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Opinions on Evernote

BryanPerson What’s your take on Evernote? Noodling around with it now and wondering how it would replace Google Docs for my workflow? 36 minutes ago from web

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chris2x @BryanPerson for me I see Evernote more replacing my notes app which had been SOHO Notes

pixel8r @BryanPerson From what I can see, could evernote really be a replacement to Gapps? They server two different purposes. No?

andreamercado @bryanperson I could see it easily replacing social bookmarking 4 me. I don’t use GDocs for little notes, so it wouldn’t be a replacement.

beaucolburn @BryanPerson note sure if you are, but if you are considering for iPhone sync ability, check this: http://bit.ly/9CtkH

EdRoberts @BryanPerson Doesn’t touch Google Docs as it’s not really a word processor. But I’ve nuked Google Notes with Evernote. Use it more and more.

closetgeekshow @BryanPerson i’m using it right now to keep track of my research online. plus i use it to compile blog posts to read later on my pda

cc_chapman @BryanPerson Doesn’t replace Docs for me, but did kill Google Notebook use.

What's worse than bad PowerPoint?

Question:

BryanPerson: Just wondering: What’s worse than bad PowerPoint?

Responses:

clgoodman: @heidimiller @BryanPerson My DH is an eng. At an eng conf, the backup speaker began: I didn’t have time to prepare & I’m not a good speaker.

helenium: @BryanPerson. Stepping on Lego with bare feet. Nothing else.

heidimiller: @BryanPerson What’s worse than PowerPoint? An engineer with PowerPoint.

phdaisy: @BryanPerson someone reading from their paper—we see that a lot at literature conferences. ugh!

jgee: @BryanPerson a bad table made in an excel spreadsheet = indecipherable

michaelbuckley: @BryanPerson Other than kidney stones, I can’t think of anything.

barbaranixon: @BryanPerson Worse than bad PowerPoint? PowerPoint in a room with no exit?

larrylawfer: @BryanPerson bad sushi, both stink and make you sick as well as wish you were somewhere else.

achitwood: @BryanPerson - bad public speaking I think is worse than bad ppt…

Test

zik @BryanPerson Truely a wonderful thing to be discussing cricket with you on twitter. One of these days you’ll have to join us live :)

zik @BryanPerson The fact that in cricket a result other than win or lose is possible makes it even more appealing to me and much closer

BryanPerson: @Zik: 5 days and more than 30 hours of cricket — and a draw. As an American, it’s one part of the game that sometimes rankles me.

BryanPerson: @Zik: Into the final seven overs. I think the West Indies will survive.

zik @BryanPerson In the Caribbean, cricket is not just a game, it’s community :).

zik @BryanPerson Enough time for my palms to be mad sweaty right about now. If another wicket falls I’m gonna need meds

zik @BryanPerson It’s a new stadium built for the WC2007. This is the 1st test match being played on it. Infuriating incompetence nonetheless

zik @BryanPerson Building a new stadium without adequate drainage is unforgiveable. Heads should roll, but alas none will.

BryanPerson: @zik You mean they can’t get a decent drainage system? Just don’t understand how it takes 3+ hours to get game going after rain stopped.

Takeaways from the Social Media Breakfast

On Wednesday, February 13, Social Media Breakfast events were staged in both Boston and the Twin Cities.  That led to this question:

Question:

Bryper If you attended today’s Social Media Breakfast in Boston or the Twin Cities, what was your biggest learning/takeaway?

Responses:

slolee @bryanperson It usually takes baby steps to convince others of the power and good of social media 

jstorerj @bryanperson the SMB confirmed for me that there’s no substitute for good ‘ole F2F meetings to establish trust and build relationships. 

deanwhit @bryanperson I missed it again! got half way there and realized i forgot to drop my son at daycare (he was in the back seat) 

perfectporridge @BryanPerson My biggest learning from the Twin Cities SMB is that geeks have no excuse not to have real world friends. 

vanhoosear @BryanPerson I like what @jstorerj had to say about Twitter favorites—good ideas! 

vanhoosear @BryanPerson That I gotta get me one of @Stevegarfield’s Nokia phones, even though it doesn’t look like the live streams worked. :-) 

masterots @BryanPerson: that there are some potentially huge enterprise uses for Twitter 

mjkeliher @BryanPerson One takeaway from today’s SMB Twin Cities is that there’s absolutley no substitute for meeting people in person. 11:51 AM February 13, 2008 from Snitter in reply to BryanPerson

crbrowning @BryanPerson they keep getting better and better! and bigger and bigger!

What can we do to make our presentations suck less?

Good and bad presentations are on my mind this week, after finishing up Garr Reynolds’s excellent Presentation Zen book over the weekend.

Question: 

Bryper What can we do to make our presentations suck less?

Responses:

KarenRussell @BryanPerson: remember it’s about the audience, not the presenter.

chelpixie @BryanPerson Best Presentation I’ve seen hands down, Mitch Joel @PCB. He connects with his audience very well.

jstorerj @bryanperson in most cases animations in ppt are superfluous… stick to the story and stop trying to be cute

LewisG @BryanPerson Don’t use PowerPoint. Engage your audience, meet their eyes, and speak to their wants and needs, which you must first discover.

clgoodman @BryanPerson My sugg: As always, know your audience. And if you use PowerPoint, don’t use bullets.

ScottMonty @BryanPerson PowerPoint is not Word. PowerPoint is not Word. PowerPoint is not Word. PowerPoint is not Word. PowerPoint is not Word.

gubilla @BryanPerson depending on the type of presentation, try to get your crowd interacting as much as possible

shey @BryanPerson different “rules” exist on how many words/lines per slide, the key is the audience GET what youre slide is saying in 5s or less

EdenSpodek @BryanPerson More planing, more images, less text. Larger images & text. Slides should enhance a presentation, not provide the script.

adamcohen @BryanPerson ban stupid clip art, especially stick figures 

jljohansen @bryanperson Don’t look at the screen. Have bullet points on notecards and stay focused on your audience. Also prevents just reading slides.

daveforde @BryanPerson presentations are great when the speaker can connect with the audience, talk to them before you start presenting. 

danyork @BryanPerson Use no more than 5 words on a slide… fewer if you can. Max 10. You want listeners to pay attention to *you*, not your slides.

danyork @BryanPerson My tip - DON’T READ YOUR SLIDES!!! Use your slides to tell a story and *accent* your speaking. Use pictures, simple words.

DonnaPapacosta @bryanperson: Create the presentation WITHOUT slides. If you do add slides, practice WITHOUT them.

asyouwish @bryanperson practice practice practice. I read to spend 80% of the time rehearsing and only 20% of the time developing the content.

davefleet @bryanperson - less bullets; focus on the audience, not yourself; write the presentation like a story and THEN do the slides

McClennan @bryanperson presentations are not book readings. Your audience matters more than your text

McClennan @bryanperson Powerpoint is not a diary and you are not paid by the word. Keep it short.

The trouble with the pursuit of perfection

Question:

Bryper  Can being a perfectionist at our work slow us down? Should we be content with good enough and keep going?

Responses: 

adamcohen @bryper I spend a lot of my time coaching business folks and developers on projects on trying not to make good enough, perfect 

mediaphyter @Bryper I think I have too much OCD to not try to be a perfectionist at work. And yes, sometimes it slows me down. Blessing and curse.

adamcohen @bryper The relentless pursuit of perfection will absolutely slow down projects - the 80/20 rule is what allows them to actually finish

ourman @bryper - yes, yes, yes. It’ll do WILL do. Too many bosses who have had new ideas right up till deadline and wrecked it. 1st get it done. 

rickmurray @bryper Some things demand perfection; others can be treated as *betas* The spoils go to those who can consistently discern which is which.

Engagingbrand @bryper perfection doesn’t exist, because it is out of date when you get there..aim should be evolving

marcuhlig @Bryper meg whiteman: “perfect is the enemy of good enough”, sometimes it has to be perfect, but most of the times good enough will do it… 

jljohansen @bryper Being a perfectionist often means you try to do it all yourself. I do think that slows us down without providing desired results. 

Finding work/life balance

Question: 

Bryper What’s your best tip for ensuring a good work/life balance (… or trying to)?

Responses:

rondean @bryper I do things in a series 1 blog post, .5 hour on a social networking site, .5 hour down time etc

randelaw @bryper W/L requires a flexible boss and sig other to allow home office to be open/closed as needed + mobile computing/communication skills

petulla @Bryper If your home/social life are active and busy, you have to attend to them, you can’t let work take them over

petulla @Bryper Cook dinner with partner,play board games instead of watching tv, have pets u have2excercise,when u leave work, take a breath&leave!

Trula @Bryper: if you don’t get enough sleep, you will never have balance between work/personal cause you stay feeling raggedy. perpetual catch-up

ltbeyer @Bryper Take occasional mental health days, espec\ when the sun is out. Get involved with org’s and activities that fulfill other passions.

Trula @Bryper: work like you don’t need $. In your personal time, be active & do fun things. learn new things 4 personal & biz growth. also, SLEEP 

skalik @Bryper know when to close communication lines for one or the other

SocialTNT @Bryper Limit my comp time after work for min 1 hour to chill. Bicycle to/from work. Don’t touch comp on Saturday. Gym.

DougH @bryper real answer: Juggle both most of time, but have lockdown times to focus on each every day

CZ @Bryper call home3x/day /schedule time on cal like you’d do for client/boss. Remember family is all important/divorce is expensive (i hear) 

kflaherty @Bryper making time, even ten minutes, every night where my wife and I talk about anything but work…oh and beer.

mediaphyter @Bryper Anxious to read this one. If there’s anything I need, it’s work/life balance. (don’t quote me — just supporting you!) :) 

DougH @Bryper Pick 1 & roll w/ it ;)