Visiting Web 2.0 sites at work doesn’t have to mean you’re wasting time on Facebook.
Here is a list of five Web 2.0 startups whose sites actually help you increase productivity at the office.
1) Remember the Milk – RTM for short, this site is a full featured web-based to-do list manager. Once you give it your tasks and deadlines (either on the site or via email), RTM integrates with a number of services to give you reminders about them: email, SMS text message, and instant messenging clients are all supported. You can tag each task to differentiate groups of items on the fly. In addition, you can send, share and publish your tasks with your contacts. The site supports mobile devices, allowing you to view your lists from anywhere, in addition to syncing with calendar software like iCal or Google Calendar. Personalized RSS feeds are generated as well.
2) Docstoc – are you in the middle of a project and need to find a non disclosure agreement? Docstoc it. Docstoc is a Youtube for professional documents. The site has thousands of user-uploaded legal and business docs that can be searched, browsed and downloaded free of charge. All of the site’s documents are rated by its user community, making it simple to quickly find quality content you can actually use. Powerpoint presentation templates, legal contracts, business plan outlines, and financial spreadsheets are all examples of the type of docs that can be found on the site.
3) Mozy – There’s nothing worse than losing hours (or weeks) worth of work due to data loss. If you don’t currently have a secure back-up system, Mozy has got you covered. The company stores all data in a safe remote location, allowing you the peace of mind that comes from knowing your work is safe even in the event of a disaster. Mozy provides 2 GB of online backup for free, or unlimited backup for $4.95/mo. You can schedule backups to happen automatically and even throttle bandwidth usage so that it doesn’t drain your network.
4) PBWiki – Need to collaborate on a project? PBWiki is the largest wiki provider in the world, hosting over 200,000 wikis for individuals, groups, businesses and organizations such as the United Nations and Harvard University. PBWiki, who got its name from boasting that it makes wikis as easy as a peanut butter sandwich, offers simple point-and-click editing and includes support for file attachments (Powerpoint, PDF, etc), rich media inserts (pics and video), chat rooms and calendars. You can track all revisions and even use their automatic backups to be sure your work stays secure.
5) Mint – This may not help you get things done at work, but Mint helps you manage what you work for in the first place: money. The site lets you aggregate all of your accounts into one place, from which you can: see simply designed graphs telling you where your money goes as well as receive tips on how to lower your specific bills and even credit card interest. Mint also provides you with alerts for upcoming bill payments and irregular account activity. For those worried about security, the site uses the same security platform as the 10 major banks in the US.
