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Filed under: Business, Internet, E-mail, Productivity, Web services, web 2.0

I Want Sandy: Your very own personal assistant

Your very own personal assistant, I Want Sandy Not everyone can afford (or justify) a personal assistant. That's why Values on n, the folks behind Stikkit, have invented Sandy, your very own personal email assistant.

I Want Sandy helps you stay organized and productive by working with emails to yourself and turning them into to-do's, address book updates and calendar appointments. It all works by sending an email and CCing Sandy on it. Sandy understands basic terms like 'reminder', 'lookup' and 'update' and will then sort the content appropriately.

If you aren't up to your neck already in to-do applications, I Want Sandy could be a beneficial application to try out. The concept is straightforward, and it could definitely save time on scheduling and calendar updates. It is currently in beta form, and is accepting signups to join the queue for a free account. In the meantime, if you want to get a feel for how simple and straightforward yet powerful its creator's web applications are, sign up for a free account on Stikkit, their little yellow productivity tool.

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Freeware, Social Software

Take your stikkits with you

Yea, I know you're already bringing your stikkits with you on your notebook, but I'm talking about putting them in your pocket using that 'paper' stuff.

Aaron Straup Cope has whipped together two PHP files that can query Stikkit (which we're growing fond of) and create a printable, foldable and ultimately pocket-able version of all your stikkits. In a detailed post describing his thought process, Aaron links the necessary files with a description of what exactly is going on. When all is said and done,

To me, this sounds nice and all, but I think I'll wait for the iStikkit desktop application before I start whipping out my PHP chops.

Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Web services, Social Software

Stikkit publishes API, Merlin Mann joins board

Stikkit publishes API, Merlin Mann joins boardStikkit, the online PIM that thinks so you don't have to, had quite a week of both giving and receiving. First, the Values of n crew (developers of Stikkit) published the Stikkit API in a post that waxed quite philosophically about Stikkit's place in your world. As with most other web apps, the API is wide open with plenty of accompanying documentation, ready and willing for external apps and mashups.

Perhaps more interesting (at least to the non-code ninjas in the crowd) this week is the announcement of Merlin Mann, king of digital productivity and the driving force behind 43 Folders.com, joining the Values of n advisory board. Merlin disclosed in his own announcement post that he's actually been using and loving Stikkit for months, and now that his full disclosure can finally be, well, fully disclosed, he has a backlog of Stikkit tips and tricks he can start publishing on his indispensable site.

The future seems bright for Stikkit, and I am yet again inspired to give it another whirl this weekend.

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software

Stikkit gets serious contact management, bookmarklet upgrades

Stikkit gets serious contact management, bookmarklet upgradesStikkit, the web-based PIM that thinks, has gained a few significant upgrades in the form of very, very powerful contact-related PIM management, as well as a couple of impressive new bookmarklets stikklets. First up is "a complete do-over" of peeps (that's Stikklet speak for 'contacts') that brings a relational aspect to keeping track of who, what, when and where. They produced a long screencast that demos the slew of Stikkit's new abilities which include updating a contact's information if new info is ever mentioned in another stikkit, aggregating related stikkit's on a peep's page such as emails and appointments you paste (or forward to) a stikkit, and a whole lot more. They definitely meant that "complete do-over" comment, so check out the screencast for all the new peeps stuff.

Last but by no means least on the list of big updates are two new 'stikklets' that let you add stikkits to your account from any page you're visiting. The first stikklet has the impressive effect of opening a new stikkit right on top of the page you're looking at, while the second opens in a popup window. Both of them can snag any text you highlighted and offer full editing (and Stikkit's impressive 'thinking') capabilities before you save and go on about your uninterrupted business. These two bookmarklets are sure to be handy tools for the online PIM power users in the audience.

If you're looking to learn more about this new web service, check out Stikkit.com (while not logged in, of course) and the company's blog, as they have linked a number of introductory screencasts, case studies and customer testimonials which should all help you wrap your head around what's possible with this most unique of PIM systems.

Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Web services, Freeware

Extensive Stikkit review by John Gruber

Extensive Stikkit review by John GruberWe mentioned Stikkit, a new sort of online PIM with a twist, earlier this month, and one of my favorite bloggers on all things Mac and design, John Gruber, has gone and reviewed the crap out of it. It's a long read but worthwhile, especially if you're interested in the finer details the company focused on. John explores the format of the notes and the syntax with which they're created, pointing out the differences, for example, between bookmarks, notes and lists, and offering examples of how these notes are written.

If you're the cliff-notes type, however, I'll just skip to the end: while John reveals some cleverness in Stikkit, he ultimately finds it to be "a very good implementation of a flawed premise." Strange UI features (such as AJAX Everywhere™ technology in favor of linkable pages and notes) and behavioral limitations (like not being able to add more than one bookmark to a note) deflate an otherwise interesting concept.

Personally, while it admittedly isn't a free solution, I still find a Backpack account combined with the excellent syncing/offline Packrat client (Mac OS X only) to still be the king of the hill. If you haven't signed up yet, check out John's revue for more than you need to know about Stikkit.

Filed under: Internet, Text, Productivity, Web services, Social Software

Stikkit, online note taker

stikkit online note takerThis simply designed online note taker is extremely easy to use and pleasant as well. Its clean and easy interface makes it a joy to use. Stikkit isn't as simple as it looks, though. Picture your classic yellow sticky note pads, with a brain of their own. Stikkit actually pays attention to what you type. If it catches you writing a note about an appointment or a task, it will drop it into a calendar, or task list. It even has a little RSS integration, so you can feed your Stikkits into your favorite desktop reader to remind you. Pretty cool. There is only one issue I have with the app: no notifications. I would love to see it shoot me an email when there is a task or calendar item that comes up on its deadline. Or maybe even a text message. In all, Stikkit is a great, simple online application where you can keep your small notes.

P.S. This is exactly what Gmail needs.

Check out some screenshots after the jump...

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