Organising your Bookmarks, Articles and Notes [Part 1] (14/01/2013)

Like the internet, but not...

The internet is a fabulous resource and is increasingly changing the way we think and use information. General knowledge is becoming less about what we know and more about knowing where to find it.

Like many, I keep bookmarks of my favourite websites, tag articles for reading later on and also make notes and lists of ideas and 'to dos'. However, without some thought, this can get out of hand. It is important to periodically review how we access and store our information to see that we are getting the very best out of what is available. 

I also have a keen interest in automating as much of my life as I can and so continue to strive for the 'perfect' system to control and store my information flow.

My Old Setup

Bookmarks: Delicious

Up until recently I was very happy with this service. There were previously concerns that Yahoo would close down the service but, instead, they sold it. Now the new owners have tried to update the look and feel of Delicious and I don't like it.

For me, the old format worked very well - it was simple to add and find bookmarks. Now delicious has more of a 'social network' feel to it and this was never high on my priorities. The new look is also very 'buggy' and the Chrome Extension does not work very well (this was the case before the new look as well).

So I wanted to change.

Articles: Pocket

I love this service. The web-based side of things is simple and effective, the android app is great and I even have a 'Pocket_Queue' desktop application. It is easy to save articles for reading later on and to tag them so that you can find them easily.

In short; Pocket does what I need and (as important) what it promises

Notes: Color Note

This is a decent app (especially after the upgrade). Easy to use and quick. The upgrade has given us backup and sync options and a better user interface.

However, the sync (to Gmail) is an app sync and doesn't allow you to access the notes in Gmail (why go to the trouble of building a useful sync that only does half the job?). More concerning is that portability of your notes is poor. You can backup to SD card and import from SD card. But there is no way to export to other apps (or to import to other apps from Color Note) and this, to me, makes the app seem quite dated as interchangeability is so important for users nowadays.

Therefore, I wanted to change.

What I looked at

There are obviously many different apps to do the various jobs I require, however, I had a number of specific requirements:

1. The service I went with should be one that is likely to be around for a long time. Now, none of us can predict the future; but I didn't want to pick a service that is likely to be out of date and dumped in 6-12 months time. So I wanted a service that continues to show innovation and was 'at the top of its game' thus giving the best chance that it will still be around for the foreseeable future;
2. I needed interchangeability between services. Being stuck with Color Note did not feel comfortable; so I needed a service that I could export from at some later date if another service came along that better suited my needs. Again, this is difficult to judge, but the 'export' functions of each service would clearly be relevant here;
3. The service should allow me to operate the way I wanted to operate with the three different types of information; and
4. A service that combines Bookmarks, Articles and Notes would be amazing!

Importing used to involve more crates

With number 1 in mind; the services I choose to look at were Evernote, Springpad and Catch. For each one, I considered operation and interchangeability.

Evernote

Operation.

Excellent for storing information and one of the leaders in it's field. I am currently happy with Pocket and wanted to use more of a lightweight application for notes, so I was primarily looking at Evernote for Bookmarks and possible integration of Bookmarks/Articles/Notes at a later date. 

Interchangeability.

Import: Firstly, Evernote can import Delicious Bookmarks (either through 'Google Notebook Import' or via converting an .xml file to .enex - Update: see Part 2 for more on this). Secondly, Evernote can import articles from Pocket (such as via this IFTTT).

Finally, Catch notes can also be imported. The main methods appear to be:

• Exporting a text file from Catch and transferring it to the Evernote Desktop Application (you would then need to re-sort the Catch notes in Evernote);
• Exporting Catch to a webpage and then using Evernote's Webclipper (slow process if you have lots of notes); and
• Exporting a csv file from Catch and opening the file in Excel/OpenOffice calc/using a script that splits csv files into individual text files/creating a mail merge using csv as a data source - and then transferring the result to the Evernote Desktop Application.

Export: Evernote can export to Springpad via this API. I didn't consider the ability to export Evernote to Pocket or Catch as Evernote provides a different useability to these two other services (in particular, Pocket recommends against using it to store large numbers of bookmarks long term). 

So Evernote appeared to be a good option both in terms of operation and interchangeability.

Catch

Operation.

A simple operation not much more complicated than Color Note (a good thing) but with some nice extras. Springpad seemed just to complex for my needs here - a simple note taking app that would sync my notes in the cloud.

Interchangeability.

Catch can export to text file, webpage and csv file therefore giving you a number of options when wanting to convert your notes to another service. Due to the limitations of Color Note; each note would need to be exported to Catch individually (a nuisance but a one off problem).

Again, Catch appeared to be a good option.

Springpad

Operation.

I liked Springpad's innovative way of adding additional, useful, information to the items you save and, thus, the ability to build a database of information on topics. Additional mention goes to the ability to import Delicious bookmarks and the Chrome Extension. As stated; I did think it was too complex just for notes and I am currently happy with Pocket. Therefore the consideration was Springpad v Evernote. 

Noting 'old school'

Interchangeability.

This is where Springpad lost out. 

The only way to export Springpad is into a webpage (which I would then need to use Webclipper on if I wanted to convert to, say, Evernote). Frankly, whichever of Evernote or Springpad won; they would hold the most information for me and so the thought of individually saving pages to Evernote lost me. 

Further, I couldn't find a way to import Catch notes (would probably have to export notes to webpage and use the 'Springit' button to clip individually - again, a long process). Finally, there is no current way to import Pocket to Springpad (except, maybe, the 'Springit').

Therefore the solution appeared to be staring me in the face:

1. Bookmarks - Evernote. I can import my existing Delicious Boomarks (the current problem I want to solve). I can also import Pocket and Catch (if I wanted to combined Bookmarks, Articles and Notes at a later stage) and export to Springpad (if I wanted to change service). Such importability would (theoretically) also allow me to import Pocket/Catch to Springpad via Evernote;
2. Articles - Pocket - possibly Springpad at a later date (if an easier import method was created); and
3. Notes - Catch. Have to manually transfer Color Notes but once up and running this will give me the functionality I require.

The ultimate would be one service that covers all three (Bookmarks, Articles and Notes). However, I am satisfied with my current choices so that will have to wait for another day.

Part 2: Time to install and try out my new structure!

This is my blog, my attempt to document one new thing I have learnt everyday. We learn so much and it is easy to overlook just how much we do learn. Any of the products or websites mentioned in my blog are ones I have found useful. I have no link to these websites (unless otherwise stated) and do not receive any benefit from linking to them. I am not an expert in any of the products I mention so you will have to do your own research and reach your own conclusions.