Life Support

You're not alone out there in trying stay ahead of the curve and get through the day. For support, wisdom, and guidance, try Lifehacker and DLM:Dumb Little Man.

Lifehacker contains "tips and downloads for getting things done." Recent posts to Lifehacker discuss browser speeds, best layouts for data in Excel, and why goal setting makes you cringe. It's good stuff, and you can set up to receive the info in an RSS feed. That saves you from revisiting the web site to see what's new. Beware, however, that Lifehacker can post 20 or more tips per day.

For a less prolific, but no less useful life support source, try DLM. "Each week we provide a handful of tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane." Recent posts include 5 ways to fall asleep quicker and 15 ways to break writer's block (timely, that one.)

Professional Associations - Do You Belong?

Do you work in the info biz? Do you belong to an appropriate professional association? If not, why not? Your comments are welcome and encouraged.

I belong to the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) and to Special Libraries Association (SLA). There are many, many reasons why I belong to these two associations, but the reason du jour is professional development. Today, without leaving my office, I had the opportunity to watch a web based, information packed training session delivered by Ed Vawter, AIIP President and founder of QD Information Services. Ed discussed using podcasts as a source of information for research. Since the vendor was experiencing audio trouble, Ed is going to offer a encore presentation next month, so those who missed it today will get a second chance.

SLA is offering a program called 23 Things. Participants become familiar with wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, picture sharing, podcasting, tagging, RSS feeds and much, much more through actual hands on practice. When proprietary software is required SLA makes it available, so everyone can participate. And, it's free with the SLA membership.

We info pros need to stay a step or two ahead of our clients, and associations such as AIIP and SLA make that possible. Do you belong?

Using Web 2.0 Tools - Wait. What's Web 2.0?

Online collaboration. Wikis. Office 2.0. Enterprise 2.0. GroupSwim, Atlassian Confluence, LinkedIn, Zimbra, and LiquidPlanner. These are just some of the terms being bandied about when the discussion turns to Web 2.0.

According to ReadWriteWeb, Businesses Can't Hide from Web 2.0, and "Today, if you're not staying current with Web 2.0 technologies' impact on business, then you're just not staying current. Period." Go ahead and check out this article, because it gives a really nice overview of the topic including links to more info. ReadWriteWeb is a blog with about seven writers focused on Web technologies. Their archives are chock full of information on products, trends, and predictions for emerging technologies.

Take a look at Businesses Can't Hide from Web 2.0. It will be 10 minutes well spent. Trust me.

Slow Down and Check the Facts

Whoa nelly! The US Presidential campaigns are in full swing, and the assertions are coming on fast and furious. I say assertions, because some of the information we're seeing is simply not factual. In the interest of political neutrality I will forego the opportunity to give any examples. For now, suffice it to say that we must all check for the facts before passing along or taking seriously what may turn out to be simply rumors.

The #1 site for political fact-checking is Factcheck.org. Sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, they "are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."

In the interest of seeing the best possible outcome for the November Presidential elections, I encourage all voters to visit this site regularly and get the facts.