I've heavily used different Internet messaging in both the nonprofit and the for profit realms. Being able to quickly chat with developers during a project is a powerful tool. Skype is great because it not only allows you to IM but to talk and to transfer documents securely. I've also used ICQ and AIM. I still use iChat (on the AIM network) regularly as well.

IRC started it all though and is still actively used by a wide variety of different groups. IRC is cool because there are long standing communities who discuss and support one another on a vast swath of topics. IRC is cool because they were Web 2.0 WAY before Web 2.0 had ever been conceived.

What a curious site. iContact Community merges blogs, forums, and voting into a single site. There are two main kinds of users:

1) Publishers
2) Members

It appears being a member is free. The idea is that you can browse through the publisher's blog posts--which are pretty much advertisements. Publishers pay a fee to blog and send newsletters to a mailing list that they create through the site.

Publishers can:

• Create a list
• Add a contact
• Create a message
• Create a campaign
• Create a blog

The publishers are broken up into:

Shilliber is a subscription service that allows you to call a preset number, enter a code, and then leave up to a 15 second sound clip. That sound clip, called a shill, is housed on Shilliber's servers and is exposed to the Internet.

I signed up this evening--it was an easy process, but then wasn't clear on *how* one sets up the ability to leave a clip. Finally I noticed that there is a link called, "Create a Listing". This apparently sets up a "bucket" in which folks can leave clips. You can choose to leave a clip on someone else's listing and then, the clip will be part of that person's listing. So, you could set up a question on your blog and then ask for comments on the blog.

I've researched different project management systems over the last 8 years or so.

I've played with Microsoft Project quite a bit and have found it to quite useful in very linear projects but the tool can be quite complicated and sometimes managing the tool takes longer than managing the project.

The emergence of Web 2.0 applications and social networking was bound to spawn new tools.

Back in my WESTAF days, I used BaseCamp when working with Work Industries on search engine optimization. Really BaseCamp is a fancy to do list with some other features. One thing that I think is pretty slick about BaseCamp is the ability to integrate into BlinkSale, the invoicing system I use for my personal consulting. BaseCamp is good for small projects but doesn't really suit larger projects.

There are big changes in my future. I've spent the last nine months or so championing the use of Web 2.0 technologies in promoting the nonprofit community in general with an emphasis on the arts. A big part of this has focused on the convergence of different technologies in mashups. These have included:

1. Drupal
2. Flickr
3. Revver
4. YouTube
5. Twitter
6. SecondLife

I see myself as a trainer, writer, technologist, zealot, and missionary. I take part in Nonprofits in Secondlife and have been posting to Techsoup's forums. I like to share knowledge.

I'm happy to say that the change in my life has me moving from my position at WESTAF in Denver to pingVision in Boulder. pingVision is a creative design studio that specialises in Drupal site design, DVD authoring, and graphic design.

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Plaxo can install a tool into Outlook that flags if a person is in your contact list or not and if they are a Plaxo member. If they aren't you can click on a link in the top right corner of your email window and in a couple of clicks add them to your contact list and allows you to immediately request an update from your contact.

Plaxo toolbars can be installed into Outlook, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, MacOS X address book, Thunderbird, and onto your mobile phone.

There is a free limited version of the software.

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Plaxo is a utility that allows you to synch a variety of different address books. For example, my address book at work is in Outlook but at home is in MacOS X Address Book. Plaxo will link to both and give a merged online list that you can access anywhere.

Plaxo will allow you to send reminders to your contacts to update your address book. It will also send birthday wishes to those who have provided a date of birth.

It is incredibly difficult to keep in contact with friends, family, and business contacts. When you have a large address book it becomes nearly impossible. Plaxo makes the effort quite a bit easier.

StumbleUpon is a service that installs into your toolbar. It links you to a random Web site based on your interests. I chose to install it into Firefox. It is a quick download and installation is as simple as a click and then a restart of your browser.

When you first open your browser up, there is a page that asks you about what you'd like to stumble into. You check off the topics you'd like in your profile. It installs a "stumble" icon in the left side of your tool bar. Click on the stumble icon and it brings you to a site. You can give that the thumbs up or thumbs down to train the software to your preferences.

Taxonomy is the scientific practice of categorizing things.  For example, taxonomy is use to classify organisms.  The Dewey Decimal System was created in the 1800's and is a taxonomy.  The Library of Congress has a taxonomy.

When you get right down to it, a taxonomy is a preset tagging system.  In Dewey, if a book is on Technology it falls within "600".  In the Library of congress, the same volume would fall within "T".  These tags create:

• structure
• hierarchy
• standards

They also tend to be:

• specific to one use
• non-adaptive

Folk Taxonomy or Folxonomy allows users to create tags which means that you can have a virtually infinite set.  Systems that use folxonomy include Drupal, Joomla, Flickr, YouTube, Revver, and Google Video. 

Aggregators are tools that allow you to access the RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds from different sites.  You can tell that a site has a feed if you see this icon on the page.  Aggregators allow you to mix the feeds from many sites into a single place.  In other words, no need to surf when an aggregator can deliver the content to your desktop.

Some of my favourite aggregators include:

1. Drupal has its own built in aggregator.  I'm including it because of the overall utility of Drupal as a content management tool
2. Netvibes is a truly fabulous aggregation site allowing for all kinds of mixing and matching of information
3. NewsLife is an OSX 10.4 only aggregator that tries to simplify the interface and make reading feeds more intuitive.
4. Bloglines is a great aggregator/organizer of feeds.
5. Feeddemon is a desktop application that costs a little money (about $30), but is one of the most powerful and sophisticated readers out there.

If you spend much time reading news sites, blogs, and wikis and want to save some time, a reader is an invaluable tool.