Collaboration Software

I have been keeping tabs on personal information management and team collaboration software. Both in terms of locally installed or web services software. Here is a dump of what has been grabbing my attention (listed in no particular order):

• Basecamp - An online service developed by 37signals for team project management and collaboration. This is similar to activeCollab (mentioned below). Make sure to check out the demos.
• Campfire - An online service developed by 37signals that captures multiple chat conversations in rooms which you can view from the main lobby. Each owner of a chat can elect which members can have access to the chat. Each chat room is archived and can be searched by day, person, name, etc. Make sure to watch the demos.
• Ta-da Lists - A free web service developed by 37signals for sharing task lists. Included with Basecamp.
• ConceptShare - A visual online workspace that allows everyone you collaborate with to log into and share design ideas within a single workspace. The best part is that user comments are captures visually. You can then scroll backwards and forwards watching the changes applied by each commenter. Watch the demo to get more of an idea of how this works.
• Thinkature - An online whiteboard so-to-speak. Try playing with the whiteboard on the main page to get a feel of what you can and can’t do.
• WordPress - My personal favorite, obviously, for blogging/web software. Has excellent content management. Also has software for supporting multiple users blogs: WordPress MU.
• Synapse Life - A free service that is in beta form and free at the moment. Very slick design!
• iPrioritize - Another simple and free web task list service.
• TasksPro - Costs money but priced reasonably. Incorporates tasks management and calendar. Looks a little bloated. Downloadable.
• activeCollab - Free team and project management software. Easy to install and setup. I’ve used it, like it. Has potential but still a little clunky.
• Chandler - Free software for sharing calendar schedules and tasks. Make sure to check out the demos. Downloadable.
• SyncVUE - Costs money but for those video editors out there, this is neat software as it allows people to synchronize the same video feed between computers to study, edit, exchange ideas, make notes, etc.
• Listigator - If you are an organized thinker or a natural organizer, then most chances are you will find Listigator useful. Here are a few reasons why:
  • Is good for managing to-do’s and is perfect for other purposes.
  • Provides a quick way for getting people on the same page.
  • Boosts your lists usability with categories.
  • Lets you manage both personal and shared lists.

Blogging Guidelines

The following are a few examples of corporate blogging guidelines that are worth reading and understanding:

• IBM’s Blogging Guidelines
• Scobleizer’s Corporate Weblog Manifesto
• Business Week’s Six Tips for Corporate Bloggers
• Charlene Li’s Blogging Policy Examples

Most is common sense but some, especially the last one, talks about blogging ethics. I would go one step further and say that these guidelines should apply to the personal aspects of what you blog about. For those situations where you wish to keep things private, use blogging software that can password protect and secure this kind of content. Even private content should have a level of filtering because even though you control what family and friends can see you can not control what they might do with it (not easily anyway).