Useful Web sites

Snohomish River and Historic First Street

I'm always on the lookout for useful Web sites, tools, software and products that benefit you. My friends consider me their trusted secret source for the latest and greatest productivity tools and resources. Without further ado, heres my latest batch of Web gems.

Everyone needs a little time away, right?  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and all that. Allow me to tempt you with some travel bargains. More accurately, allow TravelZoo.com to tempt you.

Of course, there are thousands of Web sites about travel, but what makes this one different is that they dont sell travel; they just tell you about the best deals.

Sign up for free on the site, and once a week, usually on Wednesday, the 'Top 20' e-mail pops in your e-mail inbox giving you a run down of 20 hand-picked, very best travel related offers from well-known suppliers. 

The offerings run the range from flights, cruises, car rental, hotels, vacations and all-inclusive resorts.  All things travel basically. I love how the e-mail is simply a get to the point list of the deals; it doesnt get bogged down with adverts or other confusing information.

I cant recommend this resource highly enough. Its great to know that when you do want to getaway for a few days or longer, youll find something suitable from these e-mails. Check it out.

I love this tool.  What am I talking about, I love all the tools I recommend otherwise I wouldnt be recommending them, would I?

Gliffy is an online version of Microsoft Visio.  If youre not familiar with Visio, its a visual tool that allows you to "drag and drop" shapes onto a planning document to create workflow diagrams, project plans, flow charts, mindmaps etc., in all kinds of industries.

I used to use Visio as a planning tool for new projects, but Gliffy does essentially the same thing. Its online (which means theres no software to download and install), and its either free for the basic version (supported by unobtrusive ads), or just $30 year for the premium version, which includes e-mail support and premium functionality.

What makes Gliffy even better than Visio is the capability to share and collaborate on documents with others, because its online. I encourage you to check it out; I think youll be impressed.

When my wife and I moved to Salt Lake City in Utah, literally everything was new to us.  Our unfamiliarity with local businesses, suppliers, restaurants, shops and entertainment options is obviously something thats experienced by others who either move to or visit a new area.

The concept of Yelp.com revolves around the fact that we all prefer to receive personal recommendations when were unfamiliar with an area.  Yelp.com has done a great job of leveraging the power of the Internet community to provide real, unbiased reviews from the locals. Plus, with each listing youll see a helpful map, courtesy of Google maps.

I was surprised at how detailed many of these reviews are.  Apparently there are plenty of people who are willing to spend their own time to help others make wise choices. As you would expect, the larger the city, the more reviews youll find, but its rapidly gaining momentum even in smaller communities. Check out the reviews for your area.

Another tool that leverages the power of the large community of Internet users within a specific geographic region is Meetup.com. As the name suggests, the site facilitates a way for people with similar interests to meet up locally.

This concept has really taken off in larger cities, with some groups numbering into the thousands.  Of course, at the other end of the spectrum are groups with just a couple of members, and I suspect that smaller groups are more productive.

To give you an idea of the type of interests that meetup.com caters for, a quick check for my region revealed groups for:

• Entrepreneurs
• Graphic Design
• French language
• Investors
• Knitting
• Writers
• Stay at Home Moms
• Poker
• New in town

What a great way to use the power of the Internet!  Im absolutely convinced that many new and lasting friendships have been forged through these meet ups  relationships that probably would never have happened otherwise.  Now theres no excuse for anyone to feel alone in his or her community.

By Andrew Lock