Sharing
I love sharing anything I have. Whether it be an idea, song, or the shirt off my back. There is no greater feeling in the world when someone feels even a little bit more happy, intelligent, or a part of the experience.
We have been extremely busy building websites, connecting the public, and growing brands. Precisely juggling these projects requires some experience and a nifty set of tools. These are some of the best ones we have used and are currently using:
Hosting
MediaTemple – They are the most solid bang for your buck. I’ve used 1&1, godaddy, rackspace, & bluehost. Customer service is intelligent, while the uptime is 100%. No random charges. I just love this place. You can sign up here.
Google Apps – If you want to reduce IT costs and empower your employees, then use this platform to run your business, school, or organization. Everything within the Google Apps system is suggested in each category below. The best thing is that $50/year will get you the Premium account.
Amazon S3 Servers – Need some serious storage for your developers? They provide a simple web service interface that can be used to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web. Unlike a server that you have to pay all this upfront cost for, they pull content on a pay-as-you go basis. Simple huh?
Communicating
Gmail – If you want the best e-mail on the planet, then you should get this. There is no reason a person should not have a gmail account. It would be like having a choice between a Lemon or an Electric Tesla… The choice is apparent.
Skype – Free Skype to Skype calls over the internet aka the new “AIM or iChat”. 200m users keeps this community thriving + they pay for international calls and a personal phone number. All you need is a wifi and you can use this service on your laptop or Iphone/Ipad!!!!
Google Voice – This is why Skype might need to merge with facebook *wink*wink*
MailChimp – The BEST mail service. I’ve used them all and even Mashable uses this. Your first 500 subscribers are free and this integrates with multiple services. Analytics are beast. They crack me up with their funny messaging.
Google Wave - Google’s version of project management via e-mail.
Knowledge
Mashable – The #1 Social Networking News blog on the internet. They have how-to and DIY resources, so as an entrepreneur you can stay up to date on the newest ways to help increase your productivity and efficiency.
Organizing
ManyMoon – The Best Free CRM available. Also, the first
Basecamp – This is great if you have the bucks to spend, however there are some serious issues that myself and many other project managers have. However, I still feel that they belong on this list compared to the rest of what is out there.
Yahoo Pipes – Introduced to me by twitter powerhouse @IamKhayyam. The ONLY thing except yahoo movies that I use from this archaic staple. You can filter newsoutlets and information kind of like Google Alerts, but way better.
Drop.IO – Simple Private Sharing at its best. This is the biggest sleeper application listed on this page. Free voice mail, conference calling, and real-time presentations are just some of the unique features that this tool provides. They are simply revolutionary and essential to the future of communication. They just took a huge leap as facebook made some recent decisions. Follow The Prince loves you guys.
Evernote - Create and edit notes from literally anywhere. Great #GTD tool.
Socializing
Facebook – 500m Users is enough said. Or they are the second internet. Although, they may own your conversations, pictures, and videos but they ‘hopefully’ will not use it against you. Facebook is here to stay. Do not listen to the skeptics.
MySpace - One of the first millionth users. Great until Rupert got his hands on it. Now they have decided to hire technicians to fix the problems the marketers started. I think Sean Percival will turn things around. Good luck Sean.
Twitter - 140 Characters or less keeps things clear and concise. Not sure how much longer this company will last, but they have opened up some doors and ideas for us to move forward. Open Source baby. R.I.P. 4.17.2010
Amiando – Offline is a key component of socializing your business online. The best full service package for planning events. Expensive, but great.
Eventbrite – Great for small to large events, however if you are planning conferences I would suggest the latter. No upfront costs and you can do just about anything.
Plancast – The easiest way to share upcoming plans with friends.
Google Reader – Share your knowledge with your friends. That simple. Also you do not need to go to all these websites and be bombarded with advertisements.
FourSquare - You might want to check after you leave, but this tool comes in handy when a business wants to provide geo-location incentives. iAD + iPAD + FourSquare + 3rd Party App + @Square = Social Shopping
Yelp – Allows the community to really give their voice to local business. Forget the BBB. Yelp is much better. Real People and Real Voices.
Analyzing
Google Analytics – The #1 tool to give you insight on your website traffic and marketing effectiveness.
Facebook Analytics - This will be just as if not more useful than Google Analytics. Hard data from REAL people. You can’t get much better than that.
Site Meter - An easy way to skim how your doing on a very broad level.
Twoolr – The sweetest twitter analyzer available. They are from France!
KissMetrics – Just found this tool, but it is like GetSatisfaction, but I like this better.
Please let us know how you feel about these tools. Any suggestions? I’ll make sure to add it in the revised version in a couple months.
