It's the rare day, indeed, when I attend any kind of educational session and get to use the knowledge the very next day. Better, when that knowledge is just downright helpful. Interested? OK, so let me tell you a bit about Denny Wall's presentation at a recent NYSAE Technology SIG event.
Titled 30 Cool Apps, that's what it was: 30 apps in about 45 minutes. Denny, true to form, started on time and covered them all, and, when done, added two bonus apps. Rather than list the 30 apps, I thought I would highlight a couple of them that I thought were particularly cool.
DiffChecker.com was the one I used the very next day. I was reviewing non-consecutive proposals, so, while the author was using track changes, the text she was changing wasn't the same as the one I had in my files and which I had changed. I needed to create an account on the web-based DiffChecker. That took 17 seconds, because I supplied my name, email, and a password, and that was it. I loaded both documents into the stereo frames and in seconds I had color coded changes marked. It allows me to save it for several different periods (I chose 1 month) and, best, it allowed me to copy the specific URL and send it to another who could see exactly what I saw. Perfect!
Doodle.com is another, and this is a lifesaver. Doodle allows you to have bunches of people from different organizations look at potential dates for a call, choose the time/date available, and save it so all users can see. Doodle tracks who's participated and tabulates the most popular time.
WordCloudGenerator is novel, cute, and, in non-intuitive way, useful. To access it, go to https://www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud/ (one of the few apps whose name isn't the same as its web address); no registry required. I copied the text of my review into it and it spewed a graphic for me. Haven't figured out how to show it to you, yet. Maybe that's our next session.
I'll end with Rhymer.com, which allows me come up with words or syllables that rhyme with my text. I can choose the number of syllables I want matched.
So, I've covered 1/6th of the promised apps that Denny presented. Our next Technology SIG will showcase Google Apps (none were offered at this session because it is a session by itself). Watch this space for a time and place.
I should also note that I asked Denny to review the article, and he made it betterer, noting that Grammarly (one of his 30) found some flaws in my note to him.
David Teisler, CAE
David is Director of Communications and Deputy Executive Director at Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, whose last two syllables rhyme with allies, Andes, Aussies, and armies, among others.
Denny is the Director of Interactive Services at Dolci Interactive, a full-service digital agency specializing in the Association and non-profit industry.