Smart way to store and manage your contacts
January 5th, 2007 (10:00am) Chris Gilmer 15 Comments
How do you store and manage your business and personal contacts? Ensuring these contacts can be accessed across multiple platforms, from online, desktop, and mobile devices, because you never know when you are going to have the need to make contact with an individual? Do you utilize a few different options and import and export to all of them? Or do you tend to only use one application and export to a mobile device that you have on hand at all times?
I find myself utilizing Outlook for contacts, and then exporting to mobile devices. The only problem there is updating contact information. That’s why Plaxo is a location to be looked into. Your contacts make changes to their information, and you are immediately notified of the changes. (If they choose to notify you.) Thus ensuring you have the latest up to date contact information. I had started using this route, but found it tiresome and too time consuming to add contacts in that didn’t have Plaxo accounts. What are the business and personal contact storage managing solutions that you employ?
15 Comments Post your own comment
Jeb says: January 5th, 2007 1:59pm
I use Outlook and sync it to my Nokia E61 for personal and some business contacts. For my lengthy list of clients I use ACT! for some and I just started a Zoho account and I’m extremely impressed with it up to now.
Josh P says: January 5th, 2007 2:33pm
I use Apple’s Address Book app. I don’t need anything overly complicated.
jedweb says: January 5th, 2007 2:42pm
I”m using Airset.com right now but hoping that Google will improve on it’s Contacts in Gmail and integrate them with its Calendar.
Abe says: January 5th, 2007 3:02pm
Where do you want to work today?
Sorry but I remember that words from Microsoft: Where do you want to go today? and now in the 2007 this is the new one.
Mark says: January 5th, 2007 3:33pm
LinkedIn, Gmail, Apple’s Address book when I think of it. My cell phone (a Sidekick II so it’s backed up on T-mobile’s site).
Jay says: January 5th, 2007 4:45pm
Plaxo rules. The e-holy trinity is Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Address Book.app
I highly recommend the pay version of Plaxo as well. Just the phone call to restore your Plaxo you get is worth it. It’s a huge time saver if you like to try out new third party beta-sync tools that can/will/may eat your Address Book.
Island in the Net says: January 5th, 2007 6:51pm
Ditto to Jay. Plaxo, LinkedIn and either Outlook or Address Book.
Trevor says: January 5th, 2007 6:52pm
“I had started using this route, but found it tiresome and too time consuming to add contacts in that didn’t have Plaxo accounts”
Chris, from your statement it seems as if you stopped using Outlook and meticulously started typing in every single entry into the Plaxo website. Is my understanding incorrect? There actually is an Outlook plugin that you can download from their website (http://www.plaxo.com/downloads) that will link your outlook client to Plaxo so that you can 1) instantly upload all your contacts to their smart address book and 2) keep your Outlook program always up-to-date when other Plaxo members update their contact information.
In addition, if you happen to have a Mac, use Thunderbird, or have a cell phone, you can download the appropriate software to keep all of those devices in sync with this smart address book. Add a contact in one place and it’ll show up in all the others.
Hope that helps…
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Chris says: January 6th, 2007 7:12am
I’ve been using Outlook, but I’m definitely going to try Plaxo out, thanks for the recommendation
Chris Gilmer says: January 6th, 2007 10:31am
Thanks Trevor – no i didnt stop using outlook. I like to have certain contacts available all the time, thats why i use the plaxo solution. BUt i guess i should check out that plaxo outlook plugin, might come in very useful. It would be great if everyones contact information magically updated itself, no matter what application you were using!
Steve G says: January 6th, 2007 3:43pm
On a related note, when I take a number from my cell phone and add it to my Outlook, I also generally want to include that person’s office number, mailing address, etc. Rather than sending them a note asking for those details I instead look them up on Jigsaw.com
Steve Severance says: January 7th, 2007 7:49am
I use Outlook + Plaxo + LinkedIn + blackberry 8700c. Contacts always synced. I also use salesforce personal edition to manage complex information related to clients i have.
Steve
Jan says: January 11th, 2007 7:03pm
Great post;
I use:
Inputs: Business Card Scanner or LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar (grab function)
Synching: Plaxo/ Good Technology/ LinkedIn/ Outlook/ Treo
See my post on http://janmeise.blogspot.com/2007/01/data-repository-strategies-for-managing.html
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