Am I the only one who thought that Doodle was just an iPhone app with this weird little alien jumping from platform to platform? That del.icio.us was a cooking blog? And Pandora the planet inhabited by the Na’vi in Avatar?
Yes? Oups! It’s high time for me to catch up with some of the Web 2.0 tools available.
After having randomly tested some of the tools hidden behind these mysterious names, I feel like I’ve just come out of a cave.
How did I survive without all these amazing resources?
Here is a selection of my favourites that I intend to use on a regulars basis from now on:
As I said in my previous post, I like fashion. I watch about 20 different blogs about streetsyle on a daily basis and I used to have them all classified in my favourite tab. It was really time-consuming to click on each link to see if a new article had been posted and not really handy.
I always wondered what this RSS symbol meant and hallelujah it happens to lead to my salvation!
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format used to syndicate news and other web content. Google reader enables me to grab these RSS feeds from the different blogs I’m interested in and display them for me to read without needing to visit each site individually.
New me: Save time and read even more blogs!
I think everyone is familiar with the hassle of having to plan a trip or a teamwork meeting. I usually spend hours or days calling and emailing my friends back and forth to find a convenient date. I’m tired of having to hear about Pierre’s lunch scheduled with his Grandma on Sunday, Paul’s appointment with the dentist or Jacques’ hot-dog eating competition.
With Doodle I’m going to cut down on my paracetamol bill! It is really easy to use and you don’t even have to sign up.
The user simply creates a poll with different timeslots. Participants can then vote for the date and time that suit them, and the user can choose the best matches for the group.
New me: Less headaches, know less about my friends’ weird hobbies.
I actually discovered this tool a week ago through a friend that wanted to get hold of the pictures I’ve been taking since I arrived in Australia.
Posting my photos on Facebook could have been an option but their definition would have been reduced. My USB key was too small to share all my pictures through one unique transfer and emailing wasn’t an option either since I would have had to send hundreds of emails to get all my files to her.
Using a Dropbox came to her as the best solution to exchange our pictures in a secure and fast way.
Dropbox is a tool that allows you to store your files and retrieve them whatever computer you are using. This is called cloud computing. You simply drag the documents you want to save in a folder and you connect to your Dropbox using any device anywhere in the world if you want to access them. The best thing about this tool is that you can easily share your recorded files by sending a link to your folder to any other users.
New me: Finally have some pictures of myself in Australia
The new super organized version of myself wishes you a nice day!
Here is a quick poll to have an idea of which tools are used the most:
AURELIE @QUT 
I was on the same page with you on the RSS symbol until only recently; when I checked out the video on commoncraft. Doodle seems to be a good little tool and I really like pinterest – they always say a picture tells a thousand words.
Keep the blog posts coming.
I’m actually using Pinterest as well, I love it because it is a great source of inspiration but I don’t really see how it could improve my personal productivity since I can spend hours just browsing through the website’s boards… Do you use it in a way that helps you be more efficient?
Hi Aurelie
Excellent Blog Posts – Very interactive and a pleasure to read. Love how viewers can cast votes based on their usage.
Cheers,
Josh Flinn
http://www.joshuaflinn.com
@joshyflinn
Hi Josh!
Thanks for your kind comment. I was trying to apply one of my blogging strategy (see my 1st post) about engaging with my readers to build a good relationship with them.
Hope it will work!
HI Aurelie,
Nice to see that somebody else was in the same boat as me trying to understand all these new Web 2.0 terms. I really enjoyed your posts and I like your writing style.
I’m loving that Doodle tool at the moment. I think it’s very useful. And Dropbox looks like it could be quite handy too, however I’m one of those paranoid types who doesn’t trust “the cloud” to have all my data.
I look forward to your future posts.
Cheers,
Candice
Hello Candice!
I’m glad you like my writing style because as a non native english speaker I was afraid that my posts might be confusing or unclear because of the language barrier…
Yeah Doodle is awesome! Especially at this time of the year where most of us are trying to plan our mid-semester break! Am I right? 😉
Love your post Aurelie. I must say I am with you for assuming that del.icio.us is a cooking app. 🙂
I have used Tripit (http://www.tripit.com/) to coordinate my recent travel with a friend overseas. It was a useful tool to share our itinerary and being able to pull it out when we were overseas. I am going to check out Doodle after reading your blog.
Hi Karen!
I’m happy not to be the only one confused about del.icio.us name. Here is a useful link if you want to know where the name comes from: http://www.netplaces.com/social-media/social-bookmarking-sharing-your-favorite-links/the-tastiest-bookmarks-on-the-web.htm
I also had a look at Tripit, and I must say that I was really impressed on how it easily retrieved all my travelling information from my email box!! Adding weather forecast about your destination is a nice feature as well. However I don’t think that I travel often enough to get the most out of this app.
Hope to see you again soon!
Great blog!
Your writing style is very easy to follow and I can relate to how you initially felt about Web 2.0! I’m starting to get a grasp on some of the Web 2.0 tools you mentioned, however the doodle creature still creeps me out =/
Great idea using a poll too, very good way to engage your readers 🙂
Dan.
Hi Daniel,
I’m happy that you liked the idea of the poll and obviously Facebook is our big winner!
Hi Aurelie,
Nice post a pleasure to read. Fun how you used French names in your explanation of Doodle.
– Shaun
Hey Shaun!
I actually chose these specific names on purpose because in French we use them when we want to talk about average people. I think the english translation would be “Tom, Dick and Harry” Does that ring a bell to you?
Hi Aurelie
You’ve already heard this a few times by the looks of it, but great blog post! Very readable 🙂
Very much the same as you, I’ve always wondered what the RSS icon on webpages meant, but never bothered to look into what it was, but now I know!
i still don’t have a busy enough schedule to need something like Doodle and have been fortunate enough to not really have many issues with group scheduling. But I can see its use and will keep it in mind for when the need arises.
Finally, the use of a poll was a really good idea. I’ll be sure to visit your blog next week.
Matt
Hello Matt!
Even if you don’t have a busy schedule you can still use Doodle for other purposes.
While your creating your poll instead of choosing different dates on a calendar you can choose the “free text” option to propose for example different type of food people wants to eat for a special event or different gift ideas for one of your friend. Let your friends vote for their favourite option and the decision is made super quickly!
Have a look at the Doodle I created to set an example: http://doodle.com/sy5u6q2bfkbqrbud
I hope you will find this tool even more useful 😉
Hello Aurelie,
Love it. Digging the consisting in your posts. Clever pole, really interesting to see the predominant tools in use.
Creepy but very effective picture! Love the concept there, Im on a similar page to yourself. Theres an abundance of tools out there and I find myself fast becoming dependant on these tools. Google calendar now knows everything! +1 to google reader! Just joined that class folder, should make things a little more efficient.
Caleb