
How to spend you time wisely to select the tools you need
by bernt & torsten
Nowadays, there are so many new tools available or coming available. You probably find yourself signing up for these tools online only to abandon them a few weeks later as the tool did not give you what you wanted.
How to spend your time wisely to select the tools you need. Nowadays, there are so many new tools available or coming available, and you probably find yourself signing up for these tools online only to abandon them a few weeks later as the tool did not give you what you wanted.
If you answered yes, you should get rid of the tools that are not working for you in favour of the ones that are – and then start using them. For the Tools that work, you should take the time to learn about advanced features, stay on top of new releases, and see if they integrate with other tools you use (like your email, accounting software, or browsers). The main focus of your time and effort is not trying the latest thing, use the tools that meet your needs and then learn how to use them better.
How do you choose the Right Tools for Your Need?
To get started, you should list your basic needs and then create a “buckets” list of tools (project management tools, networking tools, communication tools, document sharing). Then list how you would use the tools in your job every day. How would it integrate into your current workflow? How would it make your job easier to do? What need or gap is it filling?
Tools are constantly evolving, integrating with other tools to make sharing content more accessible. When you are looking for a tool, keep in mind that tool integrations will save you time, so next time you are switching between tools, ask yourself – is there an easier way to do this?
A list of common tools
Below is a list of tools that are commonly used, there as so many tools available, but this is just a starting point for you to create the toolset you need.
Social Media Management
Tool | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Browser Extensions | ||||
Chrome | thousands of tools in multiple categories to embed in your browser | |||
Firefox | thousands of tools in multiple categories to embed in your browser | |||
Chat & Messaging | ||||
Gchat | video, voice and text chat | |||
Skype | video, voice and text chat | |||
Civic Engagement | ||||
See Click Fix | report neighbourhood issues | |||
Collaboration & File Sharing | ||||
Google Docs | hosted document collaboration | |||
Dropbox | shared file storage | |||
Etherpad | hosted document collaboration | |||
Hackpad | hosted document collaboration | |||
Yousendit | large file delivery | |||
Content Delivery | ||||
personalized magazine, iPad only | ||||
Digital work management tool | ||||
Wrike | Track and coordinate project | |||
Crowd Funding | ||||
Kickstarter | social project funding | |||
Indiegogo | social project funding | |||
wefunder | startup investment | |||
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | ||||
Salesforce | cloud-based sales, service, a marketing platform | |||
Volunteer Salesforce | manage volunteers and volunteer events in Salesforce | |||
Salsa | CRM, communications, event, list management | |||
Streak | CRM in Gmail | |||
Data, Analytics & Visualization | ||||
Google Analytics | website analytics | |||
Reportive | data exploration & analysis | |||
Ushahidi | information collection, visualization and interactive mapping | |||
Tableau | publically accessible and shared data visualizations | |||
Headwaters Economics | public data source, independent non-partisan research | |||
Digital Rights Management | ||||
Creative Commons | copyright licenses | |||
eCommerce | ||||
Square | the mobile credit card reader | |||
Mailchimp | email list manager | |||
Image Manipulation & Sharing | ||||
Skitch | annotate, edit screenshots & images | |||
mobile photo filter & social network | ||||
online pinboard, social network | ||||
Canva | graphic design software in the cloud | |||
Presentation Design | ||||
Haiku Deck | presentation generation | |||
Prezi | cloud-based presentation software | |||
Project Management | ||||
Smartsheet | project management software | |||
Social Media Management | ||||
Hootsuite | social media dashboard | |||
Radian6 | social media listening, monitoring & engagement | |||
Task Managers | ||||
Asana | shared task lists for teams | |||
Evernote | mobile, tablet & desktop note taker | |||
Pivotal Tracker | agile PM tool for software development | |||
Things | task manager | |||
Website CMS | ||||
WordPress | open source, community-driven | |||
Drupal | open source, community-driven | |||
Website Development | ||||
Twitter Bootstrap | front-end toolkit for rapidly developing web applications. | |||
GitHub | version control for collaborative software development | |||
Website Testing | ||||
Optimizely | A/B testing | |||
Wireframing | ||||
Balsamiq | hosted, collaborative wireframing | |||
Cacoo | hosted, collaborative diagram drawing |

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