Jan
15
PBWiki – Make your own website and collaborate with others
Filed Under Productivity, episode, planning, screencast, sharing, tutorial, wiki | 2 Comments
There are a LOT of services these days that let you make your own website with ease, but PBWiki is unique in that it also let’s you collaborate with others if you want. For instance, you can use it to:
- Manage a shared calendar
- brainstorm
- make a class worksheet
- make a page of favorite youtube videos
- use as a personal information manager
- and more!
Now, it is true that this isn’t the only service that can do these things, but I found it exceptionally easy. I’m using it as a personal information manager… and it doesn’t even expressly say that it’s for that! With a little bit of creativity, you can use it to do almost anything.
Just head to http://pbwiki.com to make your own website (wiki) today!
Just had to pass that along today 
PS: Hope you like the new site design. I really just wanted to simplify things and improve navigation… and the search function actually works now! Thanks for visiting!
Jun
22
Ta-Da Lists: Get Your To-Do’s Done!
Filed Under GTD, Productivity, To-Do, episode, how-to, planning, screencast, tutorial | Leave a Comment
Episode 6 -
Everyone is trying to get organized these days to “Get Things Done”. While the Pencil and Paper approach may still be workable for some folks, many of us want something more.
Enter: Ta-Da Lists
While there are many competitors in this arena, sometimes simple and efficient is the best approach. Ta-Da Lists, from 37signals, is a easy-to-use To-Do list with some key features:
- AJAX – Seldom do you have to wait for the page to reload. Adding and checking off list items happens in real-time.
- Add links to your to-dos.
- Manage multiple lists.
- Share lists with others.
- Subscribe to a list via RSS (Google Reader, Netvibes, etc).
- Access from anywhere. Even workable from a cell phone!
To get started, go register for a free account at TaDaList.com.
Create a List:
- Simply click “Create a New List”
- Enter a Title
- And at least one To-do item
- Done!
Manage Lists:
You can view all your lists in the “My Lists” area. At a glance, you can tell which list has the most items left in it by looking at the size of the gray dot on the left of each list title.
Big Tip! If you are running Firefox, download Greasemonkey and install this script. This will add the “My Lists” links to the right of the website so you can switch between lists quickly, regardless of if you are already in a list. Very useful! (More on Greasemonkey in the next episode) thanks manalang!
You can also see any tasks you have shared here as well.
Sharing a List With Others:
When you are sharing a list with someone else (or more than one person), they will appear just below your normal lists. They work exactly the same as a normal list, with the exception that other users who are sharing the list will see any changes you make! You can use this feature to coordinate group projects very effectively.
To share one of your lists, simply click it’s name and click the “Share” button
Then enter the email(s) of the individual(s) you want to share with. If you only want to show someone your list, but not let them edit it, use the second option of the share page. You can just send the address of the list via email.
If you are sharing a list with others and they will be editing it, you may want to consider subscribing to the list via RSS so you are notified when the list is changed.
Simplicity is Beautiful:
That’s pretty much all there is to Ta-Da Lists! If you want ideas about what types of lists you can create, check out this list .
Time to go “Get Things Done”.
Stay tuned for my next article and video episode. For more tips and tricks, sign up for the Official Tech-Bites.com Newsletter! You will be the first to know whenever I release new articles and videos and receive special subscriber only articles and product reviews.
Jun
1
Bubbl.us Basics: Brainstorming and Mind-mapping Online
Filed Under bubbl.us, episode, how-to, mindmap, planning, screencast, tutorial | Leave a Comment
Episode 3 -
So you have this great idea for a website, book, product, etc. What now? How do you get it done? What else is involved in making your idea a reality? You’ve got a lot in your head that you probably don’t even realize is connected to your bright idea!You need to get those thoughts out of your head and into a format that makes sense. This is commonly referred to as “Mind-mapping” and is often part of the “Brainstorming” process as well.
Bubbl.us is a newcomer to this small, but important industry that strives to help you “clear your mind”. And frankly, they do an awesome job. Join me today as we discover this wonderfully useful and enjoyable tool.
Video: To see visual examples of the steps in this article, see my free video at the top of this page
The Anatomy of Bubbl.us
I highly recommend you get an account with Bubbl.us. It’s free and allows you to save your mind-maps for access later. If you choose though, you can use Bubbl.us without an account, but you won’t be able to save your projects.
Here are the primary parts of the software and their function: A. This is your starting “Bubble”. Most of your controls are actually contained here. This is the primary tool in Bubbl.us. Each new Bubble will contain the same controls, making expanding your document very simple.
See the video to see the Bubble in action. B. This section contains a few of the extra controls that you will need from time to time.
- Center – focuses the view back on the “main” bubble.
- Unpin All – returns all your bubbles back to there default positions.
- Undo - undo your last action.
Note: I prefer to use “Ctrl-Z”. - Zoom – Get closer or farther away from your project by clicking the “+” and “-” buttons.
Note: I prefer to use the scroll-wheel on my mouse to zoom because it is faster. - Set Print Area – Clicking this allows access to a box tool that lets you specify what area of the document you want printed (demonstrated in the video)
C. You can access your account details, contact the Bubbl.us team, or sign out.
D. The tabs here ONLY affect the area indicated by the box. It will not change your view.
- My Sheets – This is the “main” tab you will use. You can access your previous projects (called “sheets”), save new ones, delete sheets, etc.
- Collaborate – If you are “sharing” one of your sheets (one of the options in the “My Sheets” tab) or someone is sharing with you, you can open those sheets here so that you can work on the same sheet as a friend!
- Friends – You can find friends by name or email in this tab with whom you can share sheets. If your friend doesn’t use Bubbl.us yet, just click the “click here to invite them by email” too shoot them an invitation by email.
E. The menu button contains the following important functions:
- Send read-only link – Want to show your sheet to a friend but don’t want them to edit it? This is the ticket. Clicking this sends a link to the email(s) of your choice that will show your sheet to your friend(s) without the controls.
- HTML Embed Code – Outputs a snippet of code that you can insert in your website, blog, etc.
- Export and Import – You can save the xml code for your current sheet to your computer, or import a previously saved code into Bubbl.us.
- Editor Settings… – Allows you to tweak some settings in how Bubbl.us runs.
Example Project -
Here is a simple example of how you might create a Mind-map for that new Ferret business you were planning to start! Make sure to watch the video for visual examples of these steps.
Steps:
- Start by renaming your center bubble by clicking the name and typing “Ferret Biz”. Press “Enter” when you’re done to automatically create a child bubble.
- Name the new bubble “Website”. Because this is not the only child we want under “Ferret Biz”, press “Tab” when you are done, instead of “Enter” to create a sibling.
- Name this bubble “Ferret Resources” and press “Enter” to make a new child.
- Type “Ferret Kennel” and press “Tab” to create a sibling.
- Name it “Ferret Product Vendor” and click outside the bubble to enter the text.
- Because our website will probably list the products of our “Ferret Product Vendor” we can connect these two by clicking and dragging the little blue circle on the right-bottom of the “Website” bubble to the “Ferret Product Vendor” bubble.
Those are the basic tools for constructing your own mind-maps, large or small!
Beyond this -
You can use Bubbl.us for planning projects or businesses or you can use it to brainstorm and map-out your thoughts on any subject (goals, values, business opportunities, etc). Share it with your friends and partners, print for your records, or use it to make a project road-map that you can post on your blog or website.
With so many possibilities, the Bubbl.us developers really deserve a pat on the back for creating such a flexible and easy-to-use system.
Stay tuned for my next article and video episode covering Gmail Basics. For more tips and tricks, sign up for the Official Tech-Bites.com Newsletter! You will be the first to know whenever I release new articles and videos and receive special subscriber only articles and product reviews.
