in the Washington DC area. Anyone from another location have observations to share? Is this an “inside the Beltway” phenomenon, or does it extend elsewhere?

Oh, just one more observation. While I was in Disney World last week, I noticed that while iPhones certainly were present, they were scarcer than the DC area. It might have had something to do with the fact that the AT&T service was horrible in the Orlando area. I couldn’t get 3G at all in the parks, and even my Edge connection was sluggish at best. I used to think all the complaints about AT&T were unjustified. The service in the DC area is quite good. Now I see that my experience here is hardly universal. Another reason to stay put for now.

Tags: iPhone, networking on the go
Posted in iPhone | Comments Off

Finally Got a Netbook!

Monday, December 21st, 2009

I am back from vacation, and it was amazing. To think that less than a week ago, I was wearing shorts. And now I am back home with a foot and a half of snow outside. Is this a great country or what?

Anyway, it’s back to work and back to blogging. I have a new toy…I mean tool… to work with and share. It definitely helps with networking on the go, so I’m still on topic.

During my fight with Verizon a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that I am very productive in coffee houses. I was getting more done there in a couple of hours than I was at my home office. Which finally gave me the excuse the buy the netbook I have been lusting after for more than a year.

I decided on the Toshiba NB205. Why that one? My research indicated that Acer and Toshiba have the most reliable netbooks. And the Toshiba had much better battery life than the Acer. It’s rated for 9 hours. I’m not getting that, but I’m getting good life. I bought it on Friday, and I’ve charged it twice. The initial charge and one other. Definitely need to charge it today, but this has been good. Battery life is important since the Panera I spend the most time at has two power outlets. What were they thinking?

It’s definitely slower than my laptop, but it’s getting the job done. Operating system is Windows 7 Starter, and I discovered one major downside. I thought I had done my research well, but somehow I missed the “can’t run more than 3 programs at the same time” limitation. This is a bummer since my usual work lineup is Firefox, Thunderbird, Tweetdeck, iTunes and Open Office. iTunes is the obvious casualty (my iPhone can cover the music angle). Email or Tweetdeck will go when I need to use Open Office. I can live.

The keyboard was the other reason I got this one. Very comfortable. The keys are large with good spacing between them. Even my husband and his huge fingers can type comfortably on them.

I still have a program or two to install, but I’ve got the important ones loaded and running well. As I work now, I have Tweetdeck bringing in important stuff, like my 4:30 appointment DMing me to reschedule. My blog is almost done. Life is good. Tomorrow I will finally leave the house with it, and provided it survives two clients drooling over it, I think we are in business!

Tags: networking on the go
Posted in networking on the go | 2 Comments »

Aggregation and Push

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Yes, these are legal between consenting adults in the state of Virginia.

Seriously, keeping up with social media can absorb your entire life if you let it. So you need to control it rather than letting it control you. A good way to do this is keeping your media in as few places as possible (aggregation) and having things sent to you instead of you having to go get them (push).

Let’s start with aggregation. Remember my recent post on Google Reader? Reader collects all the blogs you are reading and allows you to go to one place to read them, saving you from having to go from website to website to keep up. That saves a lot of time. And Google Reader highlights blogs with current entries, so you don’t have to worry about who has updated yet and who hasn’t. That’s almost, but not quite, push.

Now let’s look at a program that aggregates AND pushes. Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck allows you to keep track of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace all through one program. It keeps each account in a separate column. When someone tweets, it shows up. And when someone updates their status or posts a link on Facebook, that shows up as well. That’s the aggregation, and the program would be great if that’s all it did. But, as long as you have the program running on your computer, you will get pop-up notifications when a new post arrives. You can even group your contacts, so when one of your best friend posts something, you’ll get a different pop-up notification than when Great Aunt Martha posts a picture on her Facebook page of you when you were three years old.

This was very useful to me a couple of nights ago. I’m subscribed to Swagbucks, where I can get free stuff. Swagbucks posts codes to various places, including Twitter. Enter the code, and you get a Swagbuck. Wednesday night, they tweeted that later in the evening, they were going to be posting a code that was good for only 10 minutes. I got it because Tweetdeck “pushed” that post to me. Without Tweetdeck, I probably would have missed it.

And that’s how I keep up. I have most of my social media content aggregated in Google Reader and Tweetdeck. And Tweetdeck pushes stuff to me so I know exactly when something pops up.

Anyone else have any good ways to keep track?

Gotta go. Tweetdeck just told me a friend updated their Facebook page. I need to see what’s up.

Tags: blogging, networking on the go, social media, time management
Posted in social media | 2 Comments »

Facebook as Follow Up

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Facebook recently updated their mobile app for the iPhone, and I’ve been using it for about a week now. It’s a good update and makes it even easier to keep up with my friends on the go. Which reminded me that I haven’t written anything about social media for a while.

Follow up is the part of networking that trips people up the most. Many of you have heard me say it. We meet someone new, decide we like each other and will definitely refer each other. Then six months later, nothing has happened. The main culprit for that is lack of follow up.

But what is follow up? At its core, it’s staying in touch with people and becoming a part of their personal (if appropriate) and professional lives. Remember that we refer people we know, like and trust. Follow up incorporates all three of those, and Facebook is an excellent tool for the liking part.

Why and how?

Mostly through status updates. If you’ve been on Facebook, you know what I’m talking about. Status updates are the running feed of what people are doing. They range from significant (my mom died yesterday) to frivolous (eating a ham sandwich now). They can be personal, like the previous examples, or professional. I often use my status updates to announce new clients and networking events I am attending.

A question I often get is “why do I care what other people are up to?” When I get that question, I know people are missing the “know, like and trust” part of follow up. We care because we are human beings, and we need to connect with people on a personal level. We like to share what is going on, and we want other people to respond to us.

But as we network more and more, it becomes harder to stay in touch in person. We get to a point where we have to do some of our staying in touch virtually. And that’s where Facebook can be a good tool. We can keep an eye on what people are doing, offer encouragement, and let them know what we are up to.

When you’ve told someone “way to go” when they landed a new client and offered condolences on a recent loss, you’ve moved well along the road to mutual liking, and that gets you closer to great referrals.

Tags: iPhone, networking on the go, social media
Posted in social media | Comments Off

Posts Tagged ‘networking on the go’

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