Starbody

I love paper. moleskines, Fabriano Artist’s Journals, Kate’s Paperie, Russell + Hazel; I love them all. Despite the ocean between those sworn to a paperless existence and those bound (no pun intended) to bits of notes everywhere, it seems I fall somewhere in the middle. So the whole idea of PocketMod, though seemingly simple, is quite appealing. Pretty much anywhere I go, I carry a notebook and an extra fine Sharpie just in case the moment strikes me. It can be anything from a pint of cream for a recipe to a burst of thought that needs immediate attention. PocketMod seems like a nice little guideline for helping to organize those on the fly and for free! Free is so good. You just click and drag to design the pages based on your needs, print, fold and voila! the smallest, cheapest organizer you’ve ever had.

I love betas. Aren’t betas exciting? So much promise, potential and that new app smell. Currently, I’m trying out Listal. With social networks hitting their stride now, this was inevitable. Listal essentially does what people have been using Amazon wish lists for, for years. It allows you to organize all that your heart desires in books, DVDs, movies, games and music all while socializing with other people who are doing the same. You can also track what you already own, see how many other people own or are interested in that item. As with all social interaction, it takes people to use it and you know when only 90 people show as owning Radiohead’s Ok Computer … it clearly hasn’t caught on yet. It also (again, as with most other sites) there is a certain amount of setup time. Even a longer setup process up front can be a breeze if it seems fun to you (i.e. answering questions about yourself. Let’s face it, people LOVE that stuff. And when I say people, I mean me sometimes too). In this case, it’s a bit clunky. Par example, at first I thought it would be easy. I selected DVD and entered Amelie. A list appeared with checkboxes, marked the right one and hit add. No problem. Now hears where it falls flat (and on the core task it asks users to perform over and over again … a search). I selected music and entered Radiohead. The results contained only releases that contained the word ‘radiohead’ in the actual title. You’d assume that it would pull any releases recorded by the band right? Wrong. Same thing with books. Enter an author’s name and you’ll only end up with a list of books that are written about the author. Listal better wise up or fade into oblivion.

Maybe you should just try lib.rario.us instead. And if free isn’t an option, then Delicious Library.

Should I end with something nice? How about the potential to discover new music?