Tools for Ubiquitous Data Access

Image by yto via Flickr

Technology Thursday

I'm not always sitting at my desk so access to data and files when I'm not right at my desktop computer is important. There are several tools that make ubiquitous data access easier than ever.

Much has been written about the challenges presented by certain kinds of jobs that require you to be nearly-constantly accessible and checking in, at least by email, very frequently. I have one of those jobs, myself, as it turns out. But I don't have anything new to say today about that problem. It is a big problem. The incentives are all poorly-structured. And the random nature of email makes us all behave like those little rats pushing levers to get their randomly-apportioned tasty pellets. (If I recall correctly, those rats eventually went insane.)

Just yesterday, for example, I was home with a sick kid. In a better world, I would have focused time and attention on him. He was in decent spirits, albeit feverish. Instead, I tried to shoehorn a bit of work into very narrow timeslices (and made a few minor although irritating mistakes doing so). And I kept glancing at my email. And 'lo and behold it wasn't just the usual back-and-forth about current projects. But two new interesting opportunities related to past work flowed in to my inbox. See, if you keep checking your email often enough, something nice will show up! (Let's just not discuss all the irritating Dilbertian messages that are more common.)

But anyway, I'm feeling unbalanced and don't want to talk about work-life balance or how we're all supposed to stay connected all the time. Instead, I want to talk about what might be thought of as the dual to that problem. I want access to my digital stuff wherever I am all the time.

That used to be hard, nearly impossible. It's getting easier. The first big chunk of data to need access to is email of course. VPNs and web access make access to work email pretty straightforward. And now we can all get gmail or yahoo or hotmail accounts as a simple way to have nearly-ubiquitous access to our personal email. But I find I'm wanting access to other kinds of data too.

For example, I keep a running set of notes regarding topics to discuss at my son's next well-child appointment. That file right now is called "Questions for 18-month Pede's Appointment." That appointment isn't for 2 more months. But I might think of something to ask at any point. So I want that file easily-accessible so I can make a quick update if I happen to think of it while standing in line at the coffeeshop. I keep a very brief private daily journal and I want to be able update that no matter which computer (iPhone, laptop, desktop) I happen to be using at the time. There are numerous other things I try to keep track of digitally as well. Every year I make a "Gifts" list of all the people I expect to be buying gifts for that year (and which occasions) so that when I have an idea of what to get them I can quickly jot it down and not lose track. And so on.

There are now numerous tools that help enable ubiqituous data and file access. I wanted to spotlight a few that I've been using recently. One that I've mentioned before (here and here) is called Evernote. Their motto is:

Remember everything. Welcome to your notable world. Use Evernote to save your ideas, things you see, and things you like. Then find them all on any computer or device you use. For free.

This is what I use to capture questions for the pediatrician, draft posts for this blog, and where I maintain some lists that aren't appropriate for my regular project management tool (Omnifocus), such as "movies I might want to see some day" and "favorite Lush products."

Another tool I've recently started using is DropBox. This is more of a file storage tool that allows access to the files you store it from anywhere. They say,

Dropbox is software that syncs your files online and across your computers. Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they'll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you've installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!)

So far I'm using it as a place to store my short daily journal and DropBox offers only 2 Gig for the free version, but that's enough for the few things I'm using it for so far. I only installed it a week or two ago, but one thing that impressed me was the simplicity of the interface and ease of use. In addition, you can set up a publicly-accessible folder if you need to share files with other people. I haven't done that yet, but can foresee some uses for it. As it turns out, I just got a message from them that if I refer someone, we'll both get an extra 250MB of space. I don't need that space yet, but depending on what I end up using it for, I might. So, if you want to try it out and get an extra 250MB on top of the 2 Gig, click through this link. (Aside from what I've just written, no one's offered or paid me anything to promote them. I just like what I've seen so far.)

Two other tools I use to track things and be able to access them in more places than just one computer are Amazon's Universal Wishlist and Delicious. Amazon's universal wishlist lets me stash links to things I might want to purchase someday, even if Amazon doesn't sell them. I maintain three "wishlists" at Amazon -- one public one for me (which basically only my husband and mother use, but that's enough!), a public one for my kid, and a private one for me that I use to stash things i might want to get or read someday, but that I wouldn't really want to receive as gifts.

I also use the Delicious bookmarking service -- I've been using it as a way to micro-blog since before Twitter, I think. Basically, I can stash links there and tag them (using an arbitrary tag set of my own invention) for access later. Unfortunately, I've tended to use this as a write-only tool and rarely go back, but once in awhile it's served as a useful reference. Delicious also allows you to tag things for other users of delicious, and so I can tuck things into some of my friend's bookmark lists that I think they might find interesting, without the heavyweight process of sending an email. Yes, email is now too heavyweight for many things!

So, to sum up here's how I'm using these tools right now to access various types of data that I need/want to maintain as part of a too-busy life. Each of them offers more capabilities than the ones I describe here, of course.

• Evernote - capture running notes and track some lists
• DropBox - ubiquitous read/write access to certain files as well as the possibility of public sharing
• Amazon Universal Wishlist - shop online anywhere, store it all in a list. (Tip: sometimes just tossing it in a wishlist satisfies the shopping jones. Much cheaper!)
• Delicious - bookmark and tags links to interesting stuff; occasionally share links with buddies who also have delicious accounts

Comments

[Stephanie]

Thanks for blogging about Evernote, Dropbox, Amazon Universal Wishlist and Delicious! All of them sound like useful organizational tools.

[Stacy]

Wow, Lyn. Thanks for writing about this. It's a whole new world for me. I carry around a small but pretty notebook but I might check out Evernote. I have to say, though, that I'm not great at doing the work it takes to keep up with all these innovations, which I why I usually go back to paper.

[Lyn]

Stacy -

Oh definitely. Sometimes paper is exactly the right answer. I have a manila folder that I take back and forth to work of 'working paper files' -- the paperless office is a myth, IMHO.

[Katherine]

You always introduce me to great new tools, Lyn. I am a Doodle addict ever since you suggested it. Certainly, I need a less blunt instrument than email - searching through my inbox is taking the computer more and more time these days...

[Jgrossman]

Hey Lyn, You might also want to check out Springpad (http://springpadit.com). I work there so I'm biased, but its a great site to help you find, organize, personalize, or share your stuff. You can save recipes from any website to the online recipe book and then create meal plans and shopping lists from your recipes. Other apps include a receipt tracker and wine notebook. You can also create task lists and set reminders for weekly chores. It's also great for creating notebooks with all the info you'll need for your next trip - like creating lists of places you'll want to stay, restaurants you want to try, hikes you want to go on, and activities you want to do - marked with your personalized notes and links to every website you want to come back to. Create a group of books you want to read. In the Holiday Gift Planner, you can add gift ideas throughout the year, clip from the web, upload photos, sort by priority. It will all be there when it comes time to do the shopping. Access your springpad on the go with our mobile app. Share your notes with friends and family with a click. Would love to get your feedback on what you think!