But I’m on top of it with Google calendar.  If someone stuck a gun to my head and said that I could only choose one web application to have for the rest of my life, it would be Google calendar.  Now I cannot imagine anyone ever doing so, but if they did, it would be a tragic day for someone like me.

What I love about Google calendar is, well, to be honest, there are so many things to love that I can’t decide.  So let me start with a list:

• Multiple Calendars — You can create multiple calendars (work, personal, training program, etc.) and they will be color coded.  Show one or all calendars in your window by simply clicking the calendar on the left.
• Sharing Calendars — “Who’s picking up the kids?”  “What activity do we have tonight?”  Share your Google calendar with friends/family and keep everyone in the know.  And choose which of your calendars to share so that they don’t have access to everything, but just certain things.
• There is a special calendar “lab” feature called World Clock.  It is amazing.  When Google creates new “add-ons” to their products, they often release it in an “experimental lab” under the settings tab.  If you click “settings” and then “labs”,  you will find many different “add-ons” to truly jazz up your experience.   I love the World Clock.  I often have conference calls with people from all around the country and this helps me keep the time zones straight.  When I click on 3:oo in AZ, the world clock shows me that it is also 2:oo in Alaska, 4:00 in the Mountains, 5:00 Central and 6:oo Eastern.  No more guessing and calculating time zones in my head.  (Ya’ know, it’s the smaller things in life that just make my day!)
• Another thing that I love about Google calendar is it’s ability to work with other applications.  I am able to connect my Google calendar to third party applications and achieve lots of great mischief and mayhem.  More info on this later.

If you haven’t given it a test drive, I encourage you to do so.  It is free and available with all regular Google accounts.  Check it out and tell me what you love about Google calendar, or any other calendar application.

Have a fantastic week!  See you very soon…

Part 2

Cloud computing is all around us.  More and more services are being driven “to the cloud”.  The downside (yes, there is a downside) is that we become reliant on the cloud for our data.  About 2 weeks ago when the Amazon Servers went down, it took out two of the services that I have come to rely on.  For this reason, it is important to have information locally, even if your head stays in the cloud most of the time.

Now here are some of my other favorite cloud apps:

Video Mail

Email has become quite impersonal despite our attempts with the emoticons.   🙁  For this reason, I use a video email service called Eyejot.  There are different services out there, but Eyejot seemed to give me what I needed at the best price point.  When I make contact with a new client, I will send them a video message with a personal introduction from me to them.  This is not a standard youtube video, this is a unique message that I record just for that one person.  As many technology freelancers, I work from home and often find myself in front of the computer in shorts, t-shirt, and sometimes even a cap.  I had to get an extra brush, make-up bag and blazer for my office so I can do a quick makeover in case a video message is in order.  🙂

Manymoon

I use Manymoon as my project management system.  Because I am a premier google apps user, I am able to tie my Manymoon account to my google calendar and my google apps email.  Therefore, if an email comes in that needs to go into a new or existing project, there is an option embedded in the bottom of the email that allows me to save that email straight to Manymoon where I can track the progress, assign it to a team member and even report on the status and track the time sheet.

Toggl

In addition to Manymoon time tracker, I use Toggl as my primary time tracker for different projects.  It has a handy desktop window that pops up and I can simply click the red button to start time on any of my open projects.  Toggl will synchronize to the toggl website and through an API can even import the time into freshbooks.  (see below)

Freshbooks

This is a very handy invoicing system that allows you to track time per project, create estimates/bids, and then invoice based on the project.  A new addition to Freshbooks is the ability to accept paypal payments from clients at a very reasonable .50 per transaction.  Freshbooks also allows you to invoice by mail or email and your customers are able to log in to view, print or pay the invoice directly.  It’s a very slick program.

Quickbooks Online

There are a lot of new accounting programs out there that many people swear by.  Some of them include mint.com, indinero.com, and outright.com.  While I think that many of these have promise, I have opted to stick with the good old fashioned accounting program of Quickbooks.  Perhaps the fact that I have been using one version or another of Quickbooks for almost 15 years may have something to do with my attachment issues here.   The good news is that Quickbooks (QB) has an online version for the small business person/organization that is very affordable.  It also allows each user to add their accountant/bookkeeper as a user to the account at no charge.  This way, Catherine can keep me on my toes with regard to my quarterly taxes… Thanks Catherine.  🙂

So I could probably go on and on about different cloud apps.  The purpose of this post (Part 1 and 2) was to give an example of how much of my life is indeed spent in the cloud.  Please follow along with me on this “Blogventure” and I will continue to share helpful and useful tips for making technology work for you.

PART 1

What would you think if I said that my head is always in the cloud?  (singular, not plural).  Ten years ago, you would think that I was a “space cadet”  (remember that term, wow, I’m showing my age).  🙂  However, I have to tell you that I spend a majority of my work day in the cloud, but not in space.  So what is this thing, the cloud?

The cloud is more than those white puffy things that we see only occasionally here in the desert.  The cloud is a series of web based services that live on the internet (not on your computer). Facebook is a good example of a cloud app.  We didn’t purchase it or download it onto our computer.  Because of this, every time they do a format change, we get a new facebook look that leads to weeks worth of “bring back the old facebook” complaints from fellow facebookers.  🙂  The advantage is that we get updates as soon as they are available without having to buy software again.  Imagine if you didn’t every have to upgrade any of your software.  The frustration for some is the lack of control over some features (like when facebook makes a design change and we liked the old way better.)  Whether we like it or not, things are moving to the cloud so you might as well learn what this cloud can do for you.

Here is a very brief glimpse of the different ways in which my head stays in the cloud throughout my workday.

Various Google Apps and Google Products — Let’s just say that the world of google is worthy of about 20 or 30 blog posts.  I will expound on Google products and their practical uses at a later date.

Calendar — I use Google calendar, but it is worth a stand alone mention apart from the above mention about google.  My google calendar is shareable with anyone even if they are not on the same server (like Microsoft Outlook  requires).  It also synchronizes to my Meeting Scheduler program making it so much easier to schedule meetings.

Meeting Scheduler — As a new small business owner, I have much to do and limited resources to do it with.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have my own personal scheduler?  Well I do, through Doodle Meet Me Profile.  My calendar in the cloud syncs with my meeting scheduler in the cloud to create my own personal assistant.  To view my available times for meetings, you simply go to my “Meet Me” page.

Social Media — Obviously, the twitterverse, the vacuum of facebook, and LinkedIn are all services hosted in the cloud.  So when I’m doing my social media thing, it’s in the cloud.

Website — It goes without saying that a business or organization’s website will live in the cloud.  However for me, and many other people, the construction of that website is no longer done on your local computer, but in the cloud through services like WordPress, Blogspot, or Tumblr.

Customer Relationship Management — ContactMe.com is my new favorite friend as it tracks customer relationships and has “contact forms” that travel with you onto your facebook fan page or even on your website.  Thanks Holly Baumann Photography for that little gem.

So after looking at these tools, we are only halfway through my typical “day in the cloud”.  Stay tuned for more to come in “Head in the Cloud Part 2.  Until then, breathe deep, open your eyes and enjoy this ride that we call life.

I’ve learned that when you say you will never do something, you better be careful because that statement will come back to bite you.  You see, I know this from experience.

Here is my personal list of “I never’s”:

1. “I will never go into business” (said when I was an undergraduate social work major) — For the past 14 years, I was the Executive Director of non-profit organizations.    Let me just say that is one of the hardest businesses to run.  🙂  And now I am starting my own business.
2. “I will never live in Phoenix, AZ.”  — Ummmmmmmm, well, you get the picture.  I live in Phoenix, AZ.
3. When we moved to Phoenix we said, “We will not stay here more than 2 years.”  — Sooooooooooo, we’ve lived here almost 13 years.
4. “I will never have kids” — Two kids later, I am primary taxi driver to our 8-year-old and 3-year-old (and actually love it.)

I think you get the picture.  I’ve been listening to keynote speeches from one of my favorite thought leaders, Gary Vaynerchuk. When he talks to people, he asks them to raise their hands if they have ever made the statement that they would NEVER get a facebook account.  And then of course, he asks them who still does not have a FB account.  (Very few).  He does the same exercise with cell phones.  (Even fewer don’t have a cell phone).  He talks about how we are very good about drawing a line in the sand and then not seeing the possibilities all around us.

Coming from the field of social work, I sometimes meet resistance to technology.  I’ve had several students tell me, “I went into social work to work with people.  If I wanted to work with computers, I would have gone into engineering or computer science”.  But the problem with this argument is that social workers work with people who use technology and to forsake that part of people and our current culture is simply unwise and unrealistic.

Tech Tools, LLC is a company I started to try and help “normal” people access the technology that can make their life and their work easier.  This blog will have regular articles about technology for the “non-geek”.  As you can read from the “birth of the accidental geek”, I am not a programmer, a coder, or a developer.  I am a “Technology Concierge”.  I love finding new technologies that make my life easier, better, or more efficient, and then share this with others.  I invite you to follow along with me on this blog/journey.  Please, don’t draw a line in the sand.  Join me on this journey and I will show you some of the “coolest” tech tips and tricks that just may make even the loudest naysayer take notice.

Until next time…

So an acquaintance of mine develops WordPress sites and consults with organizations.  Her website is black and white and says, “I’m too busy designing awesome websites for my clients that I don’t have time to design my own website,  just call or email me”.  I love her site for it’s candid truth telling.  I fell victim to the same phenomenon for a while.  I was so busy helping others with their technology needs and building websites and social media presence that I didn’t have time for me.  I finally sat down, sucked it up, and here is the product of that endeavor.  So this is your official “Welcome to my new website” message.  I am proud to present the new and improved “Tech Tools, LLC” website.

Feel free to browse through the site and let me know what you think.  One of my favorite thing about the new site is the integrated blog format.  Take care all!