You had me at neurotic

best of 2009: web tools

Posted by Dev | Filed under personal, tech

It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn’t live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

The best web tool I discovered this year is dropbox, which is a service that allows its users to store and sync files online and between computers. This has been great for me as I use one computer at work and one computer at home. It also allows users to share collaborative folders with others, which is awesome if I need to access my stuff using M’s computer. I love the online storage system idea; I used Mozy for about 2 years to back up my files. I like knowing I can access my files easily if I need to. Yes, I use Time Machine to back up everything but things can happen to back up hard drives, too.

I also love bit.ly for shortening urls, which makes linking in blogs and tweeting much less painful. I have used it mostly for Twitter but also in emails to students and other places where it’s nice to have a shorter url.

I’ve been using WordPress for about 5 years now so it isn’t a new 2009 discovery the way dropbox and bit.ly are. However, as more and more developers work to create plug-ins, templates and documentation for WordPress I love it more and more each year. This year we got a revamped and streamlined dashboard as well as better security options. I love that I can install plug-ins and themes from the dashboard. When anyone asks me how to quickly and easily set up a website for their band or organization, I always suggest a blog of some kind and if I’m going to be working on it, I suggest a WordPress blog. I gush when I talk about WordPress and while there are other blogging platforms out there and other ways to blog, I have found the most success and the most help with WordPress. And my WP love increased in 2009 with the changes and updates.

M started using Picnik some and I’ve played around with it a few times and there are some fun and interesting effects it creates. I think it’s a great tool for those who don’t have nor want to invest in Photoshop but still want to create cool photos. However, there is such a thing as an overpicniked picture and I’ve seen many examples from my students of this phenomenon on their Facebook photos. So, use it with caution.

I love geeking out about web tools. I’d love to know what web tools I should check out, which ones can’t you live without?

*I should say that there are many web tools I use that were discovered in previous years and thus don’t fit on this list: Pandora, Google Calendar, Vimeo and many more I’ve tried and abandoned but I’m still interested in what web tools you love, particularly as I plan my New Media Writing syllabus for next semester.

Related posts:

1. best of 2009: gift What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has...
2. Best of 2009: Blog Find and a lot more Prompt: Blog find of the year. That gem of a...
3. best of 2009: resolutions This time last year I chose a word to help...
4. Best of 2009: Challenge Prompt: Challenge: Something that really made you grow this year....

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tagged : bestof2009, reflections, stuff I like

Comments (2) | December 28th, 2009