Project management can be really intense, and I like this theme of looking at the lighter sides. One tool that I have been using is Podio. The tool requires more upfront learning curve, and much of it is guesswork, to get started. I think this alone with discourage some people. But Podio is flexible (perhaps too flexible), and it’s fun to create and customize. Podio, with the proper setup, can fit many processes. Thus, you can make it work for you in your own way, instead of force fitting your processes into most other tool. The free version offers more than what I have seen in many paid tools.

Te Wu’s comments on the Andrew Fraser article in the SC Times (see below)

Andew Fraser for SC Times writes:    Through the ubiquity of social networks, even the most wary of tech use Web tools daily to talk with others, share photos and set up groups of like-minded people.

Now commonplace, smartphones act as hubs through which intricate personal data can be accessed and manipulated easily.

With such powerful tools at work in our personal lives, why do some businesses still manage projects and data through email and shared folders?

Neither email nor shared folders are bad technology; in fact, both are great when used properly. Problems begin when email and shared folders are used in tandem as the core of managing project communication and data.

Email works well as communication between parties when everyone in the chain needs to know (and knows they need to know) what is being communicated. When extra people get copied in, left out or simply ignore the messages, the effectiveness of email drops dramatically. Add in email archive issues and the tendency of messages to be lost among a sea of more messages, and email’s case as the sole way to handle project communication weakens.

SNIP, the article continues @ SC Times, click here to continue reading….